Alexandra Stoddard – författare

Pursuing happiness sounds easy, but with so many demands on our time and resources, it can be a challenge. So, how do we find happiness in a relationship—when there are two people who want and deserve to be happy?

Help is here, from a beloved (and blissfully married) lifestyle philosopher whose books and lectures on personal contentment have helped millions and whose popular Happiness Weekends are filled with dating singles, newlyweds, and long-married couples. In brief, readable essays rich in wisdom, practical strategies, and humor, Alexandra Stoddard shows how two people can be happy together, not at each other''s expense.

Alexandra''s essays help couples make personal happiness a priority ("Encourage each other to do something every day that will boost happiness"), connect in simple, powerful ways ("Give the gift of eye contact"), share decisions ("A home has no boss"), set family priorities ("Don''t let children control you"), expand your horizons ("Encourage adventure"), be grateful for each other ("Treat each encounter as though it could be your last"), and have fun ("Live a little!").

Perfect for couples to read alone or together, Happiness for Two brims with useful ideas to help us "love and live happy."

In seven sections representing essential domains of life—Time, Home, Style, Enthusiasm, Caring, Purpose, and Spirit—Alexandra Stoddard shows us how to celebrate every moment of life. This treasury of brief essays is chock-full of the wise ideas, personal anecdotes, and practical strategies that have inspired millions of her readers and audiences to live more beautifully and meaningfully every day. She helps readers form their own personal philosophy for living as well as discover specific, small actions that build tranquil time into the most hectic day, add lightness and energy when needed most, elevate a passing moment into a vivid memory. She encourages readers to "take stock, and rethink everything. We need to make the connection between how we spend our time and how well we live our lives."

With each essay offering a memorable mindset for living, Alexandra''s observations are searching ("What is your deepest desire?"), surprising ("Lower your standards"), encouraging ("You have 8,766 hours a year to act wisely"), and whimsical ("You''ve gotta have a look") and are certain to spur readers to new levels of insight and joy.

With her 25th book, lifestyle philosopher Alexandra Stoddard offers simple steps for taking charge of your life—your way. In brief essays filled with useful examples and optimism, she reveals 50 choices you can make to live joyfully in pursuit of what is true, good, and beautiful. 

As a pioneering writer and lecturer on personal happiness for the past twenty years, Alexandra has inspired millions to break the "rules" and pursue fulfillment. Now, as scientists have begun to discover the benefits of living a happy life, Alexandra provides practical ways to live happily every day. She puts us in charge of our choices, reminding us that we always have a choice about what we think, feel, and do. When we are true to ourselves, we can fly above stress and conflict, contented and confident that we are the right path.

Featuring essays that help us trust ourselves ("Intuition is your guiding light"), stay steady in a storm ("Your choices count most in a crisis"), embrace the new ("Accept opportunity"), address unfinished business ("Have as few regrets as possible"), surround ourselves with delights ("Redefine what is beautiful"), and remember to have fun ("Cheap thrills are thrilling").

Every choice you make is an opportunity to delight in life. You Are Your Choices offers insight and companionship each step of the way.

From Alexandra Stoddard - beloved lifestyle philosopher, mother, and author of Choosing Happiness, a small book of wisdom about the big questions of life, perfect for new graduates, new mothers, and as a treasured gift from woman to woman.

Alexandra Stoddard, a mother, grandmother, and author of more than 25 books on personal fulfilment, shares a series of succinctly–stated principles worth living by. Each statement is fleshed out in a few brief, useful paragraphs. By turns wise ("Pain is inevitable; suffering is a choice"), controversial ("Don''t feel guilty about your feelings toward your parents, stepparents, or in–laws"), affirming ("You don''t have to prove anything to anyone"), and humorous ("When you discover something you love, stock up"), these short pieces cut to the essence of what''s important and are oases of clarity amid life''s chaos. 

In this warm and wise book, Alexandra Stoddard not only celebrates what mothers know—and what we would like them to know—she encourages them to attend to their own happiness in the quest to become better mothers. Raising a good child to become a good person begins with a mother''s own inner transformation. Don''t think if you are a good mother you will automatically be happy, she cautions. Be happy and you will be good at everything that is meaningful and valuable in your life! From giving practical advice, to taking a more philosophical approach, to offering a comforting pat on the back, Stoddard reaches out to mothers with words that will encourage, support, and cheer them on.

Based on her more than thirty years as a noted thinker and speaker on personal contentment, Alexandra Stoddard shares what she has learned about the small but significant changes you can make to be happier day by day.

A fun first step: quickly write down ten words that define who you are—perhaps beaches, family, food, home—and what else? This and dozens of other inventive ideas will help you pursue happiness wisely and well.

In challenging times, it is easy to question whether happiness is a choice. Alexandra Stoddard affirms that not only is it possible to choose happiness but that happiness is the best choice we can make. It is the "first principle" of life that unites humankind because it is what we all desire.

Happiness lies in the passions we pursue and in the pressures we decline. It is in knowing how to work and when to play. It is in the treasured objects we keep nearby and in the ordinary moments we elevate into small celebrations. It is in the note we write to a friend and the kindness we show a stranger. Happiness is what you make it, where you make it. Happiness is our best choice.

In The Shared Wisdom of Mothers and Daughters, the inspirational follow up to the beloved Things I Want My Daughters to Know, lifestyle philosopher Alexandra Stoddard reflects on the lessons she’s learned from her own daughters and offers more words of wisdom in return.

As a mother and grandmother, Stoddard shares some of the most enlightening conversations she’s had with other women and their daughters.  

Filled with enduring and heartfelt stories, Stoddard’s The Shared Wisdom of Mothers and Daughters delivers lessons about love and happiness that have been shared and learned by countless generations of mothers and their daughters.

Alexandra Stoddard’s The Shared Wisdom of Mothers and Daughters: The Timelessness of Simple Truths is a beautiful keepsake that celebrates the deep connections between mothers and daughters.

In this inspