i discovered The Elements of Happiness by designer Laura Javier via Things Organised Neatly (great tumblr, highly recommended) and spent the next while paging through the online copy. it is beautifully designed and, certainly, an incredibly interesting read.
The Harvard Study of Adult Development is the longest prospective study of mental and physical well-being ever conducted. For 72 years, researchers at Harvard have been following 824 individuals through war, career, marriage and divorce, parenthood and grandparenthood, and old age. In this book, I’ve taken 10 representative case studies and visualized their salient character traits, personal timeline, social supports, and physical health to draw conclusions about “the happy life.”