Book Review and Giveaway: I'm Happy for You (Sort Of...Not Really) by Kay Wills Wyma

I was given the opportunity to review I'm Happy for You (Sort Of...Not Really): Finding Contentment in a Culture of Comparison and I have been greatly affected by the message of this book.

I feel the subject of this book is so timely for my generation and the generations younger than me as a 40-something who have literally grown up in what has become a digital age of connecting us with friends and loved ones.

About the Author

Kay Wills Wyma is a blogger, mother of five, and the author of Cleaning House through which she has appeared on The TODAY Show, CNN, Glenn Beck, The New York Times, Focus on the Family, and more. Before becoming a stay-at-home mom, she held positions at the White House, the Staubach Company, and Bank of America. Kay lives in the Dallas area with her husband, Jon, and their family.

Hydrate For The Holidays

With the holiday season in full force, tackling this subject seems not for the faint at heart because holidays seem to bring with them a heaping helping of comparison opportunities to abound in every facet of our lives. I felt as a blogger that this would actually be the ideal time to bring this topic of discussion to my readers. That's also why Kay has chosen to discuss this subject during this season. She is sharing reflections on her blog to #HydrateForTheHolidays to learn how to recapture contentment and joy, especially during the holidays and she’ll be sharing thoughts on this subject throughout the season.

So I ask this question that the author Kay asks the reader: "Is comparison living hijacking your life?" What a powerful question.

Joy Stealers
Now, meet two of the joy stealers in this digital age: comparison and competition. One can easily give way to the other one. In this age of social media, it seems there is always something waiting for us online to post or peruse. There can be a tendency for friends who see our posts and pictures to become our audience, our judges for the tidbits of our lives we share on social media.

Here is where trying to measure your value against others comes into play. Measuring yourself against your friend's marriage, job, clothing size, vacations, car, life. The seemingly fabulous life unfurling through your friend's Instagram snapshots. This time of year, seeing that relative's or that friend's Pinterest-worthy holiday decor can quickly give way to feelings of inadequacy.

The Pinterest Trap  
If you're a parent, your child or children can take on a likeness as though they are a part of your brand. If you're the parent watching another parent's post on social media as they unveil amazing child activities and crafts accomplished on any given day and then it starts to creep in, that feeling of inadequacy as a parent. I have a cousin who is the mother of a young child and she mentioned this particular tendency when looking at Pinterest. What I say to her is that I have seen wonderful and loving parenting to her daughter shine through her social media posts that no amount of Pinterest-worthy parent-child activity can diminish.

What's happening here? The yield this way of thinking brings is discontent, exhaustion, loneliness, undercutting of relationships and sapping contentment.  

In this book, Kay shares the simple remedies that helped her and her family reboot their perspective against this way of comparison thinking and the yield from this change brought their family freedom, authenticity and joy.

Kay confronts the comparison epidemic raging in our homes, our neighborhoods, and our social-media feeds, offering remedies along the way. She takes the reader on a journey exploring the troubling effects of living in an excessively competitive culture—and reveals simple yet effective ways to escape the comparison trap and trade comparison for compassion.

For more information on I'm Happy for You (Sort Of...Not Really), you can visit Kay's  Official Website here.

Giveaway:
One of you will win I'm Happy for You (Sort Of...Not Really), valued at $14.99. To enter, please leave a comment below. Giveaway closes on Saturday, December 5 at 8:00 pm EST. Open to US and Canada residents only. 


If you are not able to leave a comment on this blog post, please e-mail  angelaskitchen@rocketmail.com with "Giveaway Entry" in the subject line and that will count as your entry.

"Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

 Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.”