Table of Contents
Praise for Neil Pasricha andThe Book of Awesome
Toe-curling, hug-inducing, blanket-snuggling AWESOME.
Youngme Moon, author of Different, professor of business administration and associate dean, Harvard Business School
Pasricha emerges a committed but inviting optimist, combating lifes unending stream of bad news by identifying opportunities to share a universal high-five with humanity.
Publishers Weekly
Celebrates and honors the little joys of life!
USA Today
Its nice to remind yourself of lifes sweeter side and the pleasures to be had from the small thingslike peeling the thin plastic film off new electronic gadgets or sneaking your own cheap snacks into the cinemas. Life really is awesome after all.
The Guardian
Laugh out loud. You feel like youve thought of these things a thousand times but just havent stopped to write them down.BBC South America
Reading your blog always brings a smile to my face & I feel like I am talking to you.
E-mail from the authors mother
Laugh out loud funny tinged with just enough sarcastic nostalgia.
Wired magazine
AMY EINHORN BOOKS
Published by G. P. Putnams Sons a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
New York
So whats this all about?
Were all gonna get lumps.
Were all gonna get bumps.
Nobody can predict the future, but we do know one thing about it: It aint gonna go according to plan.
Yes, well all have massive highs, big days, and proud moments. Color-faded, postcard-streaked blurs will float and flash through our brains on our deathbeds, of wide eyes on graduation stages, father-daughter dances at weddings, and healthy baby screeches in the delivery room. And dotting those big moments will be smaller ones too: fragile hugs from Grandma on Christmas morning, two-year-olds handing you a bouquet of dandelions and saying I love you, or your boyfriend staring into your eyes and smiling while lazing in bed on Sunday morning.
But like I said.
Were all gonna get lumps.
Were all gonna get bumps.
Its sad but things could happen or hurt you that you just cant predict.
Your husband might leave you, your girlfriend may cheat, your headaches might be serious, your dog could get smacked in the street. Yes, your kids might get mixed up with tough gangs or bad scenes. Its sad but your mom could get cancer ... or your dad could get mean.
There will be times in your life youre tossed down the well too. There will be times youll cry yourself to sleep, with twists in your stomach, with holes in your heart. You may wonder if its all worth it and you may think that it aint. You may wonder if you can handle it or you may beg for restraint.
But when bad news washes over you and when the pain sponges and soaks in, I really hope you feel like youve always got two big choices:
1. You can swish and swirl in gloom and doom forever, or
2. You can grieve and face the future with newly sober eyes
Sure, life has dealt me some blows in the couple years Ive been writing about awesome things. There was the mindnumbing loneliness of moving to a brand new nowhere town, the broken heart of a broken marriage, and the searing waves of regret when a friend took his own life.
But Im lucky because Ive had a way out for the past two years. Ive had a secret pill to swallow, a magic potion to swirl, and a bubbly cauldron to sip from every time I felt down or felt black or felt blue. And I hope you know that remedy and I hope you feel it too.
After all, youre reading it right now.
Yes, awesome things make my life better, people. And I hope they do the same for you.
I honestly cant go a day anymore without smiling at a couple tiny awesome things in my world. Whether its stepping on barely frozen puddles, finally peeing after holding it forever, or driving to an intersection just as the lights turn green, these tiny things make a great big difference.
So come on. Come on! Are you with me? Whos with me? I say if youve got a couple fist pumps in you, if youve got a sneaky twinkle in your eye, if youve got an itchy old soul that loves smiling at strangers, dancing at weddings, and popping the heck out of Bubble Wrap, then come on in and join The AWESOME Movement.
Its my sincere hope that awesome things help those of us who need them to grieve and move on, and remind us that the best things in life are free. For us, maybe its a ladder out of the well or a dusty flashlight beam in the darkness. For others, perhaps its just a little laugh on the back of the toilet, a bit of peace before bed, or a spark for debates about what matters most to you, you, or you.
For me, I know Ill have more dark days, and I know my friends will too, but I like thinking that glue movies, flavor pockets, and big night naps will always cheer me through to the other side.
While polar ice caps melt, while health care debates rage on, while buzz saws chop down forests, while wars go on and on, I hope theres always a special secret place where we can turn off that bright light, snuggle right on up, and get comfy to chat about the sweetest parts of life.
Thank you for reading The Book of (Even More) Awesome . I feel so incredibly grateful, lucky, and honored to walk down this road with you. And thank you for letting our stories all tightly twist together as we all keep moving forward and we all keep moving on.
Hope you enjoy the book.
Neil
Coming back to your own bed after a long trip
Do you remember your Worst Sleep Ever?
Man, I sure do. It was back when I was in college and a few friends and I drove a skiddy van across a snowy highway in the middle of a blizzard to crash with my friend Chad. It was a frozen weekend full of laughs and catching up with friends who had all been pulled apart after high school.
Now, it was late Friday night in this quiet college town when a few of us figured it was time to hit the sack. There were no fresh linens, soft pillows, or fluffy towels waiting for us there. Nope, all we had in that cold, dark basement were a couple ratty couches, a hollow wooden door to the blizzard outside, and some cheap ticking clocks on the wall.
Well, what choice did we have?
We made little beds from couch cushions, used sweatshirts for pillows, and covered our shivering bodies with zippery, snow-smeared winter coats. As if that wasnt bad enough, the clocks tick-tick-ticked all night and somebody got home really late and left the back door wide open. Nobody noticed until morning when all our teeth were chattering and there was a foot-high snowdrift under the ping-pong table.
It was a nightmare, but I know youve been there too.
Power-napping on bumpy airplanes, crashing on flabby futons or jabby mattresses, sleeping in rainy forests in leaky tents, youve had your fair share. Bad sleeps, sad sleeps, sackpillow heaps, weird alarm clock beeps, and through it all you enjoy long, fidgety nights of groggy pillow turns and fuzzy blanket burns.
