A Hater’s Guide to Gratitude

For everyone who’s ever rolled their eyes at a gratitude journal.

With a foreword from Tara Schuster, bestselling author of Buy Yourself the F*cking Lillies.

If the world feels like a dumpster fire right now, and you’re tired of feeling guilty for not being grateful enough; if just the words “gratitude journal” exhaust you; if you’ve spent most of your life doubtful that things will actually turn out okay—this book is for you: The Hater’s Guide to Gratitude.

You cannot bully yourself into feeling thankful. (Carissa Potter has tried.) But  what if you start where you actually are? In the mess. Through real stories, and reflections, this book shows how real gratitude isn’t about pretending everything is fine. It’s about noticing the good, even if it’s small. It’s a quiet hand extended, asking: what if?

In this curated and illustrated guide, Carissa helps us explore why we resist gratitude. You’ll learn what gratitude actually feels like in your body (and spoiler: it’s better than you think), discover why resistance might actually be the perfect place to start. It turns out that paying attention to what’s working, in a world obsessed with what isn’t, might be the greatest act of resistance of all.

Complaints, sorrows, and all, welcome. You belong here.

• “As a fellow gratitude skeptic, I found this guide heartfelt, nuanced and beautiful in all kinds of ways. Carissa Potter has a genius for articulating our emotional landscapes.”
  Katherine May, New York Time bestselling author of Wintering