The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley - Book Review

The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley is the first book I've read by Courtney Walsh and I must say, I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. But the distinct characters and Isadora's unexpected wisecracks held my attention from start to finish. If you liked Authentically, Izzy by Pepper Basham and Hearts Overboard by Becky Dean, then The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley is right up your alley!

Plot Summary

On her thirtieth birthday university researcher Isadora Bentley randomly picks up a tabloid at the grocery store and finds an article titled "Thirty-One Ways to Be Happy". Irked that someone with false research is deluding the masses into thinking happiness can be attained, she sets out to disprove the article by completing all the activities and seeing if they will make her happy.

At the same time she's assigned to help Dr. Cal Baxter with the research for his book and he volunteers to help her with her project. Soon she has a collection of people helping her discover how to be happy. Will her research prove that the article was faulty or not?

Personal Thoughts

Isadora might be the most anti-social, reclusive person ever. Because of various people who hurt her in the past, she concluded that it's best to stay away from everyone because they, too, may hurt you. Despite her social problems I really enjoyed her character. She was funny without meaning to be and when she was put in unexpected situations, she reacted in ways that made me laugh and shake my head at the same time.

The other prominent characters are all people I want to adopt. Marty, the elderly gentleman, was kind and the most mellow one out of the group. Darby was a firecracker with an explosive energy who often said the first thing that came to mind. She was also Isadora's mom friend when she needed it. Delilah, Darby's daughter, was the best ten year old ever. someitmes she was more mature than Isadora. And fianally, there was Cal. It's a good thing he was a psychologist because Isadora needed someone who was good at relationships. He had no problem inviting her out of her comfort zone and I love how he dealt with her ex-boyfriend 😁

While it may seem like the book was a thinly disguised self-help book, the message was actually handled well. It was there, but it wasn't preachy; instead, it was nicely woven into Isadora's journey. It was a little hard to keep track of all thirty-one activities in the article. However, there's a handy-dandy list in the back with all of the suggestions on it ... which I discovered after I finished the book.

Notes

This book is best for teenagers and adults.

Steam Level: 💋

Ramblings Inspired by the Book

Isadora might be the most socially awkward, anti-social recluse I've ever read. Yet I can't help identifying with her in many respects. Namely, the fear of letting people get too close to you.

Some of the things Isadora tries do make her happy, such as petting dogs, eating chocolate, and flying kites. But those activities in and of themselves didn't make her happy. They were fun to do, but if she had done them alone, then happiness would have been harder to find. But she had Delilah, Darby, Cal, and Marty doing the activities with her. And that's where we find the heart of the story.

While she may have a phobia of people, Isadora hides away in her office with her plant Gary for a reason. She's been hurt several times in life by people who were supposed to love and protect her. First it was her mother, who was so obsessed with making her the popular girl that she ignored and criticized Isadora when she didn't bend to her will. Then it was a friend in school who didn't want to hang out with Isadora anymore. Finally, it was Alex, who pretended to love her so he could get her research and then dropped her once the paper was published - without her name appearing in it once.

So Isadora came to this conclusion based on substantial research: there is no point in letting people get close to you because they will only hurt you. Three strikes, you're out, human race.

While she took this principle to the extreme, I too have wondered why someone would let anyone get close to them. No, I do not have a pet plant named Gary sitting on my desk, but I have shut people out before because it was "safer". I went through a period of time years ago when I would steer all conversation to shallow subjects and then shut anyone down when they came to a personal topic. Interestingly, those were also some of the most miserable years of my life.

Isadora comes to a similar conclusion under duress. Whenever she was with Darby or Cal or Marty, she was happier. She was connected to a community of people who cared about her so much they didn't let her hole away in her apartment or office.

The over-arching principle of the story is that you chose happiness. Which is true. Even though things go wrong in life, happiness is a choice we can all make. Yet what really struck me while I was reading was how important it is to have the right people in our lives. As Isadora spent more and more time with those who genuinely cared about her, her life improved. She accepted that good friends were a necessary part of life because they are there for you, no matter what happens. Though no relationship would ever be perfect and sometimes those closest to her will hurt her, she found she enjoyed whatever she did more when she was with one of her people.

Interestingly, this concept comes up in the Bible as well. Notice that when Adam was in the Garden of Eden, God said it was not good for him to be alone. While we may take that to mean he needed a wife, I think God was also saying Adam needed a human companion. Which may boggle our mind because ... Adam got to talk to God face to face everyday. One would think that he was fine since he had his Creator. But no, God said that Adam shouldn't be alone and He created Eve. The Bible says that "as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another" and that we shouldn't neglect being with other Christians (Proverbs 27:17 & Hebrews 10:25, NASB). In other words, God says we need people in our lives.

We all want to be happy. In some ways, choosing happiness could mean finding friends even though they may bring you pain. Isadora found happiness by letting go of the hurt from the past and instead letting the right people into her life. Maybe we need to do the same thing in order to find joy in life again.

For those of you who have read The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley, what did you think of it? For those who have not read it, would you? Tell me on social media here or in the comments below!