The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness

“A pure romp . . .  A deeply revealing memoir in which the pathos doesn't kill the humor—delivers more than it promises.”
—Kirkus Reviews
 
“For readers who want a break from the current madness in the world and a good dose of Poundstone humor, this book will certainly provide.”
—NY Journal of Books
 
“Smart, sweet, and laugh-out-loud funny balm for exceedingly stressful times.”
—Booklist
 
 “The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness is a remarkable journey. I laughed. I cried. I got another cat.”
—Lily Tomlin
 
“The bravest and best improv comic of our time has now done the impossible and created a Work of Literature that has the wild hairy spirit of performance about it. Sort of like Emmy Dickinson Her Sensational Cat Circus.  Or Hermie Melville His Singing Whale. The whole family comes in for the price of one ticket and there is not a bad seat in the house.”
—Garrison Keillor                                                             
 
“Reading Paula Poundstone’s The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness, I laughed until I got fit, wired, earthy, organized, you-name-it. I’m happy now. I’ve discovered that the secret to happiness is to let Paula do all these things while I read her hilarious book about it.”
—P.J. O’Rourke
 
“If you haven’t met Paula Poundstone, I highly recommend that you get to know her now. I flew through her book and laughed at every page.”
—Dick Van Dyke
 
“Paula Poundstone is hilarious.  She says that deep-rooted happiness requires a sense of purpose. I started reading this book because I knew it would make me laugh, and it did. I finished this book with hope, my own sense of purpose, and a renewed faith in people.”
—Trisha Yearwood
 
“Paula Poundstone deserves to be happy. Nobody deserves to be this funny.”
—Roy Blount Jr.
 
“Paula Poundstone never disappoints with her stand-up, and now she has written an informative and highly entertaining book which deserves to be read and discussed . . . and I highly recommend that it is.” 
—Carl Reiner  
 
“Did someone finally do it?  Did Paula Poundstone discover the secret to human happiness?  I don’t want to give away the ending, but she did make me laugh a LOT, and even shed some tears. Read this book!” 
—Pete Docter, screenwriter and director, Inside Out, Up and Monsters, Inc.  
 
“My God, this is a funny book! Bright shafts of the incomparable Poundstone wit come at you from every page.” 
—Dick Cavett, New York Times columnist and author of Brief Encounters
 
“Paula Poundstone is the funniest human being I have ever known. Everything she does, thinks, or says is hilarious.  She is made of funny.  If you chopped her into bits, each piece would be hilarious.  (But don’t.)  Air becomes funny having been breathed by her.  So, thus and naturally, this book is hilarious.  Even the punctuation is a scream. Buy it.”
—Peter Sagal, host, "Wait, Wait . . . Don't Tell Me!" and author of The Book of Vice