I'm all for happiness and whatnot, but the un-ending and shameless self promotion in these columns is really off-putting. The reader can never forget for an instant that these "articles" are really about promoting Gretchen so she can be happy (with your money). They are commercials disuised as self-help fluff. I feel nauseated after reading these. They actually reduce my happiness.

it saved me the trouble writing it.

You feel nauseated reading these? I can't make it through 4 sentences before I'm hoping Gretchen get hit by an asteroid. Kaboom!

I, also, find the whole "Happiness Project" blog incredibly self-absorbed. I don't literally hope she gets hit by an asteroid, but I do think she has very little perspective on the lives of people who are really between a rock and a hard place. A bunch of cliches and advice on cleaning out your closets won't help people who truly have little happiness in their lives due to illness, financial desperation, or family collapse. A thorough reading of the blog (yes, it was nauseating, but I plowed through, thinking surely it couldn't ALL be the same treacly chirping) reveals the truth of Gretchen's worldview. She is prosperous, privileged, and completely self-absorbed.