BOOK INFORMATION
“To anyone who has ever endured junior high school insecurities, even as an adult. To everyone else: Really?”
Has casual browsing through Pinterest or Facebook ever put you in a slump, wishing your life looked more like that house, marriage, vacation, wardrobe, family, or job? You are not alone. Kay Wills Wyma’s new book I’m Happy for You (Sort Of…Not Really) is dedicated to all of us stuck struggling with “Obsessive Comparison Disorder”, trying to find contentment in the face of everyone else’s seemingly perfect lives.
Kay shares from experience and biblical examples how we can escape this comparison trap. This book covers:
- Calling out Obsessive Comparison Disorder in our lives
- How taking a long view of life changes everything
- The struggle to keep up appearances in an on-display world
- Why we’ll never measure up…and why we don’t need to
- How to stake our claim in the land of contentment
About the Author
Kay Wills Wyma has five kids, ages four to fourteen, and one SUV with a lot of carpool miles. She holds a bachelor’s from Baylor University and an MIM from the American Graduate School of International Management (Thunderbird). Before transitioning to stay-at-home mom, she held positions at the White House, the Staubach Company, and Bank of America. She and her husband, Jon, live with their family in the Dallas area.
“Kay Wyma has managed to address what we’re all dealing with on a daily basis—the ability to instantly compare our life to someone else’s with a mere look at our phone. There we can see all the ways we are failing to be the best mom, the best wife, the best friend . . . and the list goes on. In the pages of I’m Happy for You, Kay offers insight into why we do this and how we can stop the cycle. If you’re looking to live a life of contentment and authenticity and to be okay when your kid is the C student and not the valedictorian, you’ll find comfort and realistic solutions in this book.”
—Melanie Shankle, New York Times best-selling author of Sparkly Green Earrings
MY REVIEW
You had me at “Hello”…well actually at the title of the book. I’m Happy For You (Sort of…Not Really) by Kay Wills Wyma is AH-MAZE-ING! 
In a world where comparison and competition are epidemic…where Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter announce to the world the worthiness of each individual, Kay Willis Wyma reminds us that we can stop the craziness. Contentment is possible.
I absolutely LOVED this book. Did I already say that? That’s ok, it’s worth repeating. I laughed, nodded my head in agreement (emphatically, much to the surprise of those sitting around me in the pick up lane at school) and gave several hearty AMENS. I could quote the entire book because it’s just that good but I’ll refrain and just tell you that you can and should get your own copy, because it’s worth it. I’ll make it easy for you, here’s the link.
But I digress…ok now onto some of my favorite quotes and stories in the book…
I laughed so hard when she told about the position she held with Advance in the Office of the Vice President at the White House. In an effort to camouflage the pool where the Vice President would be speaking, she had covered the indoor swimming pool with helium filled, red, white and blue balloons. “And balloons popping as the Vice President of the United States steps behind the podium to deliver his speech sound a lot like gunshots. My stomach sank as the Secret Service scrambled and my boss radioed, “Who’s bright idea was it to put balloons in a pool?!” Uh…that would be me.”
The second story was about misconceptions. She writes, “What if getting our eyes off our own misconceptions about our bodies could help us recognize opportunities to help others be happier about themselves?” She goes on to tell about taking her small children into a sandwich shop where a “morbidly obese woman is at the counter ordering her meal”. When her five-year old tugs on her skirt and tells her mom “Look at that lady over there!” her fears come to life. It gets worse when the child asks if she can go talk to the woman. When Kay declines, the child says, “I just wanted to tell her how pretty she looks.”
At the end of each chapter, Kay includes a section called “Letting Go of Comparison.” One of my favorite quotes ended this particular story: “Contentment comes when we choose to see the immeasurable, incomparable beauty of each human, including the one in the mirror.”
Using stories from her personal experiences and others throughout the book, Ms. Wyma provides great arguments and instruction for overcoming our cultural “Obsessive Comparison Disorder”.
Overall, I’m Happy for You (Sort of…Not Really) deserves five out of five stars! I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.
