In our cultural history, all emotions have been more culturally acceptable to women.

I've been thinking about disowning some of my genes lately. I have a few healthy, happy, long-living optimists in my family tree - most of them fans of Christian Science founder Mary Baker Eddy, a major champion of positive thinking. But I've got plenty of ancestors who played out more tortured hands.

When I was a kid, my mother's parenting style teetered between benign neglect and intense bouts of violence.

Conventional wisdom tells us we'll only be happier after a divorce if the marriage itself was a war zone.

A lot of positive psychology is stuck in being the psychology of privilege, and I reject that.

The first person who ever told me that happiness was work was this manic-depressive artist I knew when I was in my 20s. I was like, 'What are you talking about? Happiness just happens. That's even the root of that word. How could it be work?

I don't know if my mother was a narcissist - or bi-polar or borderline. Those were words she tossed around over the years.