Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier, a new book by Arthur C. Brooks and Oprah Winfrey, will be published on September 12 by Portfolio Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House. According to a press release, the book is "a research-based work plan that shows readers how to make greater happiness a choice."
“I started reading Arthur Brooks’s column ‘How to Build a Life’ [in the Atlantic] during the early days of the pandemic,” said Winfrey. “I found myself happily anticipating each week’s lesson, which turned out to be a recipe for growing forward. When I discovered he taught happiness at Harvard, I wanted to extend that to the rest of us.”
“I have admired Oprah Winfrey for decades, as she has lifted up millions of people around the world—including me,” said Brooks. “Our visions for a better world are the same, and our backgrounds are totally complementary. As a social scientist, I look at the data and evidence on what leads to the greatest happiness, while Oprah knows how to reach people at the most important critical points in their lives. This book will introduce readers to the incredible science of happiness, based on the best research available, in a way they can immediately apply to build the lives they truly want—and then share the love and happiness they gain with others.”
Portfolio executive editor Bria Sandford acquired U.S. print, audio, and e-book rights, and Holly Whitaker, senior commissioning editor at Ebury, acquired U.K. and Commonwealth print, audio, and e-book rights. Creative Artists Agency brokered both deals, and additional deals in translation are forthcoming via CAA. An unabridged digital audio edition of the book, read by both Brooks and Winfrey, will be simultaneously released by Penguin Random House Audio.
