At the age of nineteen, Simone Weil (February 3, 1909–August 24, 1943) placed first in France’s competitive exam for certification in “General Philosophy and Logic”; Simone de Beauvoir placed second. In her short life, Weil…

It is a rare gift to meet, much less befriend, one of your heroes — a gift that fell upon the American poet, novelist, and diarist extraordinaire May Sarton (May 3, 1912–July 16, 1995) in…

It’s wild how we outgrow what we once thought we couldn’t live without, and then we fall in love with what we didn’t even know we wanted.  Life keeps leading us down paths we would…

Angel and I recently interviewed a minimum wage motel housekeeper in Miami for a project we’re working on to support our New York Times bestselling book, Getting Back to Happy: Change Your Thoughts, Change Your…

I sat at the kitchen table staring at her through tear-filled eyes.  “I feel crazy,” I said.  “I don’t know what’s wrong with me!” “Why do you feel crazy?” she asked. “Because I’m neurotic and…

When I was a high school freshman, a 260-pound freshman girl showed up for track and field tryouts right alongside me.  Her name was Sara, and she was only there because her doctor said her…

When I was in elementary school my parents told me it didn’t matter what I did when I grew up, so long as it made me happy.  “Happiness is the whole point of life”, my…

Made Him Happy I know a man who loves to knit.  Blankets, quilts, sweaters… he knits them all.  Knitting is his hobby, his love.  He could choose another hobby—something a bit more masculine, like restoring…