Showing results for "My Happy Life" in Literature & Fiction

At the opening of My Happy Life, the unnamed narrator of this bittersweet fictional memoir has been abandoned in a locked room of a defunct hospital for the mentally ill. She hasn't seen the nice man who brings her food in days; she's eaten the soap and the toothpaste; she tried to eat the plaster on her walls, a dietary adventure that ended none too well. And yet, curiously, the narrator is happy. Despite a lifetime of neglect, physical abuse, and loss, she's incapable of perceiving slight or injury.

This story is about Katie Rose Farrier, who lives a perfect life with her husband and three children. Then she discovers she is dying from Cancer. Katie spends what time she has left searching for someone to replace her after she has gone. She finds Lauren, who lives in the same village, and a relationship develops, although they never meet. The story is about their lives and how they eventually morph into one new life for the families.

Claire Peters should be on top of the world. She owns the radio waves and has a budding movie career. But her heart longs to be rooted. Ten years ago, she fled Martha's Vineyard to pursue her dream and to make something of herself. But there's still a void. After a decade of running, she returns to the island hoping to find her happiness with the man she's loved all her life. When a tragic event shatters Dr. Forrest Desvareaux' well-balanced world, he discovers everything in his life is based on lies.

There are wounds that never show on the body. For 29 years, Colbie Bennington does as expected with an eternal smile stained on her lips. The biggest chances she's ever taken can be counted on one hand, three fingers to be exact - her battered red chucks, painting her toenails a vibrant blue, and her wedding dress. Always the dutiful daughter and a Stepford fiancée, she has never acted on impulse, never been in love. She's never lived. On her wedding day, Colbie ends a toxic relationship, drops the fake smile, and says, "I can't do this anymore."