Reviews

By his own admission, Mason (The Mystery of Children) isn't a happy person by nature. A recovering alcoholic who had lived most of his life in a state of anxious, borderline depression, Mason realized that a lingering, low-grade melancholy was his last line of defense against the love of God. In this 90-day experiment, he sets out to see if he can "break my addiction to the cheap wine of melancholy... [and] seek champagne for the soul." His 90 short essays, each prefaced by a verse from Scripture about joy, chronicle his quest to find the happiness buried in the ordinary world of laundry to be done, errands to be run, meetings to attend and the general muck and mire of the human condition. Over the course of his experiment Mason discovers simple truths about joy: to find it you must discover a solid sense of identity, face crippling fears, offer thanks when you don't feel like it and try something new. Metaphors abound, and his passion is infectious as he helps demystify joy for the reader. At the end of his experiment, Mason finds that the deepest joys come out of the blue for no discernible reason, because "God Himself is all goodness and all rightness and because the depths of His joy surpass all understanding." Christians of all denominations will be inspired to sample this foamy elixir, sipping from its wisdom slowly and finding fresh ways to discover joy in everyday circumstances. (May) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.