My Thoughts on The Secret to Happiness by Suzanne Woods Fisher

 

About:

Escape to Cape Cod--where you just might find the secret to happiness

Callie Dixon had the world by the tail . . . until it all slipped away. Fired from her dream job after making a colossal mistake, she's escaped to her aunt's home on Cape Cod for time to bounce back. Except it isn't a home, it's an ice cream shop. And time isn't going to help, because Callie's bounce has up and left. There's a reason she made that mistake at work, and she's struggling to come to terms with it.

Things go from bad to worse when Callie's cousin Dawn drags her to a community class about the secret to happiness. Happiness is the last thing Callie wants to think about right now, but instructor Bruno Bianco--a curiously gloomy fellow--is relentless. He has a way of turning Callie's thoughts upside down. Her feelings, too.

Bruno insists that hitting rock bottom is the very best place to be. But if that's true, how is it supposed to help her figure out what--or who--has been missing from her life all along?

My Thoughts:

Visiting Cape Cod in the winter, I am not sure too many people would. But as a reader it was nice to come back to the Cape Cod Creamery and meet up again with the beloved characters of Dawn and her mom Marnie and the guys, Kevin and Lincoln and even six year old Leo. However, this story adds another voice, that is Dawn's cousin Callie.

Ever exuberant Callie has been hit with too many crippling life circumstances at once. Happening to run into her Aunt Marnie at an ice cream school, she asks if she can stay with her and Dawn. After exhausting all other possibilities, Marnie agrees. Marnie is a sweet and caring woman, but the past competitiveness of Dawn and Callie and their fathers was a bit too much to handle at times.

Well, time marches on and times have changed and Callie needs healing. She is dealing with much more than what has made the news. I found this novel eye opening in the way that we don't really know what someone is going through. The best that we can do is be there for them, pray, and hope with them.

And the secret to happiness? That was a very simple recipe, per say, for all of us to take to heart and enact in our lives. What is it? Well, read this book, no spoiler here.

I was provided with a copy of this novel from the publisher. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.

About the Author:

Suzanne Woods Fisher is the award-winning, bestselling author of more than 30 books, including The Moonlight School, Anything but Plain, The Sweet Life, and The Secret to Happiness, as well as the Three Sisters Island, Nantucket Legacy, Amish Beginnings, The Bishop's Family, The Deacon's Family, and The Inn at Eagle Hill series. She is also the author of several nonfiction books about the Amish, including Amish Peace and Amish Proverbs. She lives in California. Learn more at www.suzannewoodsfisher.com and follow Suzanne on Facebook @SuzanneWoodsFisherAuthor and Twitter @suzannewfisher.