Happy Ever After: Escaping The Myth of The Perfect Life

Smart, engaging and funny. . . will make you question everything you think you know about what you want—Caroline Criado Perez, author of Invisible WomenPassionate, provocative. . . a manifesto for a better society—The TimesOne of the most rigorous articulations of the new mood of acceptance. . . a persuasive demolition of many of our cultural stories about how we ought to live—Oliver Burkeman, GuardianA very useful antidote to the pressures of modern living. Very few books change the way you think about yourself, but this is one of them. I would particularly recommend it to young adults with all these life choices ahead of them—TabletPaul Dolan knows what makes people happy – and what doesn't. Happy Ever After is illuminating, wise, profound. A magnificent achievement—Cass Sunstein, co-author of NudgeA smart and irreverent look at the bad advice, lame instructions, and missing ingredients in society's recipe for a happy life—Daniel Gilbert, author of Stumbling on HappinessA splendid demonstration of how conventional aspirations can make us miserable—Richard Layard, author of HappinessA timely warning that we need to question standard assumptions about what is good for individuals and society. Dolan makes a compelling case for putting people's own perceptions of their wellbeing at the heart of policy making—Lord Gus O’Donnell, former Cabinet Secretary