What does a happy life look like? We all know appearances can be deceiving. And never is this adage more relevant than when it's applied to happiness. For instance, you'd probably imagine that anyone with financial success, a loving family, and a respected position in the community would be the very picture of contentment. But you'd be wrong just ask Todd Patkin.
His book, Finding Happiness: One Man's Quest to Beat Depression and Anxiety and Finally Let the Sunshine In, explores the painful emotions that often lie just beneath the surface of a "perfect" life. From a childhood riddled with insecurity and perfectionism to an adulthood marked by the exhaustive need to always excel and achieve more to a devastating breakdown at the age of thirty-six, Patkin chronicles his own very difficult but ultimately successful journey toward cracking the happiness code.
In the end, Patkin has discovered that happiness isn't a job or a bank account or a car or even a group of people. Happiness is the daily act of choosing to accept and love yourself as you are and for who you are.
As this engaging and unusual book reveals, real happiness isn't measured by what your life looks like, but by how you look at your life. If your current view isn't what you'd like it to be, Finding Happiness can help you bring everything into focus. Not only does Patkin share his own hard-won insights, he ends the book by giving readers the step-by-step tools they need to build their best and happiest lives.
Throughout Finding Happiness, Patkin's story is augmented by commentary from nationally recognized licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Howard J. Rankin, whose expertise has been featured on CNN, The View, and ABC's 20/20. Dr. Rankin provides explanation and advice on topics ranging from handling bullying to tackling challenges in a healthy way to dealing with depression.
Part memoir, part self-help guide, Finding Happiness is a compelling portrait of one man's quest to find the "good life" that eludes so many of us. Packed with honest observations and lessons that can be applied in the living room, the boardroom, and just about everywhere in between, this book has something to teach us all.
