What a fabulous book to read as my first of 2022. Digh's beautiful offering is perfect at any time of the year but particularly pertinent as I look forward to a fresh start and a clean slate on the first day of January.

This book is a love letter to life. Digh's storytelling is superb, her examples lovely and relatable, and the exercises she offers are both practical and approachable. In a world that's becoming increasingly more divided, with the focus on hustle, productivity, and proving our worth, Digh reminds us that the things we think matter so much really don't. Instead, she brings the focus back to what will make a difference when we reach the end of our days on this planet: the relationships we form with others and with ourselves.

Another reviewer called it "a happiness companion," and I couldn't agree more. It's a lovely, inspiring, heartfelt collection of essays that should be required reading for anyone wanting to live a more intentional life. ( )

The author realized that living your best life doesn't mean ditching your job and sailing around the world--it means living each individual, glorious, simple day with more intention.

Loved it!

Fun, inspirational, encouraging, and uplifting.

Patti Digh’s personal stories provide metaphors for the actions she suggests you take at the end of each section. Not everyone will find something in every story that resonates, however those who follow through with the Action and Movement activities are sure to learn a little bit more about themselves.

Attitude is everything. Those who want to get something from this book will do so. Those who aren’t in a place where they are willing to take a look at their lives won’t get anything out of it (but may enjoy the stories nonetheless.)

I read it on my Kindle, where the pictures didn’t show up very well. I got a print copy from the library to look at the wonderful collages the author has added. If such things are important to you, you might want to purchase a hard copy (or do what I did and enjoy both!)
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Loved This Book - I enjoyed how she takes you through different experiences she has been through and what she took from them ... I would recommend this book to other Creatives! ( )

I put this on my to-read list because I loved the title. On a trip to the library some time ago, I found it in the online "card catalog" and noted the call number. It wasn't on the shelf at that time. My latest trip to the library - I found it on the shelf and brought it home. I wasn't really in the mood for a self-help book.

But this one is beautiful. There are the usual self-help stories with morals. The illustrations were all done by readers of her blog, 37 Days. I guess it's time to explain why 37 days. Because that's how long somebody very important to her took to die, from diagnosis to dearly departed. Now, back to the illustrations. Some were pretty cool, but after a while it started to bug me that every one included text - the title of the blog-of-the-day - and the mantra of 37 days. It began to seem obsessive. Also very left-brained.

Several of the stories were familiar themes. Often I knew what the moral would be as soon as the story began. That's not necessarily a bad thing. A few stories stood out:
Save Face for Someone Else - at age 12, holding down the desk at the library while the regular staff was in a meeting. How do you deal with a customer who is angry that she can't find any books on psychology? And you discover she is searching the "S" drawer.
Close the Boardroom Closet told about how she cleaned her desk. I've done something similar, but her outcome was more outrageous than mine.

The book is also chock-full of inspirational quotes. I was enjoying the one that read "A ship in port is safe, but that's not what ships are built for." Then I gasped in recognition - the quote was attributed to Grace Hopper. Check out her Wikipedia entry; she's a remarkable woman.

The assignments did not appeal to me. Nearly all of the "Action Items" called for you to do timed free writing - and the topics to write on were very narrowly defined. If I'm going to spend time writing, I'd like it to be topics of my own choice. The "Movement" suggestions were just long-term assignments to apply the moral of that particular blog post. One exception - she suggested doing 37 squares and filling in one a day with an illustration of the word NO, as in deciding not to do what everybody expects of you. I might actually do something along those lines, although it won't be for 37 Days.

The book is structured with 6 themes (each one starts with the letter I, or the syllable in.) There are six stories for each theme. Then there's a closing story to wrap it all up. And the assignments call for 37 days of repetition. Nope, I don't think I will.

There were parts I liked, and a lot of really good messages. But not what I happen to need right now. And when I'm ready for a self-help book, I'll probably go back to The Happiness Project. ( )