Happiness for Beginners

A Novel

By: Katherine Center

Narrated by: Marguerite Gavin

As seen on Netflix—from the New York Times bestselling author of The Bodyguard and Hello Stranger

Helen Carpenter can’t quite seem to bounce back. Newly divorced at thirty-two, her life has fallen apart beyond her ability to put it together again. So when her annoying younger brother, Duncan, convinces her to sign up for a hardcore wilderness survival course in the backwoods of Wyoming—she hopes it’ll be exactly what she needs.

Instead, it’s a disaster. It’s nothing like she wants, or expects, or anticipates. She doesn’t anticipate the surprise summer blizzard, for example—or the blisters, or the rutting elk, or the mean pack of sorority girls. And she especially doesn’t anticipate that her annoying brother’s even-more-annoying best friend, Jake, will show up for the exact same course—and distract her, derail her, and . . . kiss her.

But it turns out sometimes disaster can teach you exactly the things you need to learn. Like how to keep going, even when you think you can’t. How being scared can make you brave. And how sometimes getting really, really lost is your only hope of getting found.

Happiness for Beginners is Katherine Center at her most heart-warming, captivating best—a nourishing, thrilling, up-all-night listen about how to get back up. It’s a story that looks at how our struggles lead us to our strengths. How love is always worth it. And how the more good things we look for, the more we find.

©2015 Katherine Center (P)2023 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Center has written a wonderful story, a fast-paced read with sharp, perfectly written dialogue. Her newest does exactly what we want a good novel to do, introduce us to characters who engage us and take us on a journey.”—Booklist

“If you're anything like us, you'll read this book in one sitting.”—InStyle

“Katherine Center has a true gift for creating a story arc that includes personal evolution, romance, challenges, disappointments, and joy in a way that avoids cliché and creates enough ebbing tension and resolution that the reader is left hungering for more.”—Boston Mamas

Funny, sweet, and way better than the movie

I listened to this book before watching the Netflix movie and I’m so glad I did. The book was, way better. The writing and narration were excellent and I loved the character development, the characters were complex and colorful. And I laughed out loud so many times. Can’t wait to read more from this author!

Cute and easy listen

This book was a breeze to listen to. The performer did an excellent job. The book was cute, fun, and lighthearted.

Unusual plot.

I liked that it was quite unpredictable. The writing was good- painted the scenes and scenery well without using too much paint and the characters were real. The reader did a great job with the voices. The setting was out on a nature adventure rather than in an urban neighborhood and the action was believable. I found it a very satisfactory use of my time.

Better than I thought

Found out about this book because of Netflix, and the book is way better than the movie, in my opinion. It got off to a rocky start because of narration, but it grew on me. Definitely a book I'll listen to more than once!

love this book

watched the movie and then found out about the book. love them both. easy to listen to. made me really happy.