Paul Dolan - Books

Happy Ever After A Radical New Approach to Living Well.jpg — Happy Ever After: A Radical New Approach to Living Well

In his latest book, Paul draws on a variety of studies covering issues such as wellbeing, inequality and discrimination to bust the common myths about our sources of happiness. He shows that there can be many unexpected paths to lasting fulfilment. Some of these might involve not going into higher education, choosing not to marry, rewarding acts rooted in self-interest and caring a little less about living for ever.

By freeing ourselves from the myth of the perfect life, we might each find a life worth living.

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Happiness by Design Finding Pleasure and Purpose in Everyday Life.jpg — Happiness By Design: Finding Pleasure and Purpose in Everyday Life

How can we make it easier to be happy?
In his first book, Paul reveals that wellbeing isn't about how we think - it's about what we do. By making deliberate choices that bring us both pleasure and meaning, we can redesign our lives for maximum happiness - without thinking too hard about it.

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“Passionate, provocative. . . a manifesto for a better society.”

The Times
“The book that will make you quit your job.”

New Statesman
“A timely warning that we need to question standard assumptions about what is good for individuals and society. Dolan makes a compelling case for putting people's own perceptions of their wellbeing at the heart of policy making.”

Lord Gus O’Donnell, former Cabinet Secretary
“A very useful antidote to the pressures of modern living. Very few books change the way you think about yourself, but this is one of them. I would particularly recommend it to young adults with all these life choices ahead of them.”

Tablet
“Dolan's book is aimed at the lay reader who wants to be more cheerful without recourse to airy-fairy notions of spirituality or philosophy.”

Rowan Pelling, The Telegraph
“[Dolan's] discoveries at once confound your expectations and provide an appreciable way of acting on that knowledge”

Richard Godwin, Evening Standard
“Dolan is especially illuminating when it comes to bigger life-choices . . . Dolan makes a persuasive case that happiness might really be simple. His book is a powerful reminder not to get caught up in overthinking things, but to focus instead on maximising what actually delivers joy . . . and most of us would benefit from listening to him.”

Oliver Burkeman, The Guardian
“Dolan gives a comprehensive overview of the science of happiness and useful tips to achieve it. In his quest to explain what makes us happy, Dolan touches on a powerful idea: happiness need not be pursued, simply rediscovered. In other words, sources of pleasure and purpose are all around us, if only one knows where to look.”

Scientific American