The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary

By: Catherine Gray

Narrated by: Catherine Gray

From the Sunday Times best-selling author.

We're told that happiness is in the extraordinary. It's on a Caribbean sun lounger, in the driving seat of a luxury car, inside an expensive golden locket, watching sunrise from Machu Picchu. We strive, reach, push, shoot for more. 'Enough' is a moving target we never quite reach.

When we do brush our fingertips against the extraordinary a deeply inconvenient psychological phenomenon called the 'hedonic treadmill' means that, after a surge of joy, our happiness level returns to the baseline it was at before the 'extra' event.

So, what's the answer?

The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary theorises that the solution is rediscovering the joy in the ordinary that we so often now forget to feel. Because we now expect the pleasure of a croissant, a hot shower, a yoga class, someone delivering our shopping to our door, we no longer feel its buzz. The joy of it whips through us like a bullet train, without pause.

Catherine Gray was a grandmaster in the art of eye-rolling the ordinary and skilled in everlasting reaching. Until the black dog of depression forced her to rethink everything.

Along the way, she discovered some surprising realities about the extraordinaries among us: that influencers risk higher rates of anxiety and depression, high rollers are less happy and huge frothy weddings increase the likelihood of divorce.

Learning how to be exalted by the everyday is the most important lesson we can possibly learn. In Catherine Gray's hilarious, insightful, soulful (and very ordinary) next book, you may learn to do just that.

©2019 Catherine Gray (P)2019 Octopus Publishing Group

A joy

I loved this book. A great reminder to slow down and appreciate the things that happen every day.

Worth your consideration.

I enjoyed the listen and benefited from the lesson. Great info and valuable life reminder.

Another Five-Star by Ms. Gray

This is the third book by Catherine Gray that I have read. I love them all. Her books are well-written and thought provoking. The narration is pleasant and natural. It feels as though she is in your living room telling stories and giving advice, as opposed to reading a book. The only thing I do not like about this book is its title.
I highly recommend this audio book!

Love this

Thank you. I love this perspective and the stories to back it up. We need more books like this.

Narration by author is perfectly done

This book is not only positive and life-affirming, but her stories about appreciating simple things are backed up by science. Some audiobooks do not benefit from the author being the narrator. In this case, it adds another dimension of humor and honesty to the subjects. Nicely done!