We all want to be happy, although `happiness' can mean very different things to different people.

But what if I don't feel happy? Is my life less worthwhile? And is there such a thing as lasting happiness anyway?

Western society places great emphasis on the pursuit of health, wealth and pleasure, with a general expectation that having these in abundance will lead directly to The Good Life. But anxiety, depression and loneliness are rife in our communities, and it is common for people to struggle with relationships, and to feel they have a low sense of meaning and lasting fulfilment. Is there a better way for us to try to live?

Andrew Parnham believes that there is, but such a way may take us in unexpected directions. In Lasting Happiness he invites us to explore this path in his company, looking beyond our immediate perceptions to consider our universal longings, the extraordinary way in which our brains engage with the world and ourselves, how healthy relationships develop and can be restored, and how meaning and fulfilment may actually be attained.