Emily Henry is a season pass for me – meaning I’ll read anything she writes. I liked Beach Read, loved Book Lovers and People We Meet on Vacation, and now I’m reading Happy Place.
I love the writing in Happy Place but I’m not loving the main characters, and the plot of them being broken up and choosing to hide it from their friends, then slowly getting the backstory of how they got together (and hopefully, why they broke up?). That could all change as I read more.
What I did want to say though, is I completely understand the notion of having a happy place. In this novel, it’s a summer home in Maine the group of friends go to. The main character looks forward to it all year, and she’s a different person when she’s there – at ease, carefree, happy. And the connection, bonding, fun, and shenanigans with the group of friends is unmatched because they’re with each other almost 24/7 and pulled out of real life and only have to focus on what’s in front of them – having fun with their friends.
Ahh. Sounds amazing, right?
In the novel, things are changing – their happy place (owned by one of the friend’s families) is being sold after this trip – they won’t be able to go back. And things aren’t as carefree as they used to be, because they have more complicated adult lives and responsibilities now (they’re around 30)… and because one of the couples is lying about still being together when they aren’t.
Where am I going with all this? Ha! I just wanted to share that I get it – I have a happy place like that! A place where I go to mostly get away from it all and just be with my family or sometimes friends. And I also get that it becomes more complicated as you get older, and that you can’t have the expectations that things will be as easy or the same as they were in your youth.
So, even if I don’t end up loving these characters, it’s given me a lot of food for thought!
I haven’t read anything by Emily Henry – I feel like I have to remedy that?
Yeah, and good food for thought on the happy place notion. I can relate to this… there’s definitely places I got back (from my youth) where I feel a sense of calm and ease, but feelings do change with time (and with getting older).
Yes! Book Lovers is so good and steamy! I love the banter so much.
It’s funny because I just expect it all to stay the same, but it’s not, and I need to be flexible and change with it!
Hmmm…I don’t think I really have a happy place like in the book. I mean, I really like my own house and my couch, but that doesn’t really count, does it? Interesting that you do have a place like that!
Yeah, I guess I think of happy place as some other place than home – like where you can blissfully ignore all responsibilities? Or most, anyway! But maybe some can do that at home, ha!
And yeah, we’ve been going to this place since I was a baby, so it’s kind of ingrained in me!
I related soooo much to the main character in Happy Place, lol. She’s a classic enneagram 9, I think. I mean, I have yet to break up with my therapist because I don’t want to have that conversation so I just keep going to therapy appointments that make me feel kinda blah. WHY?!?!!?
I don’t know if I have a specific happy place, though. I’d love to have a cabin like this to get together with friends every summer.
Oh wow, I hadn’t even picked up on that, but it makes so much sense! And people keep telling her over and over to just let people sort their stuff out, but she can’t stay out of it – she’s the peacemaker! Thanks for bringing that to my attention!
I would love that for you too! Can you imagine going once a year with your book club?! So fun!
This is such an interesting idea! It made me wonder, too – is a happy place always ONE place? Because my happy places tend to just be “nature” in general, with a distinct preference for mountains or near a body of water (or both, in an ideal world…). Picking one specific place is really, really hard. Hm. I shall have to keep pondering! And maybe looking for my happy place. 🙂
Good question! Happy Place in this book is a specific place the person daydreams about spending time at, so a little different than the happiness of being in nature, but I totally get that being your happy place!