july book club

July's book club book was The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Cleaning My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin. I read it on my iPhone while pumping. I spend a lot of my day pumping. I was prepared to dislike this book -- probably because I think [or thought?] that the American obsession with happiness leads people to be disingenuous and out of touch with themselves and with those around them. I think my mind has been changed. I had also been feeling kind of low about various current events and it's easy to come up with things to complain about when one has a sick daughter.

So perhaps I've read this book at the perfect time. [Side note: I'm not sure how to refer to Iris -- she's not exactly sick, since that implies some acute illness. She has some disorders? developmental problems? Not sure how to say it.] 

By the end I was convinced of a few things: 1) it is pretty difficult to be happy and the pursuit of happiness should generally be applauded; 2) a happy person spreads happiness to others and spreading happiness is one of the best contributions an individual can make. 

I leave the book wanting to establish my own "happiness project" but I have some reservation perhaps best understood from Rubin's observation: "Having a feeling of autonomy, of being able to choose what happens in your life or how you spend your time, is crucial." I am lacking in this arena, though not entirely.