First third was annoying. but some gold nuggets still exist

I was ready to put down after the first 1/3 of the book. the focus on education and school relationships bored me somewhat. however the book picked up much after. I am glad I stuck with it as there was subject material much more relevant to me in the 2nd half..
the narration was okay , the student personas voice did feel childish and exasperated tone did get annoying. I wish this was toned down. especially as this was not the main point of the book and just to provide a representation of a new person's view. maybe it's because it was so far from how I would have asked any questions.
the last third was really golden and I will re listen again. nuggets of consideration exist.
although it feels like Adler is too ideal ( coming from someone who is idealistic themselves) it is a framework worthy of diving into further.

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You want it easy or you want to be happy?

That's one of the very good questions this book nudges you to ask yourself.
Took a star away because of the young actor's performance, as many others mentioned here.

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Interesting insight into Adlerian Psychology

An interesting insight into Adlerian Psychology, The Courage to be Happy is more of a guide to educational psychology taking the form of a dialogue between a mentor and mentee, the latter who often responds with incredulity to many of the claims of Adlerian Psychology.
A decent book for anyone who wants to explore the psychology of serving and understanding others better, and in turn gaining a greater degree of self-worth.

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1 person found this helpful

Good message but irritating

What a shame. The ‘youth’ is so obnoxious as to be distracting from the message. The philosopher should have just punched him in the face. And then, when the youth had picked his teeth up, punched him in the face again.

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Fascinating concepts discussed, but . .

Having read The Courage To Be Disliked, I was thoroughly looking forward to reading this sequel. Although I didn't know where it would go as the first book had been such a comprehensive discussion on Adlerian themes. The content of this book is again very interesting and works further to elucidate the more controversial of Adlers ideas such a not praising or rebuking actions amongst others. For this it was an excellent book and very thought provoking.

However, one enormous downside, was the narration. They seemingly had more money for production this time round and well, "jumped the shark". The narrator for the philosopher was excellent, the lady introducing the chapters was unnecessary but unremarkable and therefore tolerable. Yet, the voice actor for the young man/apprentice was just intolerable and ridiculous. I found his poor voice acting was seriously detracting from my enjoyment of the book. To the point I had to stop for several weeks half way through and go back to it as he was so grating. The young mans character issues some ridiculous ridicules and absurd abuse towards the philosopher, which I found trite and all the more incongruous due to the theatrical style if the younger voice actor.
All in, if you don't mind pantomime quality voice acting I would say forge on with the audiobook. If you are sensitive to the quality of the narration and find excessive AmDram style theatrics irritating. I would still definitely recommend this book, however in print / ebook version.

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18 people found this helpful

Interesting messages, ruined by student.

The narration is poor, and diminishes a potential excellent book to very underwhelming. The student narration spoils the book.

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1 person found this helpful

A more practical version of the 1st book

Was great to put the original theories into an actual real life situation, though I feel that the students story and attitude could be a bit less angry

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Not what I expected

I purchased the book on kindle but didn't get around to reading it so I decided to go the audio book route. I didnt expect it would play out the way it did. Well read with clear points that kept me wanting to listen and find out more. Educational, relatable and easy to understand. I really enjoyed the mix of story, guidance and then highlighting the key point. A lovely surprise. Would definetly recommend if you are looking to work on personal developments and habits. A Great book

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10 people found this helpful

Worthwhile sequel but annoying delivery

I really enjoyed the first book, The Courage to be Disliked, so was looking forward to this one. The concepts and principles seem valuable generally, but I found the language and personality of the youth to be very Americanised which I found distracting and offputting. I also found the narration of the youth to be overacted and annoying, as well as very extremely American.
In my opinion it would have been much better written in the same style as the first book, and with the same narrator.

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Just an amazing book about life and philosophy!

I loved this book and is a great complement to the previous masterpiece Courage to be disliked. Highly recommended!

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