“[Happiness is] a ghost, its a shadow. You cant really chase it. Its a by-product, a very pleasant side effect to a life lived well.”

“I've always believed that happiness is just around the corner. The trick is fining the right corner.”

“..there is more to life than just pleasure. We want to achieve our happiness and not just experience it.”

“Rule number one: wear loose clothing. No Problem. Rule number two: no alcohol for the next three days. Slight problem. I'll miss my evening glass of wine but figure I can go for three days without ...”

“Perhaps it's true you can't go back in time, but you can return to the scene of a love, of a crime, of happiness, and of a fateful decision; the places are what remain, are what you can possess, ar...”

“Too often when we say we feel joyful, were really feeling manic. There is a frenetic nature to our joy, a whiff of panic; were afraid the moment might end abruptly. But then there are other moments...”

“The British do not expect happiness. I had the impression, all the time that I lived there, that they do not want to be happy; they want to be right.”

“Would it save you a lot of time if I just gave up and went mad now?”

“But, of course, you might be asking yourself, 'Am I a feminist? I might not be. I don't know! I still don't know what it is! I'm too knackered and confused to work it out. That curtain pole really ...”

“Whoever is spared personal pain must feel himself called to help in diminishing the pain of others. We must all carry our share of the misery which lies upon the world.”

“I do believe God gave me a spark of genius, but he quenched it in misery.”

“We spent as much money as we could, and got as little for it as people could make up their minds to give us. We were always more or less miserable, and most of our acquaintance were in the same con...”