A three-part course in one of the most vital subjects known to man: how to be happy.

If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands . . .

The simple lyrics of this nursery-school song tune small children in to the important life skill of recognizing and acknowledging good feelings within themselves. For adults, getting in touch with a sense of happiness is rarely so simple. It seems what so many of us need is an education on the subject . . . a virtual Course in Happiness. In this book, Mardi Horowitz draws on more than forty years of experience as a psychiatrist to provide readers with just this.

According to Dr. Horowitz, in order to identify the root causes of our discontent, it is necessary to consider all the experiences, memories, and emotions that constitute selfhood, the true "I" in each of us. A Course in Happiness guides readers through a strenuous but deeply rewarding education in mastering the three essential life skills that underlie the achievement of this level of self-understanding:

* INTEGRATION: the ability to assemble all the pieces of one's self into a whole, understood, and respected "me."
* INTIMACY: the capacity to remain closely connected to the warmth of relationships with family, friends, and others in a social community.
* INTEGRITY: an awareness of which of one's values are most dear and which are lower in priority-and then to be true to what is most important, even in the midst of conflict.

A Course in Happiness offers a road map for achieving genuine contentment in life.