Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    This Is Not The Story You Think It Is...: A Season of Unlikely Happiness
    Unavailable
    This Is Not The Story You Think It Is...: A Season of Unlikely Happiness
    Unavailable
    This Is Not The Story You Think It Is...: A Season of Unlikely Happiness
    Audiobook9 hours

    This Is Not The Story You Think It Is...: A Season of Unlikely Happiness

    Written by Laura Munson

    Narrated by Joyce Bean

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    "I don't love you anymore. I'm not sure I ever did."
    His words came at me like a speeding fist, like a sucker punch, yet somehow in that moment I was able to duck. And once I recovered and composed myself, I managed to say, "I don't buy it." Because I didn't. He drew back in surprise. Apparently he'd expected me to burst into tears, to rage at him, to threaten him with a custody battle. Or beg him to change his mind. . . . I really wanted to fight. To rage. To cry. But I didn't. Instead, a shroud of calm enveloped me, and I repeated those words: "I don't buy it."
    You see, I'd recently committed to a non-negotiable understanding with myself. I'd committed to "The End of Suffering." I'd . . . decided to take responsibility for my own happiness. And I mean all of it.

    When Laura Munson's essay appeared in the "Modern Love" column of The New York Times, it created a firestorm. Readers sent it to their friends, therapists gave it to their patients, pastors read it to their congregations. People everywhere were struck by Munson's wisdom. But how was she able to implement this strategy? How was she able to commit herself to an "End of Suffering" at such a critical time?
    At forty years old, certain parts of Munson's life were going exactly as planned-she had two wonderful children, a husband she adored, a cherished home. Yet she and her husband, the once golden couple, weren't looking so golden anymore. While she had come to peace with her life, her husband had not.
    Poignant, wise, and often exceedingly funny, This Is Not The Story You Think It Is... recounts Munson's journey. Shaken to her core after the death of her beloved father, and having sought guidance and solace in stacks of books and hours of therapy, she finally realized that she had to stop basing her happiness on things outside her control. And once she had this key piece of wisdom, she realized she could withstand almost anything.
    Written as she experiences her crisis, moment by moment, sometimes breath by breath, Munson's book is raw and searingly honest in the very best sense. She takes readers by the hand as they embark, together, on a journey whose outcome is not known. Filled with wisdom, truth, and heart-and a great tomato sauce recipe-This Is Not The Story You Think It Is... is ultimately about how to be responsible for your own well-being. It is a candid, powerful, unforgettable memoir.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateJul 1, 2010
    ISBN9781441867681
    Unavailable
    This Is Not The Story You Think It Is...: A Season of Unlikely Happiness
    Author

    Laura Munson

    Laura Munson is a writer who lives with her husband and children in Montana.

    Related to This Is Not The Story You Think It Is...

    Related audiobooks

    Women's Biographies For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    Reviews for This Is Not The Story You Think It Is...

    3.5/5

    50 ratings7 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      A decent memoir, but not what I expected. Much less zen detachment than advertised.
    • 4/5
      read the article that prompted the book, so decided to give it a try when I saw this at a used book store. Worth the effort, I wanted to finish, interesting that she never gives her husband a name, I think it does serve to keep the story about her, which I suspect is part of the reason for it.
    • 4/5
      read the article that prompted the book, so decided to give it a try when I saw this at a used book store. Worth the effort, I wanted to finish, interesting that she never gives her husband a name, I think it does serve to keep the story about her, which I suspect is part of the reason for it.
    • 2/5
      An interesting premise, but I just couldn't get through it. Not exactly sure why. Too introspective? Too slow? Though one should not expect anything more than a moderate pace in a book such as this. It was tough to connect to the narrator. Despite her real problem and her extraordinary success, the first 50 pages just weren't that interesting.
    • 4/5
      I loved her piece for Modern Love in the New York Times and I wanted to like her book but I found it disappointing. I'm not sure why - it may be a case of less is more. She seemed to want to over control her husband's search for equanimity and that bothered me.
    • 5/5
      I am not certain that I can do justice to this book. It had such a profound impact on my approach to life, to my marriage, that I am still processing what to do with this information. Ms. Munson presents her story in such a forthright manner, her pain and terror at what is occurring in her marriage is palable and at times very uncomfortable to read. I alternated between not wanting to put myself through the anguish but curiosity to see how her philosophy worked in the end. I forced myself to read one page at a time, as it was meant to be read. After all, if she did not know how her experiment was going to end when she started it, how fair is it for the reader to jump ahead and read her conclusions? The journey Ms. Munson goes on during this one summer is the beauty of the story.How can I describe This Is Not The Story You Think It Is? The frontpiece of the novel informs the reader that it is a memoir. Of that, there is no doubt. However, it is so much more than just a memoir. It is a change of life, a new philosophy that Ms. Munson uncovers one summer as she struggles to find happiness in a situation she never considered she would face. It is a self-help book in every essence of the word, as Ms. Munson shares with the reader her own effort to help herself find happiness and peace.There are so many gems in this book; I found myself wanting to break out the highlighter to showcase sentence after sentence that resonated with me at a deep level. "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." (pg. 61) "It's when you stop wanting outside of your control, that you'll be happy." (pg. 4) "Our happiness is not outside ourselves. It's all here. In us. It always was." (pg. 116)For someone with low self-esteem, what life-changing words! Words are just words and can only upset us if we let them. We each generate our own happiness. If you take them to heart, can you imagine the peace, the relief you would feel? I can. Make no mistake, Ms. Munson fought this lesson. It was a battle that took her four months to win, and even then, it was a day-to-day victory. But the end result was worth the battle, and that is what counts.This Is Not The Story You Think It Is: A Season of Unlikely Happiness is an amazing story of patience, fortitude and love - love of life, love of self, love of family. Whether she believes it or not, Laura Munson is a wise woman, and we would do well to heed her words of wisdom.
    • 4/5
      In writing This Is Not The Story You Think It Is, Laura reflects on the early days with her husband. She delves into their connection and the caring moments the two have shared. They lived in Boston, then Seattle—where her husband ran a successful brewery-- and finally moved to the wide plains of Montana. Laura has written 14 novels and has never had one published. She does manage to publish the occasional article but not nearly often enough. Laura also reflects on the successful marriage of her well-to-do parents. She was a daddy’s girl and feels good about it. And by caring for her own well-being and providing her husband with support in silence and space, Laura and her husband come to an understanding.