Reviews

Book Review – The Happiness Passport: A World Tour of Joyful Living in 50 Words by Megan C. Hayes PhD & Illustrated by Yelena Bryksenkova

Book Review

The Happiness Passport

A World Tour of Joyful Living in 50 Words

by Megan C. Hayes PhD

Illustrated by Yelena Bryksenkova

144 Pages

 

 

This review is for The Happiness Passport by Megan C. Hayes PhD and the illustrations are by Yelena Bryksenkova. A world tour of joyful living in 50 words. There is 144 pages in this book.

Positive psychology scholar Megan Hayes and illustrator Yelena Bryksenkova reveal the true meaning of each term and show you how to bring a little more happiness to every area of life, from the pleasurable relaxation of keyif (Turkish) to the ability to thrive in sticky situations as captured by arrangiarsi (Italian).

I really enjoyed reading this book. I loved learning all the different sayings and what they truly mean. There are 50 different sayings in this book and it goes into great detail to explain what each mean while trying not to lose the true meaning in translation.

There are 5 chapters in this book. Each chapter has 10 meanings.

Chapter 1 is about Home and Environment.

Chapter 2 is about Community and Relationships.

Chapter 3 is about Character and Soul.

Chapter 4 is about Joy and Spirituality.

Chapter 5 is about Balance and Calm.

A couple of examples are Serendipity, a fortunate or happy unplanned coincidence. It explains a full page worth of the true meaning.

How about Muraqaba, to watch over, take care of, heightened awareness of ones spiritual heart through meditation. This word comes from Sufism (Arabic).

One of my favorites was Gigil, an overwhelming feeling, often in the context of wanting to pinch a cute or cherished baby. After reading this section I understand why people really do this and what it really means. It’s Philippine Tagalog.

About Megan C Hayes PhD.

 

 

Megan C. Hayes PhD is the author of Write Yourself Happy: The Art of Positive Journalling, and The Happiness Passport: A World Tour of Joyful Living in 50 Words. She is also the creator of the Positive Journal® approach to personal writing (www.positivejournal.org), which combines the science of positive psychology with the power of the page to help you put well-being into words and flourish in your life.

Megan has spent a decade studying and researching both writing and the psychology of happiness, and discovering ways that writing makes us happier. She is an academic in the fields of positive psychology and creative writing, with a personal interest in mental health issues after growing up with a mother and sister who both experienced bipolar episodes.

Megan’s interdisciplinary PhD explored writing as a tool to promote and support psychological well-being. She has shared her research in the UK, USA, and Europe – including papers in The International Journal of Well-being and Writing in Practice: The Journal of Creative Writing Research. She is a co-founder of Creative Writing Lab: The Network for Research in Creative Writing and Well-being (www.creativewritinglab.org), and continues to be fascinated with how words and writing can create happiness.

 

 

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About the Author:

Sarah Mascorro AKA Pixie Witch. I’m 45 years young and have been married to my soul mate for 28 plus year. We have 2 boys and live in good ole California. I was actually born in England but came to the states when I was 5.

I’m Pagan/Wiccan and have been practicing over 10 years now. I always knew I was different but didn’t figure it out till 2008, that’s when I came out of the broom closet. I’m a Witch and I’m proud of it. When I say different I mean I just didn’t fit in with what others did or believed in. I’m sure you all totally understand that feeling. Now I know though I’m not different, I’m me and there are so many others like me.

I hold rituals at my house with my circle for each Sabbat and we do a lot of witch crafts together. I love to do all types of crafts not just witchy like I make dream catchers, wood burn, make soaps and bath salts. I love to cross stitch and make latch hook rugs. I have a small page on Facebook that I sell my goodies. You can FIND THEM HERE at Pixiewitchcorner.

I love to cook and bake. My mother was a great cook & I picked up her talent. I love to make my own fun recipes and add some magick to them. I mean cooking is magickal right so why not add a little extra to it. I started a Kitchen Witch Group on Facebook over 4 years ago. If your on FB come check it out.

I love to spend my time with my hubby & boys. We love to be out in nature especially the beach & the forest. I belong in the forest, I guess all pixie’s do hee hee. My friends call me Pixie due to my size I’m 5’1 and barely 100 pounds with really long red and silver hair hee hee.

I collect stones like hag stones, labradorite, amethysts, quartz etc… I also collect witch statues, Goddess statues, owls, crows and the Moon. Oh & sea glass I cant forget that. Do tattoos count? If so I have over a 100 of them I’m about 80% covered.

Another hobby is photography. I love taking pictures of nature such as flowers, animals, trees, mountains, the ocean and my favorite of all the Moon.

I love to unwind two ways one is with a great book, usually witchy or paranormal ones catch my attention the most. I do read & research a lot about the human body and diseases due to my families rare health issues. The other is going outside under the stars and Moon. What a great way to end the day looking up at the dark beautiful sky.

That’s pretty much it, you see what you get hee hee. You either love me or hate me. Hopefully you all will love me haha.