Dear Reader,
Thank you so much for reading Something Like Happy. I started writing this book because I was intrigued by the “100 happy days” concept that was flooding my Facebook feed. Usually, I would roll my eyes at such things and dry-heave a bit whenever I saw #blessed hashtags on my social media. I’m not a naturally positive person—I grew up in Northern Ireland, for one thing, and we love a bit of misery. But something about this idea made me think. Was it really possible to make yourself happy, just by noticing the good things in your life every day? Can you drag yourself up from the bottom and start again?
There’ve been times in my life when, like Annie in the book, I felt I had hit rock bottom. When I was twenty-four I was diagnosed with cancer, like Polly. Luckily it was caught early and I recovered fully, but I found it hard to restart my life. Later, I found myself broke and homeless after my marriage broke down—I even got hit by a car, as well! (Luckily I was okay.) Both times I realized that doing happy things did make me feel better. Going to dance classes, taking a trip to the beach, even just baking a cake. So yes, I think it is possible to find happiness and hope again, even in the darkest days. There are always good things in the world.
I hope that, if you are going through a tough time, you might be able to find the same. Thanks for reading, and I would love to hear your thoughts on the book, or if you’ve been through something similar. I’m on Twitter as @inkstainsclaire.
Eva xx