Our
Book of Awesome
By Neil Pasricha
Introducing the first BOOK OF AWESOME in a decade, the final installment in the multi-million copy New York Times-bestselling series, offering awe and gratitude as vital prescriptions to an anxious and overwhelmed world
Get a copy at your local indie bookstore or order online at...
Carrying the ice cube tray from the sink to the freezer without spilling
Adding a gift note to yourself on your online order
When the hand sanitizer isn’t that extra slippery kind that never dries
Getting really, really sweaty before jumping in the lake
Finally unsubscribing from that annoying email you’ve been getting forever
When the cake plops flawlessly out of the pan
Texting your husband to do something when he’s upstairs and you’re downstairs
How messy your face is after eating shawarma
Seeing your parents dance
When your kids don’t hear you opening a bag of potato chips
Sending a private message during the video conference and then seeing your coworker look down and silently smirk
When someone you lost long ago suddenly pops into one of your dreams
The first Book of Awesome in a decade returns against a backdrop of algorithm-infused addictions, widening wealth gaps, destabilizing senses of reality, and reductions in privacy and freedoms.
The past two years have brought us to a breaking point. The National Institute of Mental Health reported 13% of people had a depressive symptom before the pandemic—now, it’s up to 43%. And it’s not just depression—anxiety, loneliness, and suicide rates are also skyrocketing.
The Book of Awesome has long been a tool, spending eight years on bestseller lists, and creating an awesome movement with more than 10,000 submissions from people who have used the book to cultivate vital positive mindsets in their community.
Our Book of Awesome is an injection of joy, a heartfelt gift, and a smacking high five for humanity. Read and share it to be reminded of the endless AWESOME things that give laughs and smiles to our brief and beautiful lives.
This book is a continuation of Neil’s multi-decade writing on living an intentional life
“Strangely heartwarming . . . perfect for rainy days.”
“It’s nice to remind yourself of life’s sweeter side and the pleasures to be had from the small things. Life really is awesome after all.”
“Laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with just enough sarcastic nostalgia.”
Step 1
Order your copy ONLINE OR AT your local indie bookstore…
Step 2
Read the book
Step 3
Give it to a friend
Step 4
Repeat
Download the Our Book of Awesome Teacher’s Guide!
So what's this book all about?
In my late twenties my wife left me and my best friend took his own life. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, and I lost forty pounds due to stress. I started going to therapy twice a week, and began a blog to try and cheer myself up. The blog was called 1000 Awesome Things and for the next 1000 straight weekdays I posted a short essay about one small joy in life.
My mind was dark and many of my attempts were duds—my first awesome thing was broccoflower, the ‘strange mutant hybrid child of nature’s ugliest vegetables’—but some posts started finding a voice. Warm underwear out of the dryer, the smell of bakery air, when cashiers open new checkout lanes at the grocery store, getting called up to the dinner buffet first at a wedding, and playing on old, dangerous playground equipment.
Still, nobody read the blog except for my mom. Although, one day, she forwarded it to my dad and my traffic doubled. And then one day I started getting tens of hits. And then one day I started getting hundreds. And then thousands. And then … millions. It just got bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger and then I got a phone call and the voice on the other end of the line said, “You just won the Best Blog in the world award!”
And I said, “That sounds totally fake.”
But turns out it was real. It was The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences and they flew me down to New York City to parade me down a red carpet before handing me the award for “Best Blog” in the world. When I got home to Toronto I found ten literary agents waiting for me in my inbox, eager to turn 1000 Awesome Things into . . . The Book of Awesome. CLICK HERE TO KEEP READING
“Books about appreciating life usually make me go, ‘Well this is a person who has clearly never lived in the real world’ except that Neil has lived in the real world and understands many of the same struggles I’ve had and his books are less ‘YOU SHOULD BE THANKFUL YOU’RE ALIVE, YOU UNGRATEFUL TURD’ and more about ‘You know what’s awesome?When you should have got a parking ticket but didn’t.’ Our Book of Awesome is like a gratitude journal I didn’t even have to write.”
–JENNY LAWSON, author of Let's Pretend This Never Happened and Furiously Happy
“Sunny without being saccharine, it’s a countdown of life’s little joys that reads like a snappy Jerry Seinfeld monologue by way of Maria von Trapp.”
“Neil Pasricha is the guru of small joys.”
“Laugh out loud. You will feel like you’ve thought of these things a thousand times but just haven’t stopped to write them down.”
Sample pages from the book
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ABOUT NEIL PASRICHA
Neil Pasricha thinks, writes, and speaks about intentional living. He is the New York Times bestselling author of ten books and journals, including The Happiness Equation, and Two Minute Mornings which together have spent over 200 weeks on bestseller lists and have sold over 2,000,000 copies. He hosts the award-winning podcast 3 Books with Neil Pasricha, which features live conversations with guests such as Brené Brown, Quentin Tarantino, and David Sedaris.
He gives over fifty speeches a year to audiences such as Harvard, SXSW, and Shopify. Neil has degrees from Harvard University and Queen’s University. He lives in Toronto with his family.
Laugh lines
Discovering a shortcut the GPS doesn’t know about
Picking the right thing to unplug out of the mysterious power bar full of wires
Completely nailing the timing on that avocado
Accidentally snorting while laughing
When you finally get rid of that thing that’s been rolling around the trunk of your car forever
Drinking from the hose
When your friend returns your book and they actually read it
Finding something to scratch the part of your back you can never reach
Rogue children
Remembering the attachment right before sending the email
Gravy
Get a copy at your local indie bookstore or order online at...
