Happiness for Beginners

Thoughts: What can I say? I’m a huge fan. This book has all the familiar notes of a Katherine Center book, masterfully arranged into a new beautiful, feel-good song. The kind of song I want to sing along to at the top of my lungs while driving cross-country so I can go on a 3-week backcountry hike.😆 Okay, so that’s part of the story…

Thirty-two year old Helen (“…with an ‘H’!”) has just gone through a divorce, and she decides she needs to change her sad life. So, her younger brother suggests a 3-week backcountry hike. She and her brother have a bit of a strained relationship, but the idea is exactly what she needs—something bold, something to make her feel like a badass! Little does she know though, her brother’s best friend, Jake, has signed up for the same trip. Uhh, why?!?! He’s so annoying!!! And, he’s like 10 years younger than her! Oh, and not to mention all the twenty-something frat and sorority students also signed up for the trip. This is not the trip she signed up for… but is it exactly what she needs?

I love the tenderness of this story. I love the feeling of nostalgia I had reading. It made me reflect on my own epic adventures in life and the unlikely friendships I made in unlikely circumstances.

At the heart, this story is about family and healing, with threads of love to bind it all together.

Can’t wait to read The Rom-Comers and, of course, this Coastie officer can’t wait to read the Coast Guard book Katherine Center is currently working on!

Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center 5 stars!!

“Do not be a Helen.”

This book! This book! I loved it with a passion, sometimes you start a book and you know you are going to love it, you fall in love with the characters, the authors voice and you just know that you are going to read something spectacular, well that is how I felt reading Happiness for Beginners.

“Happiness is more about appreciation than acquisition.”

Yes, this is a love story, but if it is hot sex you are after, this is not the book…this book is so much more! This book is a journey, a journey of self-discovery for Helen and a bucket list item for Jake. But it is the underlying chemistry and the epic build up between the two main characters that make this an addictive and unputdownable read.

“But the things we remember are what we hold on to, and what we hold on to becomes the story of our lives. We only get one story. And I am determined to make mine a good one.”

As I said above, I love this authors voice, fantastic dialogue, humour and wit prevalent throughout and an amazing talent for scene setting with vivid descriptions and imagery. While reading I personally felt I was there with them, standing on the periphery looking in. I lived and breathed this book, I stood side by side with Helen, I was a “holdup.” I walked every mile with these characters and loved it.

“No lattes, no takeout food, we’ve only got this heavy dude. My boots hurt, my blister’s sore, I just can’t take it anymore. My pits stink, this trail is steep, why can’t the Rangers bring a Jeep.” (sing to the marching song lol)

Helen is a thirty-two-year-old divorcee that has hit an all-time low, her confidence has been battered and she needs to find herself before she loses her identity completely. Helen is well known for her clumsiness and hair brained ideas, so when she decides to go on a three-week survival course, her brother worries and decides she needs a chaperone else he would be bringing her home in a box. Helen’s brother, Duncan is twenty-two and so is his best friend and flat mate, Jake who has been a friend of the family for years and has had a crush on Helen for as long as he can remember. Therefore, it is no surprise that Jake volunteers as said chaperone and sees this as his final chance to make his feelings known while also crossing another thing off his bucket list. This had all the trappings for an entertaining story and Katherine Center delivered this with a flourish, totally unforgettable.

• Find a deeper spiritual connection to nature. • Push myself beyond my physical and emotional limitations. • Rise up from my own ashes like a phoenix. • Toughen the hell up. • Become awesome. • Kick the wilderness’s ass. • Earn a damned certificate. (I really, really wanted a Certificate.)

The three-week survival course is a real test of Helen’s mettle and she takes a lot of knock downs before she finds her feet. She becomes the butt of the jokes, gets landed with a plethora of nick names, none of which were complimentary but she stood tall, with her chin up and her head held high. With fantastic side characters that will have you laughing out loud, this survival course was really brought to life. It didn’t help that Helen was ten years older than most of them, it didn’t help that Helen and Jake had almost kissed, it didn’t help that Helen told him in no uncertain terms that he was dead to her and to never acknowledge they knew each other…but Jake was biding his time. He has his reasons, he just needed the right time to explain.

“I had finally come to understand that not getting what you want is actually the trick to it all. Because not getting what you want forces you to appreciate what you already have.”

This book was real; it was real life with seemingly real life people so it made for a relatable read. While I personally would never entertain the idea of becoming a female Bear Grylls I could see Helen’s reasoning and she really needed that boost to her self-esteem and morale. Helen does find her inner strength but does she find love?

“Why did you think I gaped at you with my mouth open all the time? “I guess I just thought you were a mouth-breather.” “No,” he said. “Crush paralysis.”

I loved Jake, he was a fantastic character that had his own mountains to climb but never let it show. He loved Helen with his whole heart, always had, but never before had he stood a chance. He knew that she would be a tough nut to crack but he was happy to wield the sledgehammer to break through. He has a battle on his hands and with the camp rife with rumours of his and another camp mates love life he has his work cut out, but our Jake has perseverance and he needs every ounce of it.

“Sorry, what happens on the roof stays on the roof.”

This was a fantastic read and one that will be on my favourites shelf and a definite re-read. I highlighted so many lines and paragraphs, I laughed, I cried, but most of all, I loved. I loved this book, loved these characters and now I love this author. I will definitely be checking out her back list and future releases.

“You are my problem. It’s not a dopamine addiction, it’s a Helen addiction. And I cannot seem to kick it.”

Reading a Katherine Center story is better than a trip to the spa or a double dose of the latest ‘feel good’ vitamin. Whenever the doldrums hit, I order a KC book. Happiness for Beginners is entertaining and uplifting, with a perfect mix of women’s drama and romance.

The dialogue is quick and the characters are real and flawed, but even their weaknesses are endearing. With all of Katherine’s book, there are truths, life lessons, written in prose so beautiful that the reader has to stop to read them again. Main character Helen grows into a strong and independent woman. I loved every character, even Wendy, who is a real-life Barbie doll, but she’s the one who brings the best lines, “Getting what you want doesn’t make you happy” and “The things you think about determine the things you think about.” Now stop and think about THAT!

This book is full of hope. It's about taking care of family, of starting over, about second chances, of forging your own way at your own pace, and about falling in love when one least expects it. There is redemption for everyone, including Mama. Don’t dare skip the epilogue. Happiness for Beginners is a 5-star delight.

Something to be desired at the end. I can see how this may not be a series because this was for "beginners." However, I could see this adding to the story of Helen's life past her beginning to happiness. Helen's life had been challenging with a critical loss in her life, her parents relationship being what it was, and then her marriage to someone who was only invested in himself. During Helen's journey at her outdoor getaway, she learns who she is now, what she's capable of, and that she can lean into love again. This story was sweet and the little self identifying journey I needed to read. As a therapist I'm always preaching for people to do self check-ins every 3 months to see what their current likes and dislikes are as well as identifying who they are overall. So, the little journeys we take such as Helen's outdoor adventure are essentials to caring for ourselves, seeing the changes in ourselves, and learning to do or see new things in and of ourselves.

This is one rare instance when the movie was a lot better than the actual book. I saw this on Netflix. I love stories about thru hiking and it was such a cute , feel good story that I ordered it on Kindle and started reading that very night. I wish the author had centered the story on the hike. I loved the experience Helen had during it, loved her personal growth, loved the characters. I even took something major away from the book-at the end of the day, I try to think of three good things that happened that day. As I was finishing up the hiking portion of the book, this was well on its way to being a five star, excellent, highly recommended book. Then the latter 25 percent happened. Spoilers The depiction of the romance between Jake and Helen was nothing short of ridiculous. The Nextflix movie downplayed it and made it cuter-they basically had crushes on each other and wouldn't admit it, then they got together, predictably, at the end. The book handled it differently. The two of them were involved in this toxic mess of a push pull courtship, which never happens in real life, and has all been eliminated in the me too era, thankfully, because it does a disservice to both sexes. When someone, be it a man or woman, rejects you, that is it. People do not reject people they like, except in books and movies to create suspense. This book has Helen pining and yearning after Jake but rejecting him whenever he made a move for some insane unclear reason that made me want to choke her. She would pine and yearn. She would get jealous and resentful of him cozying up to other hikers. He would put a move on her. She would reject him. Then pine and yearn and wonder if he's in a relationship with one of the other hikers and feel jealous some more. It was tremendously irritating. Then, we had a long, drawn out resolution to this mess. The book should have ended shortly after the hiking trip. Instead, she goes to her childhood home where she lived with her grandmother because she has to attend the Bar Mitzvah of a child who resulted from her teenage boyfriend cheating on with her best friend, and they are now married. She was invited to this event for some insane wacky reason not clear because she hasn't spoken to them in fifteen years and never met the kid but feels she absolutely MUST go because God forbid these two people that horribly betrayed her think she wasn't over it fifteen years later. While she is at the Bar Mitzvah, her grandmother shows up. Turns out she was also invited and kept it a secret for a reason that is not clear. And the reason she was invited was she kept up a close friendship with the two betrayers behind her granddaughter's back, attending their wedding and all their events because "they were nice kids." Yeah, nice kids cheat and betray your granddaughter, you should totally cultivate a relationship with them for years behind her back. And she's brought Jake as her plus one! Isn't that amazing! Turns out, Jake has liked Helen for many many years and basically used loads and loads of women, the latest of whom was the lovely hiker Helen was secretly jealous of on the trip. But don't blame Jake-that lovable oaf had no idea he was supposed to be in a relationship with this lovely woman, despite the fact that he always hiked with her, slept with her side by side in the tent, held hands with her, made out with her, and partnered up with her every time they needed a partner. Yes, he totally just led her on to make Helen jealous, but it's no big deal, he's apparently done this for many years, even when Helen was married. PSA-if someone rejects you, forget it. It's not happening. If they change their mind, then they need to let you know or it will be their loss. Move on. In books, the man or woman alway successfully convinces their target's mind and they end up living happily ever after. In real life, the man or woman ends up in a cell or on Dateline. PSA#2-if anyone, man or woman, has a past history of leading people on and using people, they were ultimately do it to you too, because that's what they do. It has to do with the person they are, not who YOU are. These stories always depict these "special" women like Helen being picked and them riding off together in the sunset, but once again, IRL the relationship lasts three months until the bloom wears off and he's already pursuing someone else that is playing hard to get before the break up even happens. I am so glad this trope in books has died. Anyway, my advice is to stick to the movie, or read the first 75% of the book and forget the rest because it will make you roll your eyes and gnash your teeth.