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The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country
Por Helen Russell
Acciones del libro
Comenzar a leerNota del editor
Get cozy for the holidays…
How do people in Denmark stay so happy through long, harsh winters? And how can you do the same this chilly holiday season? Cozy up with this fascinating guide and discover the secrets to living a happy life no matter how cold it gets outside.
Descripción
* NOW WITH A NEW CHAPTER *
'A hugely enjoyable romp through the pleasures and pitfalls of setting up home in a foreign land.'- Guardian
Given the opportunity of a new life in rural Jutland, Helen Russell discovered a startling statistic: Denmark, land of long dark winters, cured herring, Lego and pastries, was the happiest place on earth.
Keen to know their secrets, Helen gave herself a year to uncover the formula for Danish happiness.
From childcare, education, food and interior design to SAD and taxes, The Year of Living Danishly records a funny, poignant journey, showing us what the Danes get right, what they get wrong, and how we might all live a little more Danishly ourselves.
In this new edition, six years on Helen reveals how her life and family have changed, and explores how Denmark, too – or her understanding of it – has shifted. It’s a messy and flawed place, she concludes – but can still be a model for a better way of living.
'A hugely enjoyable romp through the pleasures and pitfalls of setting up home in a foreign land.'- Guardian
Given the opportunity of a new life in rural Jutland, Helen Russell discovered a startling statistic: Denmark, land of long dark winters, cured herring, Lego and pastries, was the happiest place on earth.
Keen to know their secrets, Helen gave herself a year to uncover the formula for Danish happiness.
From childcare, education, food and interior design to SAD and taxes, The Year of Living Danishly records a funny, poignant journey, showing us what the Danes get right, what they get wrong, and how we might all live a little more Danishly ourselves.
In this new edition, six years on Helen reveals how her life and family have changed, and explores how Denmark, too – or her understanding of it – has shifted. It’s a messy and flawed place, she concludes – but can still be a model for a better way of living.
Acciones del libro
Comenzar a leerInformación sobre el libro
The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country
Por Helen Russell
Nota del editor
Get cozy for the holidays…
How do people in Denmark stay so happy through long, harsh winters? And how can you do the same this chilly holiday season? Cozy up with this fascinating guide and discover the secrets to living a happy life no matter how cold it gets outside.
Descripción
* NOW WITH A NEW CHAPTER *
'A hugely enjoyable romp through the pleasures and pitfalls of setting up home in a foreign land.'- Guardian
Given the opportunity of a new life in rural Jutland, Helen Russell discovered a startling statistic: Denmark, land of long dark winters, cured herring, Lego and pastries, was the happiest place on earth.
Keen to know their secrets, Helen gave herself a year to uncover the formula for Danish happiness.
From childcare, education, food and interior design to SAD and taxes, The Year of Living Danishly records a funny, poignant journey, showing us what the Danes get right, what they get wrong, and how we might all live a little more Danishly ourselves.
In this new edition, six years on Helen reveals how her life and family have changed, and explores how Denmark, too – or her understanding of it – has shifted. It’s a messy and flawed place, she concludes – but can still be a model for a better way of living.
'A hugely enjoyable romp through the pleasures and pitfalls of setting up home in a foreign land.'- Guardian
Given the opportunity of a new life in rural Jutland, Helen Russell discovered a startling statistic: Denmark, land of long dark winters, cured herring, Lego and pastries, was the happiest place on earth.
Keen to know their secrets, Helen gave herself a year to uncover the formula for Danish happiness.
From childcare, education, food and interior design to SAD and taxes, The Year of Living Danishly records a funny, poignant journey, showing us what the Danes get right, what they get wrong, and how we might all live a little more Danishly ourselves.
In this new edition, six years on Helen reveals how her life and family have changed, and explores how Denmark, too – or her understanding of it – has shifted. It’s a messy and flawed place, she concludes – but can still be a model for a better way of living.
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Fun and informative! I loved this.
Rating: 4An interesting, Brit's view of life in Denmark which manages to come up with many surprising facts about Denmark and Danes. Despite the impression of being quite laid-back, it appears Danes are actually quite highly regulated in many aspects of their life, but accept this as a price for being one of the happiest nationalities. Best read in short chunks.
Rating: 4Helen Russell is a London-based journalist working long hours to further her career, but finding herself feeling more stressed than satisfied. When her husband is offered a job working for a Danish company, they decide to take a leap into the unknown for a year and see how it works out. Helen turns to freelance journalism focused largely on Danish culture and lifestyle, seeking to understand what is behind the studies showing Danes to be the happiest people on earth. Each chapter of this memoir looks at one aspect of Danish living, from home life and weather to government, from traditions and food to gender roles and parenting. The insights to Danish culture and happiness are interesting and thought-provoking. In parallel to her cultural analysis, Russell candidly shares their immigrant/expat experience, which goes well beyond the obvious language issues to very real differences in mindset and social norms which are not obvious and can easily be violated. Russell’s writing style is breezy, with plenty of humor even when writing about hard times. It’s clear the experience changed Russell and her husband for the better, and the book ends on a positive and hopeful note.
