Glimpses of Reality: Untangling Myths and Finding Real Happiness

by Karla Baker

In her first collection of short stories, Karla Baker gives us a delightfully smart and thought-provoking look into the residual effects of striving to live the "good life." Through a series of engagingly personal vignettes, Glimpses of Reality illuminates some of the conventional views about happiness. The stories are populated with topics ranging from pursuing wealth to having children, from weight obsessions to face lifts, from marital bliss to sexual fantasies. The book shows the high expectations, anxiety, and ultimate disillusionment that occur when men and women are caught in a web of delusions and their best attempts to achieve "happiness" and fulfillment prove insufficient. With splendid clarity, wit, and compassion, Glimpses of Reality prompts readers to look at themselves and their culture, and to see both with new eyes. Kay Carrington's lucid musings will surely spark debates and discussions long after the book has been read. If you've ever searched for love, wealth, success, and the good life, Glimpses of Reality reveals that it is not always found by following the conventional scripts. This book may make you rethink some of your basic beliefs about success, love, conformity, and beauty.

230 pages, Paperback

First published February 26, 2007