The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun

In The Happiness Project, author Gretchen Rubin weaves together philosophy, scientific research, history, analysis, and real-life experiences as she explains what worked for her on her one-year quest to explore happiness—and what didn’t. 

Rubin's conclusions are sometimes counter-intuitive—for example, she finds that money can buy happiness, when spent correctly—but they resonate with readers of all backgrounds.

Filled with practical advice, sharp insight, charm, and humor, The Happiness Project manages to be illuminating yet entertaining, profound yet compulsively readable. But The Happiness Project isn’t just an engaging and provocative book. Gretchen’s passion for her subject jumps off the page, and reading a few chapters of this book will inspire you to start your own happiness project.

Gretchen has a wide, enthusiastic following, and her idea for a “happiness project” no longer describes just a book or a blog; it’s a movement. Happiness Project groups have sprung up from Los Angeles to Enid, Oklahoma to Boston, where people meet to discuss their own happiness projects. More than a dozen blogs have been launched by people who are following Gretchen’s example. 

On her companion website, the Happiness Project Toolbox, readers can track and share their own happiness projects.