One of the great humorists of our time turns her comedic lens on our national obsession with finding happiness.
Is there a secret to happiness? Beloved comedian Paula Poundstone conducts a series of “thoroughly scientific” experiments, offering herself up as a guinea pig and recording her data for the
benefit of all humankind. Armed with her unique brand of self-deprecating wit and the scientific method, in each chapter Paula tries out a different get-happy hypothesis: She gets in shape
with taekwondo. She cleans up with a professional organizer. She communes with nature while camping with her daughter. Swing dancing? Meditation? Volunteering? Does any of it bring her
happiness? And more importantly, can the happiness last when she’s back in her daily life with kids, chores, and work?
The results are irreverent, hilarious, and pointedly relevant to our times. The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness is both a commentary on a culture that
insists we all be happy all the time and, ironically, a book that will bring happiness (in the form of laughter) to many readers. Paula is a master at her craft and her book will appeal to
fans of Tina Fey, Jim Gaffigan, Michael Ian Black, and Chelsea Handler.
“Did someone finally do it? Did Paula Poundstone discover the secret to human happiness? I don’t want to give away the ending, but she did make me laugh a LOT and even shed some tears. Read
this book!” —Pete Docter, screenwriter and director of Inside Out, Up, and Monsters, Inc.
“My God, this is a funny book! Bright shafts of the incomparable Poundstone wit come at you from every page.” —Dick Cavett, New York Times columnist and author of Brief
Encounters
