Build the Life You Want by Oprah & Brooks

You don’t need the outside world to change to become happier. You can choose it today.

In this transformative guide, Harvard sociologist Arthur C. Brooks and beloved storyteller Oprah Winfrey invite you on a journey toward lasting joy no matter your challenges. Drawing on cutting-edge emotional science, real-life stories, and Oprah’s personal reflections (“Notes from Oprah”), this book is a blend of heartfelt insight and structural clarity 

At The Growth Shelf, we believe happiness isn’t passive, it’s cultivated through inner mastery. This book teaches emotional self-management not by denying difficulty but by redirecting it toward healing, growth, and meaning.

💡 What You’ll Learn

• How to manage your emotions, so they no longer dictate your outlook or actions
• Ways to turn setbacks into growth, reframing struggle as opportunity
• How to nurture your four pillars of happiness family, friendship, fulfilling work, and spiritual connection 
• To build deeper, more resilient relationships at any age
• How to shape work that feeds your soul, not just your bank account
• Ways to practice faith and stillness as foundations of inner peace

🛠 Why It Matters

• Evidence-backed clarity: Combines behavioral science with practical exercises to help you act, not just hope
• Personal and universal: Brooks shares research-backed strategies; Oprah offers emotional resonance and lived wisdom 
• A blueprint for now: It isn't a distant promise, it’s a guide to choose happiness today

✨ Who This Book Is For

• Anyone longing to feel happier regardless of circumstances
• Leaders, creatives, seekers facing burnout who need emotional resilience
• Those ready to live intentionally with heart, hope, and direction

Build the Life You Want is both mirror and map: it helps you see where you stand and shows you how to climb with purpose.

Because building happiness isn’t a destination, it’s a daily practice.