The Happiness Secret: Finding True Contentment by John, J. (2011) Paperback

by J. John

It's something we all want. But what is happiness, and where can we find it? In this thoughtful and uplifting book, inspirational speaker J. John takes a look at the most famous teachings of Jesus - the Beatitudes - to find clues to embracing a life of joy and fulfilment. He unpacks each of Jesus' great sayings, placing them in their first-century context and also revealing how they are applicable in our lives today. Ultimately, he suggests that if we seek happiness directly we may never find it; but if instead we seek a life of fulfilment we will find true and lasting happiness as a result. Accessible and down to earth, THE HAPPINESS SECRET is both a practical guide to attaining fulfilment and meaning in life as well as the perfect inspirational read.

Genres: Christian

Paperback

First published June 25, 2009

About the author

J.John, a Greek-Cypriot by birth. He is married to Killy and they have 3 sons, Michael, Simeon and Benjamin. He became a Christian in 1975 and has been described as refreshing, humorous, passionate, earthy, accessible and dynamic.

Reviews

[Peter Warren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good and easy to read book on the 8 beautides in the Bible - interesting for anyone who wants to know a bit more about them, what they meant and how we can take them on in our own lives.

I am trying to just this as an opportunity to burn these Bible by verses into my own head as I am shockingly poor at that sort of thing!

[Derek Winterburn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a straight forward exploration of the Beatitudes. It's strength is that J John is very good at down to earth examples of the challenges of living according to Jesus's teaching, and knows where it can be difficult. The chapters, each one given over to a beatitude, are not the same length and reflect the author's interests. However one of the shortest (on being meek) was for me the best. In other places the thinking is more run of the mill, (or in the case of the 'Be Righteous' chapter heading off in the wrong direction.)