"Aggressively Happy" by Joy Marie Clarkson. A Review
Some people are like sparklers on the 4th of
July. They glitter, sizzle, snap, and pop. And sometimes they annoy those
around them who get singed by one of their sparks. To use a few Winnie the Pooh
analogies, I am a Tigger, with a raging inner Eeyore, and I know that I
normally set off the Rabbits and Piglets in my circles. I used to take it personal,
though no longer. So, I was delighted when my oldest daughter sent me a gift-copy
of “Aggressively Happy: A Realist’s Guide to Believing in the Goodness of Life”.
I thought, “Oh boy! A fellow Tigger has written a book!” And I was pleasantly
surprised how Joy Marie Clarkson, author, podcaster and PhD recipient in
Theology, Imagination and the Arts, pulled together the beautiful, enjoyable and
sensible aspects of Tigger, Pooh, Rabbit, Eeyore, Piglet, and Christopher
Robbins in this 244-page softback. I had so much fun tripping through its pages
and think older and younger alike will as well.
Clarkson wants to declare to everyone, through this book,
that “this is life, the beauty and the pain together. (…) If you get one, you
get the other” (17). And, in my meager estimation, she has hit the nail on the
head. The entire manuscript is about happiness. It’s not about being happy all
the time; a happiness that ignores pain, injustice, or brokenness. Instead, the
author wants to aid others to grow in a richer, more sustainable happiness “that
can stand tall, look life in the eye, and smile anyway” (22). This message is thoroughly
worked into the batter of each chapter, until it rises, and comes out of the oven
with a delicious glowing brownness.
Now, the book isn’t a theological treatise, all ethereal and
airy. Clarkson draws together several topics, looks them over as a realist, but
takes the reader’s hand and walks them toward healthier ways of experiencing
life. The titles of the chapters will give one a sense of where she goes, and
what she is likely to do: Befriend sadness. Flounder well. Remember: you have a
body! Enjoy things unironically. Tell yourself a good story. Be like Mr.
Collins (from Jane Austin’s “Pride and Prejudice”). Believe in God. Accept
love. And expect the end of the world. It was a pleasure to be 61 years old and
sit at the feet of this youngster! Here is a young woman who shows she has her
head on straight.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the central piece of Clarkson’s
work, and the happiness she is fostering. And the book is teaming with tasty
treasures. For example, “I sometimes feel that in the world of spilling our
guts online, we have lost the art of personal dignity” (141). Or “Forgetting
you have a body is not heroism; it is hubris” (83). And “The funny thing about
sadness is that it wants to convince us that it is the truest thing. And
sadness is a true thing. But so is happiness” (40). Or, for a final example –
one of many I could give, “God does not owe us an easy life; our crushes do not
owe us a returned affection. We cannot live our lives demanding that we be
given exactly what everyone else has. When we find ourselves seething with
jealousy, we must remember Jesus’ words, “What is that to you, Joy? You
follow me”” (142-3).
Of all the chapters, I had three favorites. “Enjoy things
unironically” dealt quite a bit with our social media intake, doomscrolling,
and how this all negatively impacts us. “Be like Mr. Collins” was all about
contentment. And lastly, “Expect the end of the world” felt like the author has
listened to several of my sermons over the last three years and has come to the
right conclusion – my conclusion. Ha! But seriously, these three chapters were
especially delightful for me.
“Aggressively Happy” was pleasant but not plastic. Delightful but not delirious. It truly is a realist’s guide to believing in the goodness of life. If you have a youth ministry in your church, this is a solid book to have your teens work through together. Are you in college ministry? Indeed, your students will benefit greatly from this material. Are you prone to depression, or a counselor of folks who live with depression? This work will be helpful. And for my fellow Tiggers who have that raging inner Eeyore, snatch a copy. It will be a lift when your soul has only droop left. I highly recommend the work.
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