Rating: 4Best for: Anyone possibly considering a move to Denmark. Or just people who like fish-out-of-water stories.In a nutshell: Writer Helen Russell moves with her husband to the land of Legos for (at least) a year, and takes the time to document her experience and how it differs from life in the UK.Line that sticks with me: “ ‘We have a lot of ‘curling parents’ in Denmark, who do everything for their kids and won’t say not to them. The expression is named after the sport — only it’s the parents with the brooms who keep brushing in front of their kids, removing any obstacles to make their lives easier.’ ” (pg 204)Why I chose it: It’s possible I’ll be embarking on my own year of living Danishly in the next few months. Review: This is a fun, fairly quick read (despite its 350 pages). Author Helen Russell decides to spend some of her time in Denmark getting to the bottom of why the country is consistently ranked as having the happiest inhabitants. She breaks the year down by the twelve months, focusing on one area in each month. She explores the home, the workplace (we’ll get back to this), child-rearing, the social support net, health, culture, and traditions, among other things.Some bits are fascinating, and I’d be interested in reading a review from someone who was born and raised in Denmark. I’ve heard that the Scandinavian system — very high taxes, lots of social support, but not nearly as much income disparity as in places like, say, the U.S. — is great in general, and given the fact that in the U.S. our elected officials seem hell-bent in taking what little access to health care we are guaranteed away from us at the first opportunity (for example), it sounds a bit like a dream.However, it is lacking in some parts. First, while Ms. Russell does sort of mention the issue when talking about animals and a law passed that was seen as impacting Kosher and Halal preparation, she doesn’t really discuss what life is like for immigrants who are not white. Do they have the same levels of happiness? How are race relations in the country in general?The other main area that is lacking is the discussion of the workplace. While she does share some of her husband’s experiences, because she is a freelance writer, she doesn’t have first-hand knowledge of what it’s like to work in a different country’s office.
Rating: 4Denmark is officially the happiest nation on Earth. When Helen Russell is forced to move to rural Jutland, can she discover the secrets of their happiness? Or will the long, dark winters and pickled herring take their toll?A Year of Living Danishly looks at where the Danes get it right, where they get it wrong, and how we might just benefit from living a little more Danishly ourselves.
Rating: 5This is a great book for any one who would like to learn about Denmark. Reading it does not mean you plan to visit there. If you never go, you would have explored the lives of people, the Danes, who are very happy. Helen Russell, the author of "The Year of Living Danishly:..," also shares her life with her husband. She calls him Lego Man. It is because he works for the Lego toy company in Denmark.Although this is a very prosperous country, there are many contradictions. These differences can lead to laughter or just a feeling of 'how strange.' For example, the Danes are very jolly but there is a part of the population who take antidepressants. This surprised me. Also while Denmark is known as peaceable, there is this Denmark thing about passing a blow if you care to do so while out and about or among school friends. It is possible to get in a fight. Also, there are unhappy marriages. The reason given is because the parents prioritize the lives of their children. I suppose there is trouble balancing work, play and love no matter how much money you are paid.Still, it is a fun read, a learning experience and it is wonderful to laugh with the author through her pregnancy. By the way, it takes three years and seven months to become a baker. I did not read much about the location itself: flowers, trees, birds or a tiny bit of information about the historical Vikings whom I only know about through my reading of Historical Romances.Now, here is a bit of irony. The Danes do not stuff their faces every day with a Danish. They choose to have one maybe once a week. What else can I say? You must journey with this author for a year in Denmark, or is it more than a year? Also, is Ginger only a spice and a girl's name? Please read it, and don't forget to ask about the weather. The people in Denmark love to discuss the heat, the cold, whether to shovel your side and their side if they are going away and on and on and on. Oh, almost every person disappears during the month of July.Toward the end I became ready to start for home before the author had finished writing the last page. However, I could not fault her for continuing longer than I thought necessary. She was full of happiness about the baby and Christmas and her mother's visit. Hope to meet this family again in another book. helenrussell.co.uk/books/the-year-of-living-danishly
Rating: 4The book was fun! At first I started to fall in love with Denmark too, then halfway through the book I stopped))) and began wondering if the author was really going to stay there for another year, because I wouldn’t. But then, closer to the end I agreed with the author, Denmark seems great! Also I really enjoyed the author’s sense of humor, you read some facts about the country and suddenly you burst out laughing at her remarks on a subject! Very nice!
Rating: 4What a brilliant and humorously portrait of Denmark and how you need to find your inner Viking when you start a new life in a foreign country. I will recommend this book to anyone curious about us Danes
Rating: 4
A lovely, engaging story, exchanging the positives of being an immigrant and the complexities they face. Definitely provides food for thought over the lifestyle we currently live!
Rating: 5Is your sense of wanderlust meek but growing? Do you have a spouse that seems to lead the charge with bringing adventure into your life? Well so did Helen Russell. When her daily grind finally ground her down, Helen took an opportunity to spend twelve months in Denmark where she imbedded herself among the happiest folks on the globe to see what pearls of Scandinavian wisdom could be gleaned to add a bit of Danish pep to her own step. Through a process of trial and error, humbling herself, and becoming unexpectedly at ease in a foreign land Helen reports a month-by-month reflection on hygge, family, and career in a way that feels like nothing significant has changed and yet the Russells seamlessly grew there sense of joy, comfort, and belonging. While my own words fall short, Helen beautifully explains the transitional process, acculturation, and fear at mucking it all up. Check it out, share it with others, and don't look back. You may not move to Denmark yourself but after this gem of a travel memoir you will certainly begin adding a bit of Danish hygge to your own life.
Rating: 4
I absolutely loved this, thank you. Inspiring and funny x
Rating: 5Very frank, thorough, very Funny, human.. fabulous read.. made me laugh out loud and cry. I put in 5 sytars actually, but the site won't put them all on..don't know why, but: 5 stars
Rating: 4