British journalist Helen Russell explores the value sadness brings to our lives and how we can all benefit from learning to sit with negative emotions.

Most of us are searching for happiness in life, and that is perfectly natural.

However, the way we define happiness today – being successful and feeling over the moon all of the time – often leads to disappointment.

We are socialized to believe pain and sorrow must be avoided at all costs, but this deprives us of experiencing life in its full complexity.

Helen Russell is a British journalist based in Denmark, known for her 2015 bestseller The Year of Living Danishly.

In How to Be Sad, Russell combines personal experiences and expert insights to explain how sadness can help us connect with others, find meaning, and maintain mental health.