The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary

'Life-affirming' - THE TELEGRAPH

'Wonderful' - INDEPENDENT

'She made it her mission to learn how to be default happy rather than default disgruntled' - RADIO 4 - WOMAN'S HOUR

'Take a leaf out of Gray's book and be kinder to yourself by appreciating life just as it is' - IRISH TIMES

'This book came to me in an hour of need - during lockdown when I had to focus on the positive, appreciate simple things, not lose my shit, and value each day. It was a pure joy for me and held my hand' - SADIE FROST

'Interesting and joyful. Lights a path that could help us to build resilience against society's urging to compare life milestones with peers' - LANCET PSYCHIATRY

Feeling underwhelmed by your ordinary existence? Disillusioned with your middling wage, average body, 'bijou' living situation, and imperfect loved ones? Welcome to the club. There are billions of us, the 'default disenchanted'. But we're not just being brats. Two deeply inconvenient psychological phenomenons conspire against our satisfaction. We have negatively-biased brains that zoom in like doom-drones on what's wrong with our day, rather than what's right. Back in the mists of time, this negative bias saved our skins, but now it just makes us anxious. Additionally, something called the 'hedonic treadmill' means we are eternally questing for better, faster, and more, like someone stuck on a dystopian, never-ending treadmill. Thankfully, there are scientifically-proven ways in which we can train our brains to seek positivity and take restful breaks from this tireless pursuit. Whew.

Catherine Gray seamlessly blends enlightening science with hilarious storytelling, unraveling captivating research to show us that big bucks don't equate to big happiness, extraordinary experiences often come with a 'comedown', and budget weddings predict a lower chance of divorce. She demystifies what an average body actually is, reveals that exercising for weight loss makes us do less exercise, and explores the modern trend of not just trying to keep up with the Murphys but keeping up with the 'Mega-Murphys' (read: the social media elite).

Join us on this soulful and life-affirming journey to discover why an ordinary life may very well be the most satisfying one of all.