Author(s): Anna Quindlen

Mind/Body/Spirit

In this unusual and beautiful book, Anna Quindlen reflects on what it takes to "get a life" -- to live deeply and uniquely, rather than to exist through our days. "Knowledge of our own mortality is the greatest gift God ever gives us", Quindlen writes, "because unless you know the clock is ticking, it is so easy to waste our days, our lives...". Quindlen's mother died when Anna was 19, and Quindlen says her life divided, then, in half -- into Before, and After; and in this book she offers a vision of how she began to live After. "I learned something enduring, in a very short period of time, about life. And that was that it was glorious, and that you had no business taking it for granted". But how to live from that perspective, to fully engage in our days? Beautifully designed, with evocative photographs, "A Short Guide to a Happy Life" offers guidance on how to live with awareness, and the vitality that comes from knowing how to look at the view. Jacket Description/Flap: "Life is made of moments, small pieces of silver amidst long stretches of tedium. It would be wonderful if they came to us unsummoned, but particularly in lives as busy as the ones most of us lead now, that won't happen. We have to teach ourselves now to live, really live...to love the journey, not the destination." In this treasure of a book, Anna Quindlen, the bestselling novelist and columnist, reflects on what it takes to "get a life"--to live deeply every day and from your own unique self, rather than merely to exist through your days. "Knowledge of our own mortality is the greatest gift God ever gives us," Quindlen writes, "because unless you know the clock is ticking, it is so easy to waste our days, our lives." Her mother died when Quindlen was nineteen: "It was the dividing line between seeing the world in black and white, and in Technicolor. The lights came on for the darkest possible reason....I learned something enduring, in a very short period of time, about life. And that was that it was glorious, and that you had no business taking it for granted." But how to live from that perspective, to fully engage in our days? In A Short Guide to a Happy Life, Quindlen guides us with an understanding that comes from knowing how to see the view, the richness in living.