- The Good: One woman’s personal experience in crafting a happier life at home
- The Bad: Surface-level advice; out-of-touch narrator
- The Literary: Well-read author with quotes from science, philosophy, and literature
On a not so special weekend afternoon, Gretchen Rubin felt a wave of homesickness while she was standing in her own kitchen. She realized that while being at home she missed the love for home itself. On the heels of her previous bestseller The Happiness Project, Rubin undergoes a month by month resolution to make her home happier, one element at a time.
We all want a home that’s calming and safe, a place to relax and recover. A place for simplicity and family. But sometimes getting to that reality is difficult. I like that Rubin breaks the project down into discrete, manageable months. She tackles her home office, replaces broken appliances, clears clutter, crafts shrines to important memories and things that bring her joy, and sets aside time to spend a few minutes with her family every morning.
I appreciate that Rubin is easy to read, self-deprecating, well-read, and thoughtful. She’s quite honest about her flaws. She snaps at her husband and her kids; she often makes “mean faces”; she’s anxious and easy to anger if her Type-A plan doesn’t go perfectly. She writes openly and honestly. I personally find her a little closed-minded — she complains about traveling, trying new foods, going on errands to buy holiday decorations, driving, and talking on the phone. She does seem generally unhappy doing things that other people enjoy.
But in reality, Rubin has an amazing life. She lives on the upper east side of Manhattan. She’s happily married. Her kids are healthy. She was able to quit being a lawyer to write full time because her husband (and her in-laws) have enough money for all of them. She’s not overcoming any major adversities in her life. It rubs me the wrong way that Rubin never fully acknowledges how rich she is, or how much easier her life is because of it. Especially when her key takeaways include “choose the bigger life” and “act like how you want to feel”.
Recommended for fans of Rubin (see Happiness Project first) or self-help-ish memiors.