How To Be Happy: Saint Thomas’ Secret to a Good Life

This was a great read on Aquinas living. It was easily digestible and enjoyable.

Just finished this, a great book. It guides well in properly orienting oneself, in a simple yet comprehensive manner which is well structured and easy to read.

This book contains a lot of insight on what happiness is and is not from the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas. It is a short book, but it is well written and captivating. The author put a lot of heart and thought into this book, I highly recommend.

This is a much more personal piece that Matt Fradd has written, but it is a great balance of his genuine self-reflection as well as scholarly research and references. This book will allow the reader to understand some of Aquinas’ more challenging points with ease while also getting a heartfelt expression of the author and his life. While the book provides food for thought on how to be happy, I found I was very happy in simply reading the book itself. Well worth the read.

Not only are the writings of Aquinas complex, but the source of true happiness and, by extension, the meaning of life are incredibly complex. Matt Fradd does a good job of concisely addressing the idea of happiness, as well as our shortcomings in obtaining it. While I think I would’ve benefited from more in-depth discussions in many of the points made throughout the book, the structure was excellent. This book serves quite effectively as a starting point for further study of the works of Aquinas. Given I’m pretty sure that’s it’s purpose, I give Matt credit for a job well done. Even without taking on certain complexities, this book is a great resource to start an examination into what we’re doing in our lives that could be keeping us from happiness. It also is effective in reminding us that the happiness we’re looking for cannot be found in a single book, but can only be found in our individual decisions to orient ourselves towards God.

What a fantastic book. I highly recommend it. 👌

It's a great and well written book with personal stories and references to St. Thomas Aquinas. I would recommend this to any of my friends.

This book was beautifully written for anyone who wants to dip a toe into Thomas Aquinas's teachings. I've always been intimidated by his works, but Matt Fradd has such a deep understanding that he can write so clearly for those of us who aren't theology or philosophy majors. Thanks for the great read, Matt!

I read other books by Matt Fradd in the past, and they were all beautiful; I really like his way of writing. But this one is absolutely wonderful, I loved it so much.He explains Aquinas in a crystalline way, giving you both theoretic concepts over which you can reflect and very practical applications you can relate to. Sometimes it is so real that you read and think "my gosh, is he talking about MY life?".Obviously, the book will not and cannot be the source of your happiness, but it definitely gives you the starting point: what to do (and not to do), what works and what doesn't; and most importantly it helps you to strengthen virtues, the essential 'spiritual muscles' for experiencing happiness.If you, like me, experience the void in the heart and are searching for a way to fill it, this book will certainly make you understand what can fill that void, and what you can do to be 'happy' (although not perfectly) even in this life.

This is a great, fresh look at some of St. Thomas Aquinas’ writings on happiness and joy, laid out in a simple way making it very accessible and easy to read and understand.

I have enjoyed this book. It is not too indepth, just right. Footnotes mean I can delve deeper if I want to. I live how the capital sins are succinctly spelled out and their remedy is listed, too.