This Is Happy

Praise

National Bestseller
Shortlisted for the RBC Taylor Prize 
A National Post Best Book of the Year
A Globe and Mail Best Book of 2015
A Quill & Quire Notable Book of 2015

“One of the most exquisite, agonizing and, above all, uplifting books of the year.” —The Globe and Mail

“Stunning. . . . An unflinching and moving testimony to how a new kind of family can be built from an old one’s wreckage.” —Montreal Gazette

“Anger, honesty, compassion, fear, wit and insight electrify Gibb’s deft sentences, singing the importance of belonging, of self-worth and of story, particularly its unique ability to render us knowable to others and to ourselves but, most especially, to our children.” —Winnipeg Free Press

“This Is Happy is a raw, exposed nerve sheathed in poetic insights. . . . An honest and unflinching look at the pain of abandonment, and the deep digging and work you must undertake to rebuild your world and find your happiness.” —CBC News

“[Gibb is] a gifted storyteller. . . . Her story is touching, human, alive. . . . It is beautifully written, brave and sincere. Enjoy.” —The Vancouver Sun

“This Is Happy is a powerful testament to what people can overcome and permission for what people can’t.” —Toronto Star

“This Is Happy has a rawness and power that’s hard to resist. . . . Gibb’s themes are important, and she has some powerful insights. . . . There’s no doubt this engaging memoir comes from a gifted writer.” —NOW (Toronto)

“An array of life experiences both marvellous and painful in quiet language that often belies their extraordinariness. . . . This Is Happy is a tiny green shoot peeking through a crack in heavy concrete, wily and survivalist, but tenuous too.” —The Globe and Mail

“Camilla Gibb has written a compelling memoir of new motherhood, altered relationships and a family finding its way to wholeness. How moving this book is, in its quiet resolve and deep compassion.” —Anne Michaels, the award-winning author of Fugitive Pieces

“This Is Happy broke me, lifted me up, and filled me. I can’t remember the last time I read something so honest, tender, brutal and kind.” —Sarah Polley