How to be Sad

‘In any human life there are going to be periods of unhappiness. Learning how to be sad is a natural first step in how to be happier’ Meik Wiking, CEO of the Happiness Research Institute

Helen Russell is an expert on the pursuit of happiness. In How to Be Sad she combines her powerful personal story with surprising research and warm advice to reveal the secret of finding joy: allowing sadness to enrich your life and relationships.

Timely and essential, this book is about how we can better look after ourselves and each other, simply by getting smarter about sadness.

Reviews

'So brilliantly researched and written with great energy. And boy, did it make me think – I must have turned down 50 pages to come back to later!' Pandora Sykes

‘This is such an important subject and we would all be better off if we absorbed Helen’s robust research and kind advice and allowed ourselves to be sad’ Cathy Rentzenbrink

'So brilliant, so heart warming, so extraordinary, so vulnerable and uplifting… wonderful. Should be compulsory reading for everyone' Helen Thorn

'Helen Russell is back with another cracker of a book exploring how our relationship with sadness affects our happiness' Psychologies

‘In any human life there are going to be periods of unhappiness. That is part of the human experience. Learning how to be sad – is a natural first step in how to be happier’ Meik Wiking, CEO, The Happiness Research Institute

‘I didn't think I wanted to read this book until I read it. Then I couldn't stop. An absolutely gorgeous and insightful and intelligent and necessary book’ Hollie McNish

‘A very persuasive account of how accepting sadness as a key part of our human experience can lead to more fulfilment and ultimately more happiness. Full of moving personal insight and brilliant research. This book reframes feeling sad’ Anna Jones

‘Helen brings an entirely unique combination of research, interviews, transparency, and story-telling to every book she writes. Thank you, from all of us’ Joshua Becker, founder of Becoming Minimalist

About the author

Helen Russell was formerly the editor of marieclaire.co.uk, writes for the Guardian and is the author of the bestselling The Year of Living Danishly (TCM c.50k).

Russell is an author, journalist and speaker. Her first book, The Year of Living Danishly – Uncovering the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country (TCM c.50k) became an international bestseller and has been optioned for television. As a correspondent for the Guardian, Russell writes for publications around the world, including National Geographic, The Wall Street Journal, The Telegraph, the Observer, Grazia, Stylist, The Times and The Sunday Times.

She’s spent the last eight years studying cultural approaches to emotions and regularly speaks about her work around the world, including at TEDx and in her hugely popular Action for Happiness talks. As the former editor of marieclaire.co.uk, Helen spent twelve years in London but currently lives in Jutland, Denmark with her husband and three children.