The troubled love story of Rosacoke (Rosa) Mustian and Wesley Beavers in rural North Carolina.

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • 2 MILLION+ COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE “Workers looking for more fulfilling positions should start by identifying their ikigai.” ―Business Insider “One of the unintended—yet positive—consequences of the [pandemic] is that it is forcing people to reevaluate their jobs, careers, and lives. Use this time wisely, find your personal ikigai, and live your best life.” ―Forbes Find your ikigai (pronounced ee-key-guy) to live longer and bring more meaning and joy to all your days. “Only staying active will make you want to live a hundred years.” —Japanese proverb According to the Japanese, everyone has an ikigai—a reason for living. And according to the residents of the Japanese village with the world’s longest-living people, finding it is the key to a happier and longer life. Having a strong sense of ikigai—where what you love, what you’re good at, what you can get paid for, and what the world needs all overlap—means that each day is infused with meaning. It’s the reason we get up in the morning. It’s also the reason many Japanese never really retire (in fact there’s no word in Japanese that means retire in the sense it does in English): They remain active and work at what they enjoy, because they’ve found a real purpose in life—the happiness of always being busy. In researching this book, the authors interviewed the residents of the Japanese village with the highest percentage of 100-year-olds—one of the world’s Blue Zones. Ikigai reveals the secrets to their longevity and happiness: how they eat, how they move, how they work, how they foster collaboration and community, and—their best-kept secret—how they find the ikigai that brings satisfaction to their lives. And it provides practical tools to help you discover your own ikigai. Because who doesn’t want to find happiness in every day?

"Somewhere a Long and Happy Life Probably Awaits You explores the peculiar places we look for validation, for purpose, for a life we might recognize as wholly our own. As her characters struggle with relationships, Sexsmith deftly cuts through raw and intimate moments to show how strangely impervious to their desperate circumstances people can be. Witty and unapologetic, the stories in Somewhere a Long and Happy Life Probably Awaits You traverse the everyday and the unexpected to delightful effect." -- Back cover.

From the creator of the immensely popular Happy Planner and Me and My BIG Ideas, Stephanie Fleming, comes Plan a Happy Life(TM)--a delightfully practical book that shows you how to simplify, organize, and live with intention, all while having fun.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Anna Quindlen’s classic reflection on a meaningful life makes a perfect gift for any occasion. “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.

Live Your Best Life Ancient, time-tested wisdom: Okinawa, Japan is a tiny, tiny island south of the Japanese mainland where people live their life’s purpose every day. How is it possible for so many to live each day in such meaningful ways? The Okinawan concept of Ikigai. How to Ikigai describes the lifestyle choices that have led to an island full of fulfilled, long-living people. Magical reality come to life: Examples of ikigai in action are often magical. Take David Michiels. David stuttered severely well into his adulthood. In clinical terms, his stutter was difficult to treat. But David started to work in a liquor store. Before long, his focus turned to one specific section of the sales floor: the scotch section. As he spent more of his days learning about scotch, he began to share his knowledge with customers. Eventually, David noticed that his stutter vanished when he talked to anyone about scotch. Over time, David’s passion led to a new life. Today, he is a renowned whiskey expert, traveling the world tasting and purchasing whiskey on behalf of his employer. He feels his life is meaningful because of ikigai. A humble look at happiness: Bringing together an exploration of joy not unlike that of The Book of Joy by the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a look inward reminiscent of The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer, and deep truths like those explored by Singer in The Surrender Experiment, How to Ikigai describes the concept of Ikigai with clarity and meaning. How to Ikigai explains a simple but abstract map for living a meaningful life. After reading this book, you will understand how to implement Ikigai’s four directions in your own life: • Do what you love • Do what you’re good at • Do what the world needs • Do what you can be rewarded for

Comparing the short, happy lives of rats with the long, complicated, dissatisfied lives of humans can lead to depression for the humans. The answer: simplify.