The Importance of Being Miserable: A short history of human happiness, and why sometimes it's good to feel bad

by Eamon Evans

Humans just want to be happy, yes? After all, that’s what life’s all about.

Well ... no.

It turns out that, for a huge chunk of history, feeling good was the furthest thing from our minds. Expecting life to be fun and fulfilling (or, if all else fails, fine) is actually a very recent phenomenon. And there’s every reason to think that it’s making us sad.

A playful tour of Western ‘progress’, from ancient philosophers to modern-day pop stars via pills, priests, Proust and the plague, The Importance of Being Miserable explores how, why and when we all started to pursue happiness.

And why feeling bad may not actually be all that bad.

272 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 30, 2025

About the author

Eamon Evans is a Melbourne-based author who has spent all his working life writing for the online and print media. He has written four books: Small Talk, The Godfather Was A Girl, Lord Sandwich And The Pants Man and Grand Slams Of Tennis.

His work has appeared in the SUNDAY HERALD SUN, the ADELAIDE ADVERTISER, the AUSTRALIAN BOOK REVIEW, the SUNDAY TIMES and the COURIER-MAIL.

Online, he has been an in-house writer for Big Pond Sport, SBS, ArtsHub, the Weekly Book Newsletter and the electronic bulletin of the International Federation of Arts Council and Culture Agencies.