The Laughing Guide to Well-Being

This book is hilarious. It is so funny that you will be tempted to race through abstract advice about well-being and happiness to get to the next funny story and have another belly laugh. Do not race. You will miss the wisdom for the wit.   -- Martin E. P. Seligman, Professor, University of Pennsylvania, Author of Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being
This is a disarmingly clever and humorous book that offers a rich array of wise advice on how to live a happier, healthier, more meaningful life in a topical and relevant way that makes you want more and more!  The best part?  The author shares many personal amusing stories from his own fascinating life! A brilliant and useful tool for everyone! -- S. Leonard Syme, Professor Emeritus, University of California Berkeley, Co-Editor of Promoting Health: Intervention Strategies from Social and Behavioral Research
This book is extremely funny and informative at the same time. If you want to improve your well-being while laughing out loud, read this book. Prilleltensky shows that you can do both! -- Talma Lobel, Professor, Tel Aviv University, Author of Sensation: The New Science of Physical Intelligence
If you are suffering from ennui or boredom, or just looking to enrich your everyday life, you will find this book to be hysterically funny, inspirational, and educational. The authenticity and humanity of the author, Isaac Prilleltensky, permeates every passage so deeply that you will feel that you have found a great friend and mentor. -- Geoff Nelson, Professor, Wilfrid Laurier University, Co-editor of Community Psychology and Community Mental Health
In The Laughing Guide to Well-Being: Using Humor and Science to Become Happier and Healthier, Dr. Prilleltensky, a respected authority in the area of well-being, reminds us that humor is a key factor in coping with life stressors and being resilient in work and life.   Drawing upon psychological insights, the scientific literature, and common life experiences this book provides an important contribution to positive psychology in general and our understanding of happiness in particular.    In each chapter, Dr. Prilleltensky uses a strengths-based orientation to provide both chuckles and chunks of wisdom that we can all use to create a greater sense of well-being in our lives.  And for those who are in leadership roles, I suggest they make this book required reading for those they supervise.  When leaders model the behaviors and attitudes described in this book, then they, their co-workers, and their workplace becomes healthier- and more productive!    The capacity to laugh is essential to our well-being and needed more today than ever.  This book provides the evidence, both scientific and anecdotal, that we each have the capacity to incorporate humor to strengthen our sense of well-being.  Be good to yourself, read this book!   -- Spencer Niles, Dean and Professor, School of Education, The College of William & Mary, Co-Author of Career Flow and Career Development Interventions
A Revelation! This is exactly what we need. The Laughing guide to Well-Being shows the one little changeable thing in our life – a better sense of humor – that can transform relationships, visions toward the future, and our health. But as we’ve gotten more prosperous over the years, we’ve also gotten more serious, skeptical, and snarky in our humor. Prilleltensky’s brilliant book shows how we can turn this around. There is no easier way to have a ripple across the rest of our lives than to realize that our laughing side is also our learning side. -- Brian Wansink, Ph.D., Professor, Cornell University, Author of Slim by Design and Mindless Eating
Who knew a self-help book could be funny, while being grounded in legitimate science; a guide to greater health or happiness, without being moralizing or prescriptive; or wise and insightful, without the self-directed blandishments from an author who can’t see himself having the same problems the rest of us have.  Dr. Prilleltensky has managed to pull off this hat trick – and produce a book that is fun to read and deeply educational. -- Harold G. Levine, Dean and Professor, School of Education, University of California, Davis
Don't let the lighthearted tone fool you! Dr. Prilleltensky provides witty descriptions of cutting-edge techniques and draws on the latest research to give you memorable, effective strategies for making your life meaningful and fun. Don't be surprised if you suddenly understand scientific thinking better, too. The guy entertained me immensely and taught me more than I would have ever guessed. -- Mitch Earlywine, Professor, SUNY Albany, Author of Humor 101
Isaac Prilleltensky has been long admired for his wisdom and insight about psychology, social issues, and well-being. His new book shines a light on his talents as a humorist, which allows him to generate incisive observations about the nature of the human condition. Reading this book will make you laugh and also will give you pause as you consider the complicated journey to a life of well-being, connection, and meaning. By weaving together humor, psychological insights, and compassion, Professor Prilleltensky has created a brilliant book, one that has enormous heart and a deep soul. -- David L. Blustein, Professor, Boston College, Author of The Psychology of Working
