Book excerpt: If this guy can find actual happiness, so can you—and you’ll have fun along the way. A refreshing new voice—without pretense, and with a real gift for clear expression. Let's face it: we all have a motivating drive to become "better." what we have and who we are never seem to be good enough. This feeling that something is wrong or needs to be fixed causes us to continuously run around, chasing after what we feel will finally fulfill us. But what if these very conditions that we are constantly trying to escape from could be used as a way to awaken ourselves—to connect with the peace already within us? A Fool’s Guide to Actual Happiness offers a realistic roadmap for working toward inner peace without needing to be someone you’re not. With humor and refreshing simplicity, Van Buren shows how everything life throws at you, good and bad, can be used as a means to cultivate compassion, wisdom, and loving-kindness. This book allows you to explore who you are—warts and all—and gives you tools to love and accept what you find.