The Saints' Guide to Happiness: Practical Lessons in the Life of the Spirit

“What is happiness and how can I find it?” may be one of the most frequently asked questions there is. Perhaps that’s because it is so hard to experience lasting happiness.

In The Saints’ Guide to Happiness, Robert Ellsberg suggests that some of the best people to show us are holy men and women throughout history—from St. Augustine to Flannery O’Connor, Thomas Merton to St. Theresa of Avila and Mother Theresa.

These people weren’t saints because of the way they died or their visions or wondrous deeds. They were saints because of their extraordinary capacity for goodness and love, which—in the end—makes us happy.

Robert Ellsberg, a native of Los Angeles, became a Catholic in 1980 while a member of the Catholic Worker community in lower Manhattan. After studying theology at Harvard Divinity School he became Editor in Chief of Orbis Books, the publishing arm of Maryknoll. Married with three children, he lives in Ossining, New York. His other books include All Saints and Blessed Among All Women.