BOOK NOTES: "Sustainable Happiness: Live Simply, Live Well, Make a Difference"

UPDATE: Book author in Williamstown on April 2, 2015

THIS IS A NEWS RELEASE PROVIDED BY YES! MAGAZINE

Sustainable Happiness: Live Simply, Live Well, Make a Difference

·         By Sarah van Gelder and the Staff of YES! Magazine

·         Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2015; paperback 168 pages

Sustainable Happiness: Live Simply, Live Well, Make a Difference is not your usual book on happiness. Nor is it a self-help book, although it includes science-based insights about how to achieve happiness in your own life. Its unique contribution is in showing how our own sense of joy and well-being is enhanced via the well being of others and the health of the planet. Through a series of eloquent voices from different parts of the world and various areas of expertise, Sustainable Happiness investigates the links between social equity, ecological health — and our individual happiness.

The book begins with an introduction by YES! Magazine co-founder and editor in chief, Sarah van Gelder, and features a host of notable contributors including Annie Leonard (“Story of Stuff”); restorative justice author and educator Fania Davis; author and biodiversity activist Vandana Shiva; poet Wendell Berry; and empathy researcher Roman Krznaric, among others.

The staff of YES! Magazine has been exploring the meaning of real happiness for close to 20 years. This volume brings together scientific research, in-depth essays and compelling personal stories. And the message it all leads up to? What makes us truly happy are the depth of our relationships, the quality of our communities, the contribution we make through the work we do, and the renewal we receive from a thriving world.

Author and environmentalist Bill McKibben describes it this way, “Somehow a working planet, a thriving society, and a satisfying personal life are hitched together—and this fine volume offers powerful clues on the search for those connections.”

And the Library Journal adds, "This work offers more depth as to why the gentler, simple way is better for everyone." 

About Sarah van Gelder:

Sarah van Gelder edited Sustainable Happiness and wrote an original introduction to the book. Sarah is cofounder and editor-in-chief of YES! Magazine. She writes articles and op-eds for The Guardian, Huffington Post, and American Forum, and speaks nationally on leading-edge innovations that show that another world is not only possible, it is being created today. Sarah is a regular guest on public radio and has also appeared on the PBS NewsHour program, Thom Hartmann’s Big Picture, Democracy Now!, The Laura Flanders Show, and Free Speech TV. In her recent conference appearances and broadcast interviews, Sarah is regularly invited to speak about solutions journalism, including this TEDx talk, “Is There Inspiration in Your Media Diet?” and a popular panel at the National Media Reform Conference, “Making Change: Journalism That Solves Problems.” Sarah also edited and wrote the introduction for the first substantive book on the Occupy movement, This Changes Everything: Occupy Wall Street and the 99% Movement.

About YES! Magazine

YES! Magazine, winner of the 2013 Utne Media Award for General Excellence, reframes the biggest problems of our time in terms of their solutions. Online and in print, YES! outlines a path forward with in-depth analysis, tools for citizen engagement, and stories about real people working for a better world. Project Censored calls YES! “the standard for solutions journalism.” Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman calls YES! a “vital voice of independent journalism.” Treehugger.com named YES! the best green business and politics website of 2011.

About Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Berrett-Koehler Publishers was founded in 1992 by Steve Piersanti in San Francisco, CA. The mission-based publisher believes in “Creating a World That Works for All” and publishes an average of 40 titles per year that reflect that mission in the business, current affairs, and lifestyle categories. Berrett-Koehler Publishers is a Certified B Corporation.

For more information: Susan Gleason, Media & Outreach Manager, Yes! Magazine, 206-931-2613

skype - susan.gleason

twitter - @sgleason, @yesmagazine

 YES! Magazine - www.yesmagazine.org