An extraordinary look at what it means to grow old and a heartening guide to well-being, Happiness Is a Choice You Make weaves together the stories and wisdom of six New Yorkers who number among the "oldest old"--Those eighty-five and up. In 2015, when the award-winning journalist John Leland set out on behalf of The New York Times to meet members of America's fastest-growing age group, he anticipated learning of challenges, of loneliness, and of the deterioration of body, mind, and quality of life. But the elders he met took him in an entirely different direction. Despite disparate backgrounds and circumstances, they each lived with a surprising lightness and contentment. The reality Leland encountered upended contemporary notions of aging, revealing the late stages of life as unexpectedly rich and the elderly as incomparably wise. Happiness Is a Choice You Make is an enduring collection of lessons that emphasizes, above all, the extraordinary influence we wield over the quality of ou

In 2015, John Leland set out to meet people aged 85 and up and encountered individuals living lives of unexpected contentment. This collection of their lessons emphasizes the influence we wield over the quality of our own lives.

In 2015, journalist John Leland set out to meet members of America's fastest-growing age group: 85 and up. He anticipated learning of challenges, of loneliness, and of the deterioration of body, mind, and quality of life. But the elders he met took him in an entirely different direction. Despite disparate backgrounds and circumstances, they each lived with a surprising lightness and contentment. The reality Leland encountered upended contemporary notions of aging, revealing the late stages of life as unexpectedly rich and the elderly as incomparably wise. This collection of their lessons emphasizes, above all, the extraordinary influence we wield over the quality of our lives.

Set out to meet some of the city's oldest inhabitants for a series on America's fastest growing age group: those over eighty-five. Beyond illuminating what it's like to be old, physically and materially, they provided a life changing education in resilience and joy. They had lived long enough to master the art of living, and they shared their wisdom generously.

An extraordinary look at what it means to grow old and a heartening guide to well-being, Happiness Is a Choice You Make weaves together the stories and wisdom of six New Yorkers who number among the "oldest old"--Those eighty-five and up. In 2015, when the award-winning journalist John Leland set out on behalf of The New York Times to meet members of America's fastest-growing age group, he anticipated learning of challenges, of loneliness, and of the deterioration of body, mind, and quality of life. But the elders he met took him in an entirely different direction. Despite disparate backgrounds and circumstances, they each lived with a surprising lightness and contentment. The reality Leland encountered upended contemporary notions of aging, revealing the late stages of life as unexpectedly rich and the elderly as incomparably wise. Happiness Is a Choice You Make is an enduring collection of lessons that emphasizes, above all, the extraordinary influence we wield over the quality of ou

"Una obra inspiradora y emotiva, que nos hace reflexionar sobre el papel decisivo que jugamos en nuestra manera de afrontar la vida. A través de las vidas de seis neoyorquinos mayores de 85 años, el premiado periodista John Leland ofrece una visión transformadora de lo que implica envejecer y una inspiradora guía de bienestar. La práctica de la gratitud, la capacidad de asombrarse ante los pequeños milagros diarios y la habilidad de adaptarse a las circunstancias son algunas de las valiosas lecciones que nos ofrece esta obra."--Casadellibro.