New Happy

Getting Happiness Right in a World That's Got It Wrong

By: Stephanie Harrison

Narrated by: Stephanie Harrison

Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

Well-being expert and social media sensation Stephanie Harrison of @newhappyco reveals the counterintuitive secrets to happiness and provides a practical guide to help us all learn how to live a happy life.

We all want to be happy, but happiness always seems to be out of reach—until now. In New Happy, happiness expert Stephanie Harrison draws upon hundreds of studies to offer a life-changing guide to finding the happiness you have been looking for, all based on a decade of research.

It’s not your fault if you are unhappy. You have been told three lies: you’re not good enough; you need to achieve fame, wealth, and power; and you need to do it all on your own. This is Old Happy, our society’s false definition of happiness, and it’s making us miserable. In this book, you’ll learn the truth: you are enough, you have unique and important gifts, and using them to help other people leads to your happiness.

New Happy is your step-by-step guide to building the life you want. Harrison takes you through the process of unwinding Old Happy, uncovering your own gifts, and using them to both improve your life and the world at the same time. If you have ever asked yourself, “Who am I really?” “When will I be happy?” or “What am I supposed to do with my life?” this book is for you.

Through an inspiring blend of art and science, New Happy will forever change the way that you see yourself and the world. Whether you’re wondering what career you should choose, navigating a life transition, going through a difficult time, teaching your kids what matters most, or simply hoping to experience more joy every day, New Happy offers the proven path to a happier life and a better world.

©2024 Stephanie Harrison (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Stephanie Harrison has given the word “happiness” what it has been in dire need of—a redefinition. She has made happiness a worthwhile goal, one based in powerful choices that lead you to a life of purpose and self-love… and ultimately—the new happy."—Dr. Edith Eger, New York Times bestselling author of The Choice and The Gift and renowned trauma recovery expert

"A much-needed, practical and human book about dignity, possibility and connection. This is the book we need right now."—Seth Godin, author of The Song of Significance

“New Happy will give you a new positive outlook on life with a greater sense of purpose.”—Dr. Temple Grandin, New York Times bestselling author of Visual Thinking, autism and animal rights activist

Counterintuitive common sense

This is a fresh, insightful, and practical book that seems especially relevant to highly ambitious people and others who are trying (but often failing) to achieve happiness

Refreshing perspectives

I loved the refreshing perspectives on something so profound in this life,, Happiness! Highly recommend. Glad I found the author on TT.

Highly recommend this book for everyone!

Wonderful read! Very motivating and moving. I loved hearing all the stories of normal people harnessing their gifts to make an impact on the world around them, big or small!

Its basically a long high school commencement speech

The first parts of the book fall into the same tropes of most self help books: the author tells of their life struggles and figures out what everyone gets wrong about happiness, and that this book contains the “secret” to “lasting happiness” if you just keep reading. The nature of this pitch is classic predatory self-help that exploits people who are struggling and unhappy and promises that the author’s wisdom will fix not only their mood and struggles, but also all of the world’s problems. It adopts vocabulary (such as “your true self” and “your potential”) and tactics that imply that however you are now is either incorrect or not good enough, while at the same time criticizing culture for doing the same. It is sprinkled with quotes and brief anecdotes from notable people, though the majority seem like they were just found via google or a ‘famous quotes’ website, rather than actually connecting with their full original context. In this way, it comes across as an extended TEDx Talk or high school commencement speech.

The latter part of the book is more helpful and inspired, and inspiring - and lays out what the book is really about: you will (probably) be happier if you utilize your skills to help others and build community. But honestly thats all you really need to know. The book is basically that unoriginal message, but repackaged and extended out into a book so the author and the publisher have something to sell you.
However, most of the examples given portray people in already privileged positions becoming happier after they reorganize their career or efforts around service. There’s an obvious dissatisfaction and critique of Capitalism without directly calling it out, perhaps because it is sometimes painfully contradictory to the exploitative nature of the self-help publishing industry. More directly the criticism is of individualist culture, though in my mind the issues stem from capitalism and I think there is a faulty logic present in the book: that individual private actions, many NGO’s, and “conscious” corporations will save the world from the inherent problems of capitalism. Most of the examples in the book portray people of privilege becoming happier through doing work that serves their community. Unfortunately, many people don’t have the resources, time, or abilities to undertake such efforts and books like this might leave them feeling frustrated or unseen. The concluding example in the book is a parable of a King, literally the most privileged person in the land, finding the secret to happiness by focusing on the present moment and helping another person, which he learned from a “hermit”. This choice seems tone deaf and baffling to me, especially in light of many efforts by the author to make the book inclusive and mindful of social justice efforts. It seems the book’s intended audience is people of middle-class income or higher who are dissatisfied with their careers, or people who have already made lots of money and accomplishments but find their privileged lifestyle empty and meaningless. I hope those people read this book and choose to do good in the world, stop supporting greedy corporations, and vote and lobby to enact policies that will actually improve safety, health and quality of life for everyone.

However, if you are unhappy, depressed, feeling despair or hopelessness, and looking for a quick read that might give you the “secret” to “lasting happiness”, I would say this book is not for you. Yes, helping others with your skills, connecting with community, and willfully being of service will contribute to happiness, but you can also speak regularly with the therapist, be more physically active (exercise is medicine), strive to maintain a healthy lifestyle and diet, and do what you can to get 7-9 hours of good sleep every night. Unfortunately contemporary society makes these more difficult than they should be for everyone but the most privileged. Finding tools and a community or communities to help make those changes in your life is very helpful. This book might aid somewhat towards that direction, but it is not a singular solution, and it is not a new concept.