The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary

Catherine Gray, Catherine Gray

$34.99

Hardback

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QTY:

English

Aster
14 January 2020

Coping with personal problems; Popular psychology; Lifetyle & personal style guides

Series: The Unexpected Joy Of

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*From the Sunday Times Bestselling Author
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Learning how to be exalted by the everyday is the most important lesson we can possibly learn. In Catherine Gray's hilarious, insightful, soulful (and very ordinary) next book, you may learn to do just that.

We're told that happiness is in the extraordinary. It's on a Caribbean sun lounger, in the driving seat of a luxury car, inside an expensive golden locket, watching sunrise from Machu Picchu. We strive, reach, push, shoot for more. 'Enough' is a moving target we never quite reach.

When we do brush our fingertips against the extraordinary a deeply inconvenient psychological phenomenon called the 'hedonic treadmill' means that, after a surge of joy, our happiness level returns to the baseline it was at before the 'extra' event.

So, what's the answer? THE UNEXPECTED JOY OF THE ORDINARY theorises that the solution is rediscovering the joy in the ordinary that we so often now forget to feel. Because we now expect the pleasure of a croissant, a hot shower, a yoga class, someone delivering our shopping to our door, we no longer feel its buzz. The joy of it whips through us like a bullet train, without pause.

Catherine Gray was a grandmaster in the art of eye-rolling the ordinary, and skilled in everlasting reaching. Until the black dog of depression forced her to re-think everything.

Along the way, she discovered some surprising realities about the extraordinaries among us: that influencers risk higher rates of anxiety and depression, high-rollers are less happy, and huge frothy weddings increase the likelihood of divorce.

PRAISE FOR CATHERINE GRAY'S WRITING:

""Fascinating"" Bryony Gordon.

""Not remotely preachy"" The Times

""Jaunty, shrewd and convincing"" The Telegraph

""Admirably honest, light, bubbly and remarkably rarely annoying"" The Guardian"

By: Catherine Gray
Read by: Catherine Gray
Imprint: Aster
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 220mm, Width: 142mm, Spine: 28mm
Weight: 440g
ISBN: 9781783253371
ISBN 10: 1783253371
Series: The Unexpected Joy Of
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 14 January 2020
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Catherine Gray is an award-winning writer and editor who has been featured in the Guardian, Stylist, the Telegraph, Grazia, The Lancet Psychiatrist, Mr & Mrs Smith, BBC Earth, Women's Health, Stella, T2, Private Eye, Woman's Hour and BBC Breakfast. Catherine's hit debut, The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober, was a Sunday Times top 10 bestseller. Since then she has published The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober Journal and the critically acclaimed Unexpected Joy of Being Single. When she's not writing, Catherine can generally be found taking twenty (identical) pictures of the sunset, wondering why she's always the sweatiest person in yoga, fighting her 'spend it all!' financial urges, or scanning the body language of strangers to see if it's OK to pet their dog. Find out more about Catherine Gray on Twitter @cathgraywrites and Instagram @unexpectedjoyof

Reviews for The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary

Life-affirming. -- THE TELEGRAPH Wonderful. -- INDEPENDENT She made it her mission to learn how to be default happy rather than default disgruntled. -- RADIO 4 - WOMAN'S HOUR Take a leaf out of Gray's book and be kinder to yourself by appreciating life just as it is. -- IRISH TIMES This book came to me in an hour of need - during lockdown when I had to focus on the positive, appreciate simple things, not lose my shit, and value each day. It was a pure joy for me and held my hand. -- SADIE FROST Interesting and joyful. Lights a path that could help us to build resilience against society's urging to compare life milestones with peers. -- LANCET PSYCHIATRY