In Solve for Happy, a former Google engineer lays out his formula for happiness - proving that 'happy' is our default state, and how to overcome the obstacles we face that prevent us from being so.

Mo Gawdat was once a man who had it all.

A successful entrepreneur, the former Chief Business Officer at Google X, and happily married with two children, Gawdat had many things to be happy about.

In fact, Gawdat and his son, Ali, had even built a 'happiness formula' together.

"Happiness is equal to or greater than the events of your life, minus your expectation of how life should be." [Mo Gawdat]

But in 2014, Mo Gawdat's life took an unexpected turn. Ali, just 21 years old at the time, tragically passed away during a routine medical procedure.

After this most devastating of losses, Gawdat turned to their old equation to help work through his grief.

Shortly after his son's death, Gawdat began to write, which is how Solve for Happy grew its wings.

An engineer to the core, Gawdat approaches this popular self-help topic with a fine eye for data. He explains the theories behind his 'happiness equation', and how its sentiment helped him through his own darkest hours - a touching lesson for us all.