WE ALL WANT TO BE HAPPY VOLUME 2

Mullen offers more hard-won knowledge on how to lead a good life in this nonfiction volume, the second in a series.

Age brings wisdom, and with 80 years under her belt, the author has accumulated quite a bit of it. With this second compendium of essays, she offers her experiences with the aim of helping her readers find greater contentment. “It took a while, but I eventually accepted that I am not in control of life,” writes Mullen in her foreword. “I have learned the best option is to greet every day with curiosity, acceptance, and a good sense of humor while continuing to follow the string.” Some examples: when your new boss sees you trip over a fire hydrant, it’s best to laugh it off. Ditto for when you accidentally start a fire in a co-worker’s wastepaper basket. Indeed, the author’s initial displeasure with an off-color joke nearly prevented her from going out with the man who would eventually become her second husband. (Luckily, he apologized, and the two had a laughter-filled first date at Cracker Barrel.) Across these essays, Mullen instructs her readers on the fine arts of making the most of a canceled flight, bluffing one’s way into a better rental car, and spotting jabirus in Belize. One memorable essay describes her thrifty father, who kept everything valuable in the trunk of his car, including the family’s supply of toilet paper. (An employee of the Missouri-Pacific Railroad, he considered a “perk of [his] job” his ability to bring home some of the toilet paper that the railroad ordered by the caseload.) Not every piece is so lighthearted; one chapter is formatted as a letter to God, which the author wrote following the loss of her second husband to Covid-19. There are also short philosophical chapters in which she discusses her thoughts on the afterlife, the concept of solitude, and equality.

Mullen’s folksy narration unites the varied pieces, displaying characteristic good humor and a gift for memorable phrasing. Here she writes about Barbara, a beloved stray poodle that adopted her family soon after they moved into a new home: “Unfortunately, we discovered the first time she came into heat that she had the personality of a sex worker in desperate need of clientele. The size of the potential mate created no obstacle for Barbara, and our confinement attempts were less than successful.” While most of the chapters take the form of personal essays, some break format—there are poems, a chapter from her granddaughter’s point of view, a short story guest-authored by her brother John, and even an imagined interview with God. Though the author’s Christian faith informs several chapters, the book is not heavily religious or dogmatic, and Mullen appears to have as many questions regarding the nature of God as she does answers. The book’s unpredictable organization may vex some readers, and the author’s conclusions are not always as sage or inspiring as she means them to be. Nevertheless, fans of the previous volume will appreciate this longer sequel.

An earnest, humorous collection of essays from an octogenarian’s perspective.