Houston Matters producer Michael Hagerty asks Center why and about why we often look to the outdoors to help us find ourselves. I just wanted to be good at this. And competent. And tough. And, ultimately, just: anybody but me. I was tired of being a disaster. I was tired of being a trampled-on flower. I wanted to be awesome. That wasn't too much, was it?” Favorite quotes: “Are we going to talk about something real, or are we going to keep making excuses? Because I could be watching The Golden Girls right now.” Happiness” has absolutely everything you could ever possibly want in a novel. Heart, soul, emotion (lots and lots of emotion, cue the tears) witty banter (cue the hysterical laughter!) phenomenal writing and characters you can’t help but love. Windy tries to promote positive thinking. Everyone gets to know each other, Hugh sharing that he had been an aspiring actor but now sells insurance. When they are next alone again, Helen confronts Jake about his staring and hovering. He says he simply fears her returning to Mike, as he's not good enough for her.

Happiness for Beginners: A Novel: Center, Katherine

Rosenbaum Five “I watched a new movie on Netflix only to find out it was based on a book. I sat down and read it in 6 hours without putting it down. Highly recommend!” SHANNON A year after getting divorced, Helen Carpenter, thirty-two, lets her annoying, ten years younger brother talk her into signing up for a wilderness survival course. It's supposed to be a chance for her to pull herself together again, but when she discovers that her brother's even-more-annoying best friend is also coming on the trip, she can't imagine how it will be anything other than a disaster. Thus begins the strangest adventure of Helen's well-behaved life: three weeks in the remotest wilderness of a mountain range in Wyoming where she will survive mosquito infestations, a surprise summer blizzard, and a group of sorority girls. A fun, entertaining read that has a lot to say about our preconceived notions of others. And of ourselves.” I'm officially obsessed with Katherine Center, and I'm in the process of slowly reading all her books. (She's prolific though, so I'm having trouble keeping up!😅) This is my second of her books, and I love it as much as I love the first book I read by her, which had wonderful mental health (or more specifically, TBI, traumatic brain injury) rep, HELLO STRANGER.Only do not forget, if I wake up crying, it’s only because in my dream I’m a lost child, hunting through the leaves of the night for your hands.” Helen Carpenter has just made the list as one of my favorite heroines ever. This thirty-two-year-old divorcee decides after a year of being alone, she needs an adventure. So she goes on the adventure of a lifetime. Forget the fact that she’s not a hiker, isn’t huge into nature and has never done anything like this before… she decides to take a walk on the wild side. To go on a retreat into the wilderness. For three weeks! She has her reasons, things she wants to accomplish and she’s bound and determined to do it.

Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center | Goodreads

I just loved rooting for Helen as she fumbled through the wilderness! I need more Katherine Center in my life now.”Author Melissa Senate “Adding Happiness for Beginners to my all-time favorites list. Fun, moving, and honest, it's a gem of a novel about finding out just what you're made of.”

Happiness For Beginners: 6 Big Differences Between The Book Happiness For Beginners: 6 Big Differences Between The Book

Katherine Center never disappoints. Her work specifically seeks to broaden the reader’s awareness and understanding of the unexplored and expansive strength, power and authority of love—and she pulls it off—every time.” A sweet story about healing, growth, bravery and love. If you’re looking for something effortless and enjoyable—this one is a great read.”

READER REVIEW

Adding HAPPINESS FOR BEGINNERS to my all-time favorites list. Fun, moving, and honest, it’s a gem of a novel about finding out just what you’re made of.” Go feast on this tender, bittersweet, romantic story—narrated in turns by Duncan, Jake, and Helen*—about the night that changed all of their lives forever. As seen on Netflix - from the New York Times bestselling author of The Bodyguard and Hello Stranger It’s been a long time since I stayed up too late because I couldn’t put a book down. It’s also been a long time since a book made me laugh and cry at once. If you want to feel hopeful, this is the book for you.” BRITTANY