When I was in college, I took an Anthropology course. The professor spoke about how different cultures have words for the things that they need; an example of this was the many words for snow that those who lived in very Northern climates traditionally had and the number of words for cars in the U.S. I thought about this as I began to read through The Happiness Passport. The connections between words and culture are every where in this lovely book.

The Happiness Passport is organized into sections. They include chapters on the following:

Home and Environment

Community and Relationships

Joy and Spirituality

Balance and Calm

As I began to read, I was bookmarking and underlining so I could share with you. I was starting to have no un-bookmarked pages so that had to stop! Instead I will say that many countries and cultures are represented in the book. Some terms will be familiar to you like "hygge." Others you will not have heard of. I can tell you that each word and write up will make you think about your life and what you value.

This book is enhanced by what I found to be very calm and lovely muted color illustrations. I recommend that you take a look at this one. It is a perfect antidote to the frenetic holiday season.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto for this one. (less)

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