Hunting For Happiness: The Outdoorsman's guide to getting rid of buck fever, cowboying up and enjoying life.

by Zack Butterfield

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN BUCK FEVER HITS, BUT IT ISN'T EVEN HUNTING SEASON? Author Zack Butterfield knows all about that. After growing up in rural communities and learning to hunt with his family, he surprised everyone by becoming a therapist. But he isn't your average therapist with a tendency toward "new-age-speak." Instead, in Hunting for The Outdoorsman's Guide to Getting Rid of Buck Fever, Cowboying Up, and Enjoying Life, he provides straight talk about what to do when life leaves you feeling like a deer in the headlights. After all, we pay attention to our physical shape, but what about our mental shape? Most of us recognize a soldier's PTSD as a valid reason to see a therapist, but it's harder to see our own emotional and social combat zones. We know if we don't physically prepare for hunting season, that will make the hiking more difficult. Similarly, when we ignore our mental shape, peace is hard to come by. We're likely to have lots of arguments and difficulties at home or at work. We might lose people we love or get down on ourselves a lot of the time. At the very least, ignoring our mental shape robs us of peace and enjoyment. In Hunting for Happiness, Zack shows that there's nothing mystical or mythical about mental issues. It's all just nature. He sees the same issues in the natural world that he sees in people. With humor and comparisons to animal behavior, he writes about how our nervous system reacts when things don't go our way. When that happens, we have choices to make that can either help the situation or make it worse. Through personal and client stories and practical explanations of the science behind our behaviors, Zack gives real-world advice for handling all sorts of life problems from relationship struggles to chronic anger, to parenting the "cubs," to finding our "herd," to "cowboying up," and more. Hunting for Happiness is geared toward the outdoorsman or outdoorswoman who wants a no-nonsense guide to a happier, calmer life.

Kindle Edition

Published October 30, 2024

Reviews

[Zach Stanford · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most accessible and interesting books I’ve read on the topic of happiness and self-improvement. While targeted towards rural communities, its lessons and stories resonate universally. As someone who doesn’t hunt, I still found the animal-centered stories and analogies captivating, offering a fresh and powerful perspective on mental health. Butterfield illustrates how we, as humans, are animals ourselves—and how self-destructive behaviors emerge when we fail to recognize and address our primitive (and often buried) emotions.

The book’s structure is a standout: each chapter explores a mental health topic with a creative title (such as "Deer in the Headlights" or "Finding Your Herd"), ties it to an experience from the author’s life with animals, shares a real-life client story from his therapy sessions, and provides practical, science-based advice for the reader.

Overall, it is a quick and engaging read but packs a punch of insightful lessons. Highly recommended.

[Kim Odell · Rating 5 out of 5]

HIGHLY RECOMMEND! This book is a refreshing take on mental health. The combination of hunting metaphors, clinical stories, and evidence based strategies offers a comprehensive guide to better understanding yourself and navigating life’s challenges.

The hunting anecdotes from the authors life are not just about hunting in the literal sense-they serve as powerful metaphors for how we approach challenges, perseverance, and mental resilience. With fun sections like “Mad as a mule chewing on bumblebees”, or “Finding your herd”, this book brings fun to the concepts being taught combined with tips that can be immediately applied to improve your mental well-being.

This book is a must read for anyone interested in mental health. It’s a highly engaging and effective resource for anyone looking to improve their mental health and live a happier life.

[Darian Power · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an amazing book on mental health. I really enjoyed the way the author laid things out. Even though I’m not a hunter a lot of the analogies still made sense to me. This book has given me some great tools, resources and insight. I would highly recommend this to anyone trying to improve themselves and their relationship with others.

[Chicho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some books find you exactly when you need them. Hunting for Happiness arrived at the perfect time, speaking directly to my journey. I may not have grown up hunting, but this book is helping me track something even more meaningful: healing, connection, and true happiness.

One of the most eye-opening moments for me was realizing how past trauma wires our brains to react in ways we don’t even notice—whether that’s fighting, running away, shutting down, or people-pleasing. Reading about the flight response in Chapter 4 made something click—I had been running my entire life. Not just from problems, but from what I wanted most: connection with my family.

This new perspective transformed how I see myself. It helped me understand why I’ve struggled with focus, relationships, and personal growth; and more importantly, what I can do about it.

Each chapter holds valuable nuggets of wisdom and practical advice. I loved the clarity, humor, stories, and relationship insights—and even learning some redneck! I’d love to see this book translated into Spanish.

[Brian Kuecker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written book that gives an insightful perspective on the challenges of mental health. I would highly recommend this book to both people who don’t hunt and those that do!