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In a world where the definition of happiness has become elusive, Khiabani’s workbook provides an ideal opportunity for readers to take a step back from their tumultuous lives and examine what makes them happy. As a self-help piece, this text is a guide map to rediscovering the smaller moments.
While purchasing that million-dollar home or the fancy car delivers its own sense of happiness, Khiabani breaks down her personal experiences to rekindle her most joyous moments. From the memory of her daughter first learning to walk to the freeing sensation of building snow angels, there is a whimsical quality to her work that has acted as a defense mechanism for her poignant loss of her husband.
Although many workbooks are filled with exercises for the reader to complete, this is one where the author accompanies readers through the entirety of their experiences as they attempt to channel their pain into a renewed feeling of hope. To that end, the engaging pictures of nature—including flowers, trees, and waterfalls—add an aura of serenity that gives this work more of a meditative feel. In each box, Khiabani not only writes down her joys—like the anticipation of a first kiss—but also expresses her fears and insecurities, such as the universal fear that there may not be enough time. At its core, Khiabani’s workbook provides meaningful opportunities for her audience to search within themselves for those happy moments that can cast away the inevitable grief and sorrows of this material world.