Living Your Joy: A Practical Guide to Happiness

by Suzanne Falter-Barns

In a fast-paced world where you work far more than you relax and reflect, Suzanne Falter-Barns has made it her mission in life to inspire you to be “your sweet old self–the one you’ve always known was there.” In Living Your Joy, she gives you the courage to trade the job you hate for the work you love, find time and space for creative expression, start your dream business, and live the life you have always wanted.

Suzanne’s fresh, funny, and utterly practical book helps you melt your fears and tap into the inner wisdom that is your true guide to fulfillment. Dozens of inspiring true stories and many exercises are designed to bring clarity to your thinking and help you master the nitty-gritty of getting from where you are to where you want to be; create your spiritual base camp; know when to leap and when not to leap; and discover the incredible value of emptiness. Master the essential art of staying focused and everything else you need to know to change your life for good–really good.

Genres: Self Help

256 pages, Hardcover

First published September 30, 2003

Reviews

[Ryceejo]

The title is misleading. This is a book about figuring out what your "dream" is under the pretense that we aren't happy because we are not spending our time doing our DREAM. Then there are a lot of overly-detailed, condescending tips and steps to achieve that dream and bring peace to your day ("Stroke a cat or dog if one is lounging nearby"?! REALLY? People pay for this advice?).

So much of the material is now outdated (it was ahead of its time in 2003 though), especially when it comes to the myriad advice about organization (rolodex? Palm Pilot?). I feel like there's a lot of well-intentioned material (The last 10 or so chapters all about turning your dream into a business are actually interesting) that is wasted in this pedantic book that no one will read. It would serve the author best to revise and significantly condense her material into an online article or blog post.

[Caroline Donahue]

this book is a great guide to the creative life. for my work as a coach, i read a lot of these sorts of books and have found this one to be both highly enjoyable to read as well as useful in terms of suggestions and practical advice. i would recommend it to anyone trying to find more room for art and creativity in his or her busy life.

[Becky]

Maybe I am just grumpy.