Not Always Happy

A moving memoir about finding and adopting a son from the foster care system with Down syndrome and realizing that life is best lived by expecting the unplanned. As time passes, the author and her husband become less aware they are raising an atypical or adopted child. They are raising their child, no different than any other family.

"“Soul mates,” the word seems so common. We use it in our everyday life without even knowing the true meaning of it. One does not simply find their soul mate in this bizarre world so easily. Estella did not care about the world’s practicality and opinions. All she knew was that like the Estella in ‘Great Expectations’ she would also find her Pip. And then one fine evening, she does meet the perfect guy. Like every fairy tale, they fall in love and decide to get married. Everything was going perfectly. But of course this isn’t the whole story. Professor Jay Malhotra has been the best in his job and most loved teacher in SAU. His words would make every single being sway in the wind of love. But why was he the way he was? Why did he look like someone had taken out his soul? Does love really matter to him as much as he stated and taught? Join the inexplicable respective journeys of Estella Hudson and Jay Malhotra in the first installment of the epic romantic trilogy. Get a peek inside the world of love, drama and tragedy. This is not a love story; it’s the procedure of creating love and the science behind the word “Soul mate.” And most importantly, understand the concept that in every story, there is ‘not always a HAPPY ENDING.’"

In this “powerful personal story woven with a rich analysis of what we all seek” (Sergey Brin, cofounder of Google), Mo Gawdat, Chief Business Officer at Google’s [X], applies his superior logic and problem solving skills to understand how the brain processes joy and sadness—and then he solves for happy. In 2001 Mo Gawdat realized that despite his incredible success, he was desperately unhappy. A lifelong learner, he attacked the problem as an engineer would: examining all the provable facts and scrupulously applying logic. Eventually, his countless hours of research and science proved successful, and he discovered the equation for permanent happiness. Thirteen years later, Mo’s algorithm would be put to the ultimate test. After the sudden death of his son, Ali, Mo and his family turned to his equation—and it saved them from despair. In dealing with the horrible loss, Mo found his mission: he would pull off the type of “moonshot” goal that he and his colleagues were always aiming for—he would share his equation with the world and help as many people as possible become happier. In Solve for Happy Mo questions some of the most fundamental aspects of our existence, shares the underlying reasons for suffering, and plots out a step-by-step process for achieving lifelong happiness and enduring contentment. He shows us how to view life through a clear lens, teaching us how to dispel the illusions that cloud our thinking; overcome the brain’s blind spots; and embrace five ultimate truths. No matter what obstacles we face, what burdens we bear, what trials we’ve experienced, we can all be content with our present situation and optimistic about the future.

“Sleek, sexy, slyly funny.” —Tom Franklin, author of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter A “bracingly strong” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) collection brimming with savage Southern charm, Always Happy Hour propels Mary Miller to new heights. Claustrophobic and lonesome, acerbic and magnetic, her characters seek understanding in the most unlikely places—a dilapidated foster home where love is a liability, a trailer park laden with a history of bad decisions, and the empty corners of a dream home bought after a bitter divorce. “Full of wit, bite, and the boundless intelligence of their author” (Kevin Powers, author of The Yellow Birds), these stories evoke the particular gritty comfort found in bad habits as hope turns to dust, and they prove yet again Miller’s essential role in American fiction.

Let the popular happiness coach and YouTube creator help you overcome the daily struggles and heartbreaks that life deals you. Wading through the trials we face on a day-to-day basis can be exhausting. When we’re hit with painful experiences that bring us to our knees, finding joy may seem to be too big a task for us to handle. Xandria Ooi, dubbed the “Happiness Guru,” meets readers in those dark and trying places and equips them with the courage to navigate them. Popular phrases like “think positive” and “look for the silver lining” often fall flat on our ears because we’ve heard them so many times. When life gets challenging, suddenly it’s not so simple. Ooi shows us that happiness is more than a feeling by delving into complex philosophies and turning them into relatable wisdom. Joining the ranks of Brené Brown and Gretchen Rubin, Ooi speaks honestly and empathetically to readers searching for answers. Creator of a 30-day happiness program and over 500 motivational videos online, Ooi has traveled far and wide to share her inspiring stories and moving wisdom. Armed with her advice, readers will find practical ways to bring more happiness to every aspect of their lives. Readers of Be Happy, Always will: · Find illuminating answers to questions on happiness and unhappiness · Take an emotionally resilient and wise approach to life and access happiness within · Understand how to cultivate positive relationships even with difficult people · Find ways to live each day with joy, hope and gratitude despite challenges

“This book will challenge you to rethink your vision of a good life. With sharp insights and lucid prose, Paul Bloom makes a captivating case that pain and suffering are essential to happiness. It’s an exhilarating antidote to toxic positivity.” —Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and host of the TED podcast WorkLife One of Behavioral Scientist's "Notable Books of 2021" From the author of Against Empathy, a different kind of happiness book, one that shows us how suffering is an essential source of both pleasure and meaning in our lives Why do we so often seek out physical pain and emotional turmoil? We go to movies that make us cry, or scream, or gag. We poke at sores, eat spicy foods, immerse ourselves in hot baths, run marathons. Some of us even seek out pain and humiliation in sexual role-play. Where do these seemingly perverse appetites come from? Drawing on groundbreaking findings from psychology and brain science, The Sweet Spot shows how the right kind of suffering sets the stage for enhanced pleasure. Pain can distract us from our anxieties and help us transcend the self. Choosing to suffer can serve social goals; it can display how tough we are or, conversely, can function as a cry for help. Feelings of fear and sadness are part of the pleasure of immersing ourselves in play and fantasy and can provide certain moral satisfactions. And effort, struggle, and difficulty can, in the right contexts, lead to the joys of mastery and flow. But suffering plays a deeper role as well. We are not natural hedonists—a good life involves more than pleasure. People seek lives of meaning and significance; we aspire to rich relationships and satisfying pursuits, and this requires some amount of struggle, anxiety, and loss. Brilliantly argued, witty, and humane, Paul Bloom shows how a life without chosen suffering would be empty—and worse than that, boring.