The Laughing Guide to Well-Being changed my life!!!  I gained 2 hours a day of productive time by simply washing my Senokot down with pomegranate juice…who knew….Isaac did!!!  You will learn and laugh; a great prescription for well-being. -- Kenneth A. Rosen, Chief Executive Officer, Infinity Sales Group
This book takes the “tense” out of Prilleltensky. It is not only funny, but also instructive, practical and deeply thought-provoking. Prof Prilleltensky's accessible text reminds us of the healing power of gentle satire and laughter, whilst also sharing important insights about the sources of personal and collective well-being across Interpersonal, Community, Occupational, Physical, Psychological, and Economic domains (I COPPE). -- Dr. Iain Butterworth, Manager; Liveability and Sustainability, Eastern & Southern Metropolitan Health, Victorian Dept. Health and Human Services, Australia
This book not only tickles your belly and makes your heart glad, but it contains important health information -- laughter is seriously good for you! It's a fun read that presents laughter as a tonic with powerful healing properties. You'll be convinced that a sense of well-being is good for your health and laughter is way more fun than surgery. -- Eduardo J. Padrón Ph.D., President, Miami Dade College
Reading Isaac Prilleltensky’s book is like having him as your own funny, irreverent, warm, and wise friend. For years, he’s been a scholarly mentor in matters of social equity and well-being; now he offers caring guidance in living a healthy, connected, good life -- all in the context of his hilarious observations of human nature (most often his own). Open and personal, informative but never preachy, Prilleltensky shows that we can take our wellness seriously without taking ourselves too seriously. -- Laura Smith, Associate Professor, Teachers College, Author of Psychology, Poverty, and the End of Social Exclusion
Prilleltensky adeptly tackles the challenges that confront most humor scholars.  How can the science of laughter be taken seriously? This book provides entertaining stories to illustrate and validate the psychology of humor as integral to the search for well-being.    -- Mary Kay Morrison, President, Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Author of Using Humor to Maximize Living
In The Laughing Guide to Well-Being, Isaac Prilleltensky combines humor and science, to provide readers with an in-depth understanding of the six areas of well-being. His approach is unique and innovative. Each chapter begins with The Laughing Side, then The Learning Side, which makes for a most engaging, informative, and at times, hilarious read. His use of amusingly constructed acronyms makes it easy to remember key concepts. This book is an important contribution to the field of happiness, laughter and well-being. I learnt and laughed a lot! -- Ros Ben-Moshe, Director of LaughLife Wellbeing Programs and Lecturer, School of Public Health, LaTrobe University
One need only spend a leisurely lunch with Isaac Prilleltensky to know you’re in the presence of someone who sees the world from a unique perspective. Even the most serious of subjects are broached with a sense of charm and humor that’s very rare these days.  I’ve had the pleasure of engaging Dr. Prilleltensky in a variety of settings, and knowing him as I do, it makes so much sense that he has written a wondrous new book, The Laughing Guide to Well-Being: Using Humor and Science to Become Happier and Healthier.  In his own words:  All of us can use a little help to become happier and healthier, and that’s just what he provides in this lively, funny and abundantly useful guide to leading the most fulfilling life possible. This is a book I know will resonate with my customers and all readers everywhere! -- Mitchell Kaplan, Owner, Books & Books
This is a humorous and entertaining book about matters of great seriousness and importance. Prof. Prilleltensky touches on central points related to human functioning and our experience of well-being. He draws on his rich experience, as well as providing support from contemporary research, ultimately providing profound insights about our lives. The humorous perspective complements the theoretical and empirical material, rendering it accessible to all. -- Amiram Raviv, Professor and Dean, School of Psychology, The Center for Academic Studies, Or-Yehuda, Former Chief Psychologist, Department of Education, Israel
The two most difficult tasks for a writer are, one, to make us laugh and, two, to get us to live healthy lifestyles. Isaac Prilleltensky has succeeded admirably with the humorous half of the equation and I trust is on his way to the second half as readers chuckle their ways through his book. Now, either laughter will help us live better or we can go back to the old method of scaring ourselves to death. I prefer his way – and so will you. -- Michael Lewis, Editor and Publisher, Miami Today
This is vintage Prilleltensky: a sharp, witty, compassionate and insightful approach that deftly handles the serious ways in which humour and laughter can enrich our capacity for individual and community wellbeing. A knowledgeable, deeply human and very funny piece of work that encourages us not only to see but to see through ourselves – and come out healthier and happier on the other side. -- Michele Grossman, Director, Centre for Cultural Diversity and Wellbeing Victoria University, Melbourne