We're All Going to Die: Practical happiness for the time you have left

by Ben Pronk

'You, me and everyone else who has ever lived, or will ever live, is going to die.'

The Stoics knew that tempus fugit ('time flies'). Rather than see this as a bummer, however, they knew that our ever-ticking personal doomsday clocks were actually a brilliant reminder to embrace every second of our lives.

Never forget that you are going to die, and make the most of the short time you have left.

In his insightful, warm and witty book, Ben Pronk reveals the philosophy, science and secrets of true happiness. From exploring the wisdom of Stoicism, Hedonism and other schools of philosophy, to unpacking the details of neuroscience and psychology - all the while throwing in a healthy dose of tough love - Pronk offers enlightenment on what happiness is, how it works and how you can get more of it.

Let's make you happy. There's no time to waste.

'We may well be going to die, but this is a bloody good manual to live well before it happens! I love Ben's ability to distill centuries of wisdom into a book you can read in much less time than that.' - HAMISH BLAKE

Audible Audio

First published June 30, 2026

Reviews

[Eva Cargill]

this was a good read, nothing revolutionary or life changing for me personally though. i liked reading about the ancient philosophers and their takes on the world and happiness. i think this book is a good reminder though to look for happiness at every opportunity and to find the beauty in everyday situations. my main take away is that our time here in fleeting so just strive to be happy! 3 stars 🌟 🌟🌟 from me!

[patrick]

This book focusses on of the Ancient Greek philosophers’ approach to happiness and then blends in neurotransmitters and modern day science, with a touch of the author’s wisdom and plenty of his unique and engaging voice.

But it didn’t do it for me. I feel like these topics have already been covered before and often. Maybe a good read if you’re new to the positive psychology and psychology of happiness genre. I’m not, so it didn’t work for me.

[James]

A wonderfully written and insightful synthesis of some of the best ideas from philosophy, neuroscience and psychology.

I picked up this book with some level of hesitation: the “here’s how to use ancient wisdom to solve modern problems” sub-genre is a pretty saturated field of late. Thankfully, Ben’s engaging writing style, the specific ‘recipe’ of source material he synthesises from and his unique perspective set this apart from from the rest of the field. If you are experiencing a similar hesitation, I assure you this is not just another shameless Ryan Holiday imitation cashing in on the resurgence of Stoicism - this book is well worth the read.

[Simon Hepple]

Neat book written as a basic understanding to Buddhism, Happiness, Stocisim and general well being.

I enjoyed hearing the humour coming through in the way the author wrote this book and although it was likely a little too basic for me, I found many of the examples very relatable.

[Reader]

The first time I’ve ever DNF! I found it boring.

[John Carey]

Well written but I respectfully didnt find it added anything that was thought provoking: more felt like a summary of existing works.