Reviews of THE HAPPINESS SOLUTION
Finding Joy and Meaning in an Upside Down World

I interviewed Dr. Gettis for an article I wrote on his book, which is a compilation of short stories, each with its own message. His book taught me how it's so important to slow down and be grateful for everything around you, even if it's something as small as your car starting or waking up healthy and without a headache.

Before, I used to rush through tasks like washing dishes or pumping gas, thinking of them as moments that were mundane and not part of my "real" life. But reading the book taught me to appreciate every moment, even if I'm doing something simple or "boring." I love this quote he gave me: "Every day, there are a million things that go right."

I highly recommend this book to anyone who feels bored or unsatisfied in life, or is just stuck in a rut.


A Great addition to your "Best Books" collection.......
By Sofia Steryo-Bartmus, Author, "Paws of Wisdom"- Valuable Lessons We
Can Learn From Our Pets

Stories are the best way to make a point and Dr. Gettis does that so well. Everyone will find a story which they can relate to. Therefore, through a collection of easy and simple advice you can use, this book will take you to the next level of happiness regardless of where you are now. Each story will add value to your life through perspectives you may not have thought about before. It is a book you can read over and over. Read a chapter or two at a time as a daily devotion and then apply what you learned.

We all have challenges in life, but it is how we perceive them that will make us happy or unhappy. There are too many illustrations to mention here, but I liked the question asked in one of the chapters: How can I be happier? And the answer? Consider the Chinese Parable: If you want
happiness for a year, inherit a fortune, if you want happiness for a lifetime, help others...What a great advice!

Not only did I enjoy the book very much, I also learned a lot about myself. I recommend it to everyone, young and old, happy or unhappy. There is no one who would not benefit from at least one new idea for more happiness in this Upside down World!


Put The Happiness Solution in all schools and colleges!
By David Ambrose "Author: 'Your Life Manual: Practical Steps to Genuine Happiness (Calgary, AB, Canada)

I expected to enjoy this book, however I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. Following the example of Alan Gettis' previous book, "Seven Times Down, Eight Times Up," one of the truly worthwhile things about "The Happiness Solution," is that by using fairly short stories to illustrate and teach the lessons that are important in achieving "genuine happiness," the author is able to cover a wide range of happiness related subjects and philosophies in these 200-odd pages. And he does it very well.

The stories are cleverly told. In a Zen-like way, the messages are often subtle, worthy of reflection and thought, softly guiding the reader into a deeper understanding of the meaning of real happiness. These stories are profound without seeming to be so.

I grew up in Africa, where the history and the fabric of each tribe was passed down from generation to generation, verbally, through stories. I remember when first hearing some of the stories, they just seemed to be great human stories. Little did I know that they were teaching those who heard them and retold them how to live life. Alan Gettis' stories have the same feel.

From teenagers to baby boomers, in this upside down world, "The Happiness Solution" offers entertainment coupled with gently delivered, easily absorbed wisdom. I would like to see it as required reading in schools and colleges. It is that meaningful!


Insightful and entertaining
By Douglas Setter "D Setter" (Chilliwack, B.C. Canada)

I took my time reading The Happiness Solution. Savored it like a fine meal. It is one of those books that you can open at any page and find something useful enough to ponder or just stop complaining and get on with your day. I recommend it for anyone's library just for the stories alone.

--Doug Setter, Bachelor of Human Ecology,
Author of One Less Victim and Stomach Flattening


The Pursuit of Happiness
By Allen E. Klein "Author of The Healing Power of Humor"

When I was writing my first book, The Healing Power of Humor, my editor would insist I include one or more stories to illustrate every point I was making. Yet, no matter how many stories I would send him, he always wanted more. I was really annoyed with him but after the book was published, I understood how much more powerful the book is because of those stories.

Stories are memorable. Stories are moving. Stories speak to the heart.

Readers of The Happiness Solution will have no trouble finding delightful and insightful stories here, stories that not only entertain but educate. Stories that give the reader hope, and hopefully lead to happiness.

If it is happiness you are seeking (and who isn't?) this insightful book can help you be one step closer to it. Read this book. You will be happy you did.


The Happiness Solution
By Yvonne Phillips FSII (Pittsburgh, PA)

The Happiness Solution is exactly what the name says! If you are a person who always sees the glass "half full", then it is more fire to add to your personal happiness.

If you are the opposite, Dr. Gettis will help you to see there is another way and perhaps you need to read and take in all of these great stories and add them to your life's journey. I would highly recommend this book to those who are on the search for "Happiness."


Happiness, From Illusion to Reality
By Richard R. Blake (San Leandro, CA)

Alan Gettis is a first-rate story teller. He has the conviction that healing and happiness come from stories, parables and anecdotes. "The Happiness Solution" is an amazing book. Alan's 100 brief stories are filled humor, counsel, and inspiration. He has awakened in me a new ability to experience joy, happiness, and peace of mind.

Gettis offers profound lessons and invaluable insight into creating a life of fulfillment through these short vignettes. Each story draws a lesson from parables from life experiences, cognitive behavioral psychology, Zen wisdom, or Eastern philosophy. He brilliantly weaves together unique stories calculated to lead the reader to savor authentic happiness.

The book is more than a self-help guide. Gettis encourages the reader to take responsibility for their own feelings, passions, and behavior so that they might embark on a new adventure in living. I, personally, found the chapter "Keep it Simple" of great benefit. Another favorite chapter was "A Matter of Perspective."

Alan is a gifted communicator and uses this gift to redirect the reader from facing life's struggles to accepting them as open doors to a life of lasting fulfillment. This a book you will want to read, read again, and then again.


A self-help guide that blends cognitive behavioral therapy and Zen wisdom
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)

"The Happiness Solution: Finding Joy and Meaning in an Upside Down World" is a self-help guide by clinical psychologist Dr. Alan Gettis is a self-help guide that blends cognitive behavioral therapy and Zen wisdom. Structured in the format of very short vignettes, each with a lesson, "The Happiness Solution" encourages the reader to take control of his or her emotions for an improved quality of life. From giving oneself permission to be happy now, rather than wait for self- imposed conditions to trigger happiness ("I'll be happy when I'm married," or "I'll be happy when I get promoted"), to the importance of learning to lighten up and enjoy the gift of humor, "The Happiness Solution" offers valuable insight in the amusing form of parables. One insightful story tells of two shoe salesmen sent to a Pacific island; one writes his boss saying "Coming home tomorrow. No one here has shoes." and the other writes "I'll be here for a long time. No one here has shoes!" Helpful, amusing, and steeped in insight, "The Happiness Solution" is highly enjoyable simply to browse through even for readers who are already content with their lives.


This book should be absorbed like a cup of tea book, not Gatorade.
By Heather H. Ramsey "Author and Cyclist" (Charlottesville, VA)

Dr. Gettis has succeeded in writing the type of book that you not only should savor, but you want to savor the words on each page. This book should be read like a cup of tea book, not Gatorade. My prescription for reading it is to read two chapters a night, put the book under your pillow if you want to, and let the stories and vignettes seep in slowly. My personal favorite chapters are "Coffee, Anyone?" and "A Tale of Two Vases," but each chapter offers a different view of happiness through stories, legends, and quotes; ultimately the reader begins to figure out that there are more ways to create happiness than they may have originally thought. - Heather Ramsey, Editor "See 'Ville Run: A Collection of Running Tales" and "My Training Starts Tomorrow."


Oprah should read this one!
By Stephen Allie (White Bluff, Texas)

Dr. Gettis has written another profound (and easy) read. Anyone who has ever felt lost, alone, discouraged or sad, will find valuable insights into life's quandries. Through stories and histories, Dr. Gettis shows the reader how they can take responsibility for their thoughts, feelings and behavior. This is a good book for the professional and the lay, and Oprah should put this book on her list!


Better than Welbutrin
By Samuel Menahem "Sam Menahem, Ph.D. Marxist (G... (Fort Lee,, New Jersey USA)

Dr. Alan Gettis is a masterful story teller. In this remarkable book he succeeds in weaving together a series of stories designed to gently lead his readers to happiness. many of the stories are funny. all the stories are designed to uplift the consciousness of his readers. He has an excellent way of suggesting a shift in values from competition and strain to peace and kindness. Yest, the reader doesn't feel bullied into being happy. Rather, he or she leaves with ideas about how to just be happier. I cannot think of a better book on this topic.


My Favorite Uncle
By Carl Bachmann (New Jersey)

Reading this book is like going to visit my favorite uncle when I was a kid. The family would sit around the kitchen table and listen to my uncle's stories, jokes and pearls of wisdom. No matter how bad I might have felt when we left to go to his house i always felt uplifted on the way home.

Dr. Gettis has a way of taking some of the most profound philosophical and religious ideas and making them practical and usable in our daily lives. No pie in the sky here.


I LOVE THIS BOOK!
By Dr. Joe (New Jersey, USA)

The Happiness Solution by Dr. Alan Gettis isn't the type of book you buy, read a few pages and wind up saying, "Oh well." This is a profound and powerful book that you will want to read from cover to cover. You will put it on your shelf and reread it in a month, or reluctantly, you may loan it to a friend with the stipulation that you must have it back!

I'm a confessed devotee of Dr. Gettis's unique healing philosophy and wit. His first book, Seven Times Down, Eight Time Up, has served me and my patients for years. I'm a psychologist who works with anxiety and depression; people who long for solace and happiness in their lives. At some point, every one of my patient gets introduced to Dr. Gettis's writing. I do this because Dr. Gettis looks at life differently. His gift is to be able to distill the essence of why we struggle and then, using parables, anecdotes, and humor (that I guarantee will have you laughing out loud), offers the reader an honest-to-goodness solution. There's only one word to describe this book, "intoxicating!" It is truly a reading `high,' that will change you, buoy you up, and get you to believe that happiness isn't something that happens to someone else-it's something that you generate!