Happiness : How to Build a Family out of Love and Spare Parts

A page-turning, shirt-grabbing true story that follows a one-of-a-kind family required to make nearly unimaginable choices

Reese Witherspoon's Book Club Pick 2018An Amazon Best Memoir of the Month One of Elle Magazine's Best Books of 2017Goodreads Best of the MonthDaily Beast, “Books I Can’t Live Without”Good Housekeeping, Best New Books for Summer Book Riot, 100 Must Read Books about HappinessA page-turning, shirt-grabbing true story that follows a one-of-a-kind family required to make nearly unimaginable choicesHappiness starts out as a charming courtship between hopelessly attracted opposites: Heather, an out-going, theatre-performing California girl, and Brian, an intellectual New Yorker with an unwavering writing routine. But when Heather falls pregnant, their magical interlude abruptly ends—Brian loves her, only he doesn’t want kids. So Heather decides to have their baby alone. Mere hours after Gracie's arrival, Heather's bliss is interrupted when a nurse wakes her, 'Get dressed, your baby is in trouble.' This is not how Heather had imagined motherhood. As concerns for her health grow, Brian and Heather begin a cautious return to each other. Happiness transforms heartbreak and parental fears into a lyrical meditation on love and happiness, in all their crooked configurations.