Being Perfect & A Short Guide to a Happy Life (Unabridged) Audiobook, by Anna Quindlen Play Audiobook Sample

Being Perfect & A Short Guide to a Happy Life Audiobook (Unabridged)

Being Perfect & A Short Guide to a Happy Life (Unabridged) Audiobook, by Anna Quindlen Play Audiobook Sample
Currently Unavailable
This audiobook is no longer available through the publisher and we don't know if or when it will become available again. Please check out similar audiobooks below, and click the "Vote this up!" button to let us know you're interested in this title. This audiobook has 0 votes
Read By: Anna Quindlen Publisher: Random House Listen Time: at 1.0x Speed 0.50 hours at 1.5x Speed 0.38 hours at 2.0x Speed Release Date: May 2005 Format: Unabridged Audiobook ISBN:

Other Audiobooks Written by Anna Quindlen: > View All...

Publisher Description

At the heart of this beautiful and insightful audiobook lies the perfection trap, what it is, how to avoid falling into it, and how to instead shape a life that is uniquely yours.

In Being Perfect, Anna Quindlen gives a name to, and invites us to laugh at, a lifestyle that is all too familiar to many people, one that emphasizes the pursuit of trying to be perfect in the eyes of others, and to win the world's good opinion, rather than focusing on the most important goal of all: Giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself. With wit and wisdom, Quindlen offers a keen understanding of how to create a life that is rich in meaning for you, by living on your own terms and by listening to your own deepest instincts, rather than to the demands and values of the world outside. This audiobook is an inspiring guide to living a rewarding and happy life, a life fulfilling in all its flaws, a life that is truly yours.

In A Short Guide to a Happy Life, Quindlen reflects on what it takes to get a life, to live deeply everyday and form your own unique self, rather than merely to exist through your days. Knowledge of our own mortality is the greatest gift God ever gives us, Quindlen states, because unless you know the clock is ticking, it is so easy to waste our days, our lives. Her mother died when Quindlen was 19: It was the dividing line between seeing the world in black and white, and in Technicolor. The lights came on for the darkest possible reason....I learned something about enduring, in a very short period of time, about life. And that was that it was glorious, and that you had no business taking it for granted. But how to live from that perspective, to fully engage in our days? In A Short Guide to a Happy Life, Quindlen guides us with an understanding that comes from knowing how to see the view, the richness in living.

Download and start listening now!

"Basically a commencement address--but Quindlen is spot on as always. This was a good little pep talk to start the new year, get my head in order and set out to be my best self (Ok, that's Oprah, but it's all the same.) "

— Marcia (5 out of 5 stars)

Being Perfect & A Short Guide to a Happy Life (Unabridged) Listener Reviews

Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 (4.00)
5 Stars: 5
4 Stars: 6
3 Stars: 1
2 Stars: 2
1 Stars: 0
Narration: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 (0.00)
5 Stars: 0
4 Stars: 0
3 Stars: 0
2 Stars: 0
1 Stars: 0
Story: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 (0.00)
5 Stars: 0
4 Stars: 0
3 Stars: 0
2 Stars: 0
1 Stars: 0
Write a Review
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " Very short book with some good thoughts about how we burden ourselves with expectations instead of being our true selves. "

    — Tessa, 5/26/2011
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " Should be required reading for all high-achieving young women. "

    — Phyllis, 4/28/2011
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " This is a quick and entertaining read about not trying to be perfect all the time! "

    — Marissa, 4/27/2011
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " Read it in five minutes. Remember it forever. "

    — Jennifer, 3/2/2011
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " Ahem...I'm just sayin'...I'm a recovering perfectionist. Been through the 13 Step Program (Note...12 would have been a perfect number! See how I've progressed!) "

    — Julie, 2/17/2011
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Quite a sweet little book. I adore the black and white pictures throughout and the message is a good one to think over. "

    — Jenny, 1/29/2011
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " A wonderful, quick read. I love Anna Quindlen's concise prose. "

    — Jennifer, 1/20/2011
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " A little book of great wisdom which I need to add to my library. "WELL BEHAVED WOMEN DON"T MAKE HISTORY". "

    — Andrea, 1/18/2011
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " Reads like a college graduation speech: dare to do your own thing. "

    — Karen, 1/3/2011
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " I loved this little book full of wisdom. "

    — Linda, 12/14/2010
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " I have a signed copy of this book - a gift from Brent a few years ago and one of my favorite all-time gifts. :) "

    — Jen, 11/9/2010
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " A short 48 page book that I did not find enlightening or inspiring...or whatever it was supposed to do for me. It sounded like a high school graduation speech. "

    — Julie, 8/16/2010
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " A quick read reminding you it is not being perfect that is important but to strive to be the person you want to be. "

    — Kathie, 8/14/2010
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " A case for NOT being perfect. Insightful, quick read and well worth the message. "

    — Linda, 6/23/2010

About Anna Quindlen

Anna Quindlen is a novelist and journalist whose work has appeared on fiction, nonfiction, and self-help bestseller lists, including the #1 New York Times bestsellers list. She is the author of several novels. While a journalist, her New York Times column “Public and Private” won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992. Her column appears regularly in Newsweek.