What readers think of Happiness, plus links to write your own review.

Oh my! This wonderful, scary, profound tale of hope and love! First of all, there is something about the way the author tells the story that kept my attention, but it's the actual story that touched me so deeply. Parental love, partner love, friend's love, it's all here and more. Would I recommend this one? You bet I would! Be prepared to be deeply moved.

This memoir kept my attention and made me keep reading to find out what happens next. It was easy reading and well written.

The memoir is about a parent's love for a baby/child born with an undiagnosed life threatening disease and how it affects her relationship with the baby's father. It describes what it's like to have to make decisions that could potentially save your child's life or possibly end it.

Having lost a fullterm baby and knowing people who have grandchildren who were disabled by life threatening illness, I could relate to the medical parts. Life isn't always perfect and not all pregnancies end happily ever after.

"....the happiness blueprint. But I don't think there is one. We find happiness, if we find it at all, on accident."

"Happiness" is Heather Harpham's journey through a more than difficult and challenging chapter in her life. Her story is fraught with troubles so overwhelming that it is amazing that she had the strength to work through them and come to where she is.

The writing style is easy to read and quite lyrical at times. It was hard to get through reading about all the medical issues her child had to face but she did a great job in relating each issue. Not to even mention the man she loved who fathered the baby. At times I really disliked him, but in the end he pulled it together. I enjoyed the book, however had to put it down on occasion because I was so sad!

I doubt I would have chosen this to read this selection on my own, but I would have missed a very inspirational journey this writer shared with the readers.

This memoir was interesting up to a point. Had I been in Heather's situation, I wouldn't have been as forgiving to the father. I also felt like I would have slapped the transplant Doc with the comment they waited longer than they should have. There was no need to plant that recrimination on the parents. The comment would have been even more horrifying if the transplant went south. It was interesting to compare my bone marrow (stem cell) transplant experience 10 years ago at age 49 with a toddler's.

I was especially pleased the author encouraged everyone to get into the bone marrow bank with a mouth swab. I would have gone one step further and told people to save their babies cord blood and their baby teeth.

Memoirs are not usually my favorite genre and I didn't understand that this book was just that...until I began to read. However, having been through a similar experience of having a child born with a congenital heart disease while my husband was deployed, I could relate somewhat, which kept me reading. I do not think this is a book that a majority of readers would rate as " Very Good", overall because of the subject but it was written well, and was interesting to note the changes that came about as Brian fell in love with his daughter and yet I was impressed with Heather's patience and understanding while those changes came about, and continued through another pregnancy, before wanting to marry her.

It was not a book I would read again.

I admit, it seems strange to use the word charming to describe such a medically centered book, but it is truly nothing short. Although a difficult topic, Harpham manages to portray her deeply personal story with charm and grace. Her voice never loses its underlying positivity even in the face of traumatic medical decisions involving both of her children. In spite of this, I still felt as if I were disconnected from them, like I was on the outside looking in. Even so, I found Happiness to be an easy read, with an entirely lovable family.

I fell in love with this family at the first page. Reading about the love story and struggles of Heather and Brian was enthralling. One line that truly caught me was "Memory is fluid and shape-shifts to our desires." How true.

A story of love, tragedy, loyalty...FAMILY. I enjoyed her prose and insight.

Heather Harpham's memoir is undeniably written with grace and charm, a joyful celebration of her life's blessings. But I wonder if I'm the only reader who has experienced her story in different and far more tragic circumstances: a sister who had not one but two children with critical illness, a father who left and did not pay child support, years of working a night job, sleeping two hours a day in a hospital chair, grinding financial need and the constant improvisation of family support, and finally losing both children. This experience can't help but inform my reading of Happiness, which I have no doubt will become a bestseller. I rejoice with Heather that her precious daughter lived and her love story had a happy ending. But she seems somewhat oblivious of her privileges in life, financial and otherwise. Reading her memoir felt a bit like listening to a wealthy person exult over winning the lottery.