{"title":"Ruth Whippman","description":"\u003cp\u003eDive into the insightful and witty world of Ruth Whippman. Discover thought-provoking explorations of modern life, happiness, and well-being, perfect for fans of Oliver Burkeman and Alain de Botton.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"pursuit-of-happiness-book-ruth-whippman-9780099592556","title":"The Pursuit of Happiness","description":"'Essential reading. So funny, so relevant, so fascinating ... I loved it' Marian Keyes  'A whip-sharp British Bill Bryson' Sunday Times  'Ruth Whippman is my new favorite cultural critic, and her book was such a joy to read' Adam Grant, author of Give and Take, Originals, and Option B (co-authored with Sheryl Sandberg)   When British journalist Ruth Whippman moved to America it seemed that everyone she met was obsessed with one thing: finding happiness. Americans spend more money and energy on becoming happier than anyone on earth, but yet they are some of the least happy people in the developed world.   So Ruth sets off on a journey to work out what’s going wrong, and most importantly, what lessons we can all learn about what truly makes for a happy life.  From nearly falling apart during a controversial self-help course promising total transformation, to investigating a 'happiness city' in the Nevada desert, from spending time with the Mormons in Utah to exploring the darker truths behind the positive psychology movement, Ruth tries it all. Along the way she stumbles upon a more effective, less anxiety inducing path to contentment.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49530095042833,"sku":"GOR007801766","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49770550264081,"sku":"GOR008024005","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52848731095313,"sku":"GOR008349921","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/009959255X.jpg?v=1751453470"},{"product_id":"pursuit-of-happiness-book-ruth-whippman-9780091959159","title":"The Pursuit of Happiness","description":"Are you happy? Right now? Happy enough? As happy as everyone else? Could you be happier if you tried harder?  As your average cynical Brit, when Ruth Whippman moves to California, it seems to her that the American obsession with finding happiness is driving everyone crazy.   But soon she starts to get sucked in. She meditates and tries 'mindful dishwashing'. She attends a self-help course that promises total transformation (and learns that all her problems are her own fault). She visits a strange Nevada happiness dystopia (with one of the highest suicide rates in America), delves into the darker truths behind the influential 'science of happiness', and even ventures to Utah, where she learns God's personal secret to eternal bliss.   Ultimately she stumbles upon a more effective, less self-involved, less anxiety-inducing way to find contentment.   Fantastically fresh, funny and honest, this is an eye-opening look at what happiness really means.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49631566496017,"sku":"GOR007371177","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49709334135057,"sku":"CIN0091959152G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50300488057105,"sku":"CIN0091959152VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50330864976145,"sku":"GOR009814829","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0091959152.jpg?v=1750812213"},{"product_id":"boymum-book-ruth-whippman-9781529439120","title":"BoyMum","description":"How do we raise our sons to be compassionate, responsible men in a world where toxic masculinity is still the norm? And why are young men today more troubled and less confident and more radicalized than ever before?","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49667942449425,"sku":"GOR013767439","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49753872924945,"sku":"NGR9781529439120","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50470018318609,"sku":"GOR013792971","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52675390275857,"sku":"NLS9781529439120","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53058514551057,"sku":"GOR014719910","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1529439124.jpg?v=1776333520"},{"product_id":"america-the-anxious-book-ruth-whippman-9781250146052","title":"America the Anxious","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNAMED ONE OF THE 40 BEST BOOKS BY THE \u003ci\u003eNEW YORK POST\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Editor''s Choice pick\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \"\u003cb\u003eRuth Whippman is my new favorite cultural critic...\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ea shrewd, hilarious analysis.\u003c\/b\u003e\" --Adam Grant, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eGive and Take\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eOriginals\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eOption B\u003c\/i\u003e (coauthored with Sheryl Sandberg)\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\"I don''t think I''ve enjoyed cultural observations this much since David Foster Wallace''s \u003ci\u003eA Supposedly Fun Thing I''ll Never Do Again\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e Reading this book is like touring America with a scary-smart friend who can''t stop elbowing you in the ribs and saying, \"Are you seeing what I''m seeing?!\" If you want to understand why our culture incites pure dread and alienation in so many of us (often without always recognizing it), read this book.\" --Heather Havrilesky, writer behind \"Ask Polly\" for New York Magazine and nationally bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eHow to Be a Person in the World\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eAre you happy? Right now? Happy enough? As happy as everyone else? Could you be happier if you tried harder?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e After she packed up her British worldview (that most things were basically rubbish) and moved to America, journalist and documentary filmmaker Ruth Whippman found herself increasingly perplexed by the American obsession with one topic above all others: happiness. The subject came up everywhere: at the playground swings, at the meat counter in the supermarket, and even--legs in stirrups--at the gynecologist.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The omnipresence of these happiness conversations (trading tips, humble-bragging successes, offering unsolicited advice) wouldn''t let her go, and so Ruth did some digging. What she found was a paradox: despite the fact that Americans spend more time and money in search of happiness than any other nation on earth, research shows that the United States is one of the least contented, most anxious countries in the developed world. Stoked by a multi-billion dollar \"happiness industrial complex\" intent on selling the promise of bliss, America appeared to be driving itself crazy in pursuit of contentment.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e So Ruth set out to get to the bottom of this contradiction, embarking on an uproarious pilgrimage to investigate how this national obsession infiltrates all areas of life, from religion to parenting, the workplace to academia. She attends a controversial self-help course that promises total transformation, where she learns all her problems are all her own fault; visits a \"happiness city\" in the Nevada desert and explores why it has one of the highest suicide rates in America; delves into the darker truths behind the influential academic \"positive psychology movement\"; and ventures to Utah to spend time with the Mormons, officially America''s happiest people.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e What she finds, ultimately, and presents in \u003ci\u003eAmerica the Anxious\u003c\/i\u003e, is a rigorously researched yet universal answer, and one that comes absolutely free of charge.\u003c\/p\u003e Happy enough? As happy as everyone else? Could you be happier if you tried harder?\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e After she packed up her British worldview (that most things were basically rubbish) and moved to America, journalist and documentary filmmaker Ruth Whippman found herself increasingly perplexed by the American obsession with one topic above all others: happiness. The subject came up everywhere: at the playground swings, at the meat counter in the supermarket, and even--legs in stirrups--at the gynecologist.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The omnipresence of these happiness conversations (trading tips, humble-bragging successes, offering unsolicited advice) wouldn''t let her go, and so Ruth did some digging. What she found was a paradox: despite the fact that Americans spend more time and money in search of happiness than any other nation on earth, research shows that the United States is one of the least contented, most anxious countries in the developed world. Stoked by a multi-billion dollar \"happiness industrial complex\" intent on selling the promise of bliss, America appeared to be driving itself crazy in pursuit of contentment.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e So Ruth set out to get to the bottom of this contradiction, embarking on an uproarious pilgrimage to investigate how this national obsession infiltrates all areas of life, from religion to parenting, the workplace to academia. She attends a controversial self-help course that promises total transformation, where she learns all her problems are all her own fault; visits a \"happiness city\" in the Nevada desert and explores why it has one of the highest suicide rates in America; delves into the darker truths behind the influential academic \"positive psychology movement\"; and ventures to Utah to spend time with the Mormons, officially America''s happiest people.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e What she finds, ultimately, and presents in \u003ci\u003eAmerica the Anxious\u003c\/i\u003e, is a rigorously researched yet universal answer, and one that comes absolutely free of charge.the promise of bliss, America appeared to be driving itself crazy in pursuit of contentment.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e So Ruth set out to get to the bottom of this contradiction, embarking on an uproarious pilgrimage to investigate how this national obsession infiltrates all areas of life, from religion to parenting, the workplace to academia. She attends a controversial self-help course that promises total transformation, where she learns all her problems are all her own fault; visits a \"happiness city\" in the Nevada desert and explores why it has one of the highest suicide rates in America; delves into the darker truths behind the influential academic \"positive psychology movement\"; and ventures to Utah to spend time with the Mormons, officially America''s happiest people.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e What she finds, ultimately, and presents in \u003ci\u003eAmerica the Anxious\u003c\/i\u003e, is a rigorously researched yet universal answer, and one that comes absolutely free of charge.Happy enough? As happy as everyone else? Could you be happier if you tried harder?\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e After she packed up her British worldview (that most things were basically rubbish) and moved to America, journalist and documentary filmmaker Ruth Whippman found herself increasingly perplexed by the American obsession with one topic above all others: happiness. The subject came up everywhere: at the playground swings, at the meat counter in the supermarket, and even--legs in stirrups--at the gynecologist.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The omnipresence of these happiness conversations (trading tips, humble-bragging successes, offering unsolicited advice) wouldn''t let her go, and so Ruth did some digging. What she found was a paradox: despite the fact that Americans spend more time and money in search of happiness than any other nation on earth, research shows that the United States is one of the least contented, most anxious countries in the developed world. Stoked by a multi-billion dollar \"happiness industrial complex\" intent on selling the promise of bliss, America appeared to be driving itself crazy in pursuit of contentment.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e So Ruth set out to get to the bottom of this contradiction, embarking on an uproarious pilgrimage to investigate how this national obsession infiltrates all areas of life, from religion to parenting, the workplace to academia. She attends a controversial self-help course that promises total transformation, where she learns all her problems are all her own fault; visits a \"happiness city\" in the Nevada desert and explores why it has one of the highest suicide rates in America; delves into the darker truths behind the influential academic \"positive psychology movement\"; and ventures to Utah to spend time with the Mormons, officially America''s happiest people.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e What she finds, ultimately, and presents in \u003ci\u003eAmerica the Anxious\u003c\/i\u003e, is a rigorously researched yet universal answer, and one that comes absolutely free of charge.Happy enough? As happy as everyone else? Could you be happier if you tried harder?\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e After she packed up her British worldview (that most things were basically rubbish) and moved to America, journalist and documentary filmmaker Ruth Whippman found herself increasingly perplexed by the American obsession with one topic above all others: happiness. The subject came up everywhere: at the playground swings, at the meat counter in the supermarket, and even--legs in stirrups--at the gynecologist.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The omnipresence of these happiness conversations (trading tips, humble-bragging successes, offering unsolicited advice) wouldn''t let her go, and so Ruth did some digging. What she found was a paradox: despite the fact that Americans spend more time and money in search of happiness than any other nation on earth, research shows that the United States is one of the least contented, most anxious countries in the developed world. Stoked by a multi-billion dollar \"happiness industrial complex\" intent on selling the promise of bliss, America appeared to be driving itself crazy in pursuit of contentment.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e So Ruth set out to get to the bottom of this contradiction, embarking on an uproarious pilgrimage to investigate how this national obsession infiltrates all areas of life, from religion to parenting, the workplace to academia. She attends a controversial self-help course that promises total transformation, where she learns all her problems are all her own fault; visits a \"happiness city\" in the Nevada desert and explores why it has one of the highest suicide rates in America; delves into the darker truths behind the influential academic \"positive psychology movement\"; and ventures to Utah to spend time with the Mormons, officially America''s happiest people.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e What she finds, ultimately, and presents in \u003ci\u003eAmerica the Anxious\u003c\/i\u003e, is a rigorously researched yet universal answer, and one that comes absolutely free of charge.the promise of bliss, America appeared","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49763772104977,"sku":"CIN1250146054G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51021981384977,"sku":"NIN9781250146052","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52152884953361,"sku":"GOR013013880","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53473383678225,"sku":"CIN1250146054VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1250146054.jpg?v=1751368756"},{"product_id":"america-the-anxious-book-ruth-whippman-9781250071521","title":"America the Anxious","description":"Katrina is thirteen, an orphan, grieving and alone. But she is more than that. She's intelligent, beautiful, wealthy, and intrigued by the dangers of street life. Shrug's a giant of a man with a voice of thunder and eyes of granite. He has tattoos, a leather jacket with The Traz gang patch, and a motorbike. When he asks Katrina if she wants a ride, she makes a decision that will change her life forever. Katrina quickly discovers the violent and horrifying side of life on The Traz compound. But there is no way for her to escape until she meets Chad-an undercover cop with rich brown eyes, a gentle chuckle, and a plan to get Katrina safely out of the clutches of the gang. However, there's a problem.somebody is keeping dangerous secrets from them both. THE TRAZ is as daring, raw, and spirited as the young heroine. It's exhilarating entertainment but it also contains a vital message for those on the cusp of maturity and for the adults who guide them. THE TRAZ is released with a Teaching Guide to give youngsters, parents, educators, law enforcers, and other community leaders an opportunity to discuss and explore the darkness that at-risk teens are both facing and fleeing.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50008225612049,"sku":"CIN1250071526VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50025593733393,"sku":"CIN1250071526A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50630195052817,"sku":"CIN1250071526G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ LIKE_NEW \/ SBYB","offer_id":53016759271697,"sku":"CIN1250071526LN","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1250071526.jpg?v=1751270724"},{"product_id":"boymom-book-ruth-whippman-9780593577639","title":"BoyMom","description":"Blending cultural criticism, memoir, and reporting from the frontlines of contemporary American boyhood, this is a humorous and heartbreaking deep dive into the complexities of raising boys in our fraught political moment.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Evidence of male entitlement and aggression is everywhere-from school shooters to incels, campus rapists to the online 'manosphere.' In the absolutist climate of the culture wars, feminist writer and mother of three boys Ruth Whippman can sometimes find herself conflicted and defensive, as though stranded on one side of a symbolic divide with her own children on the other. But as she comes to realize, gender politics aren't simple. Male privilege and male vulnerability co-exist in a complex relationship; and raising boys who can challenge the confines of masculine expectations is more important now than ever.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e With young men in the grip of a loneliness epidemic and dying by suicide at a rate of nearly four times their female peers, Whippman asks- What are the many cultural messages we send to boys that leave them anxious, emotionally repressed, and socially isolated? How do we raise our sons to have a healthy sense of self without turning them into entitled assholes? How can we find a feminism that holds boys to a higher standard but still treats them with empathy? And what do we do when our boys won't cooperate with our plans?\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eBoyMom\u003c\/i\u003e moves beyond simplistic, polarized thinking to uncover the myriad complex and invisible ways that systems of masculinity both harm boys and teach them to harm others. Determined to widen the possibilities for her own sons and subvert the social forces already affecting them, Whippman talks to boys of all types, as well as parents, educators, and other experts, and uncovers surprising and controversial truths about boy socialization. With humor and deep vulnerability, Whippman takes a stark look at her own parenting choices as well as wider narratives about mental health, school, sex, cancel culture, screens, popular culture, friendship, neurodiversity, and loneliness to make sense of how masculinity is constructed and experienced in our culture. In doing so, she charts a new path to help us give boys a healthier, more expansive, and fulfilling story about their lives.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50251908514065,"sku":"CIN0593577639G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":50983951368465,"sku":"NIN9780593577639","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52104451227921,"sku":"CIN0593577639VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0593577639.jpg?v=1750943712"},{"product_id":"boymum-book-ruth-whippman-9781529439137","title":"BoyMum","description":"How do we raise our sons to be compassionate, responsible men in a world where toxic masculinity is still the norm? 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Trying to raise good sons suddenly felt like a hopeless task.\"\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e   \u003cbr\u003e As the culture wars rage, and masculinity has been politicized from all sides, feminist writer and mother of three boys Ruth Whippman finds herself conflicted and scared. While the right pushes a dangerous vision of fantasy manhood, her feminist peers often dismiss boys as little more than entitled predators-in-waiting.  Meanwhile her home life feels like a daily confrontation with the triumph of nature over nurture. \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cbr\u003e With young men in the grip of a loneliness epidemic and dying by suicide at a rate of nearly four times their female peers, Whippman asks: How do we raise our sons to have a healthy sense of self without turning them into privileged assholes? How can we find a feminism that holds boys to a higher standard but still treats them with empathy? And what do we do when our boys won't cooperate with our plans?\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Whippman digs into the impossibly contradictory pressures boys now face; and the harmful blind spots of male socialization that are leaving boys isolated, emotionally repressed, and adrift. Feminist gonzo-style, she spends months interviewing incels, reports on a conference for boys accused of sexual assault; crashes at a residential therapy center for young men in Utah, talks to a wide range of psychologists and other experts, and gets boys of all backgrounds to open up about sex, consent, porn, body image, mental health, cancel culture, screens, friendship and loneliness. Along the way, she finds her simple certainties about male privilege seriously challenged.\u003cbr\u003e   \u003cbr\u003e With wit, honesty, and a refusal to settle for easy answers, \u003ci\u003eBoyMom\u003c\/i\u003e charts a new path to give boys a healthier, more expansive, and fulfilling story about their own lives.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53342344773905,"sku":"NIN9780593577653","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53615760048401,"sku":"CIN0593577655G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780593577653.jpg?v=1774488290"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-ruth-whippman.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}