NPR

'Happiness' Explores The Complex Push And Pull Of Human Relationships

Heather Harpham's memoir centers on her baby daughter's struggle with a dangerous illness — but broadens out to include her family and her own fraught relationship with the baby's reluctant father.
<em>Happiness</em>: A Memoir: The Crooked Little Road to Semi-Ever After By Heather Harpham.

Nina Martyris is a literature-focused freelancer. Her writing has appeared in NewYorker.com, The Paris Review Daily, The Guardian, NPR and elsewhere.

Sixteen years ago, life seemed perfect for drama teacher Heather Harpham when she fell in love with Brian Morton, an award-winning equipped with a "sly, sly humor." Sure, they were a study in opposites — he was a disciplined, "diffident, sexy, Jewish intellectual," she a California free spirit; he ate broccoli with brown rice and garlic sauce for

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR3 min read
Bearing Witness, Celebrating Strength: How Poetry Has Changed Lives For NPR's Audience
From sparking the imagination to helping with mental health, listen to poems read by NPR readers and see how poetry has affected their lives.
NPR3 min readAmerican Government
Who Is Hope Hicks, The Former Trump Adviser Testifying In New York Criminal Trial?
Hope Hicks was a communications director for the Trump White House and prosecutors may question her on her knowledge of the deals made during his first presidential run.
NPR3 min read
Scientists Welcome New Rules On Marijuana, But Research Will Still Face Obstacles
When marijuana becomes a Schedule III instead of a Schedule I substance under federal rules, researchers will face fewer barriers to studying it. But there will still be some roadblocks for science.

Related Books & Audiobooks