Book Review: The Secret to True Happiness

Cheesy title, I know. I would probably never read a book with this title except that I received this signed copy to review—and I always read review copies. But hopefully the title of Joyce Meyer's newest book will attract readers less persnickety than I, because it is well worth it.

I do not usually read books "like this." I don't read self-help and I rarely read "Christian living" books, unless I'm reading specifically for a Bible study. I so dislike books fluffy best-sellers like The Prayer of Jabez and Don't Sweat the Small Stuff that I have built up an aversion to the genre in general. I've heard great things about Joyce Meyers for years now, but this is my first encounter with her—and I applaud her.

Her approach is straightforward. If you want true happiness, stop whining and start enjoying. Stop comparing yourself to other people, stop being self-focused, stop being so dramatic, and start enjoying your everyday life. The root of unhappiness, she says, is self-centeredness.

When we are self-centered, we expect people around us to exist for our benefit. We think they should work to keep us happy, do what we want, and put us first. And by all means, they should never do anything to irritate us, frustrate us, or inconvenience us. … The overwhelming majority of the unhappiness, upset, and frustration we feel comes from not having things we want or from having to deal with situations we don't want. When our personal desires are not being met, we fall into discontent—and this is selfish.

This isn't an earth-shattering book. There aren't any magic tricks; it's just good, common sense laid out in a practical way with suggestions for getting over yourself and choosing, each day, to be happy.

I'd love to give this book away to someone. It's even signed by Joyce Meyer. ;-) If you would like a chance at winning this book, just leave me a comment and tell me something happy in your life.

**Addendum: Congrats to 1incollege1indiapers for winning this book! Hope you enjoy it!

This week's Book Through Thursday asks:

Following up last week’s question about reading writing/grammar guides, this week, we’re expanding the question….

Scenario: You’ve just bought some complicated gadget home . . . do you read the accompanying documentation? Or not?
Do you ever read manuals? How-to books? Self-help guides?
Anything at all?

If you'd like to post your own response, go to Booking Through Thursday and leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!

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First of all, I don't buy complicated gadgets. Probably our telephone is the most complicated gadget I own, and yes, I did read the manual for that. And I have to re-read it if I want to know how to change the message (which is why we've had the same message for a year) or how to add people to my speed dial (which is why I always have my directory handy). I have never read the manual to the DVD player, but I used to read that sort of thing. I guess I figure between Dr. H and our teen-ager, I've got that sort of thing covered.

As for self-help books, I cannot remember the last time I would have read one. Decades? Ever? Psych classes in college? Unless, of course, parenting books count in that category. I've read plenty of those.