Secrets of Adulthood: Simple Truths for Our Complex Lives

Bestseller Rubin (The Happiness Project) returns with a collection of pithy, practical aphorisms. Among other topics, she investigates self-transformation (“One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make others happy”), relationship challenges, and the benefits of community (“more friends, more safety”). Other sections warn of the dangers of excess (“Every medicine can become poison”), offer guidance on parenting (“One way to thwart a conversation is to refuse to answer. Another way is to talk and talk”), and muse on the benefits of taking initiative (“To respect us, people must first notice us; we can’t earn trust and admiration from the sidelines”). Rounding out the collection are valuable nuts-and-bolts tips for work and personal life, such as presenting information in threes and focusing on actions instead of outcomes. The author’s pragmatic, down-to-earth approach lends itself especially well to such guidance, and to aphorisms that enliven familiar insights with a touch of wry humor (“We can be very wrong for a very long time without noticing. Bloodletting was a common medical treatment for two millennia”). Rubin’s fans will want to snap this up. (Apr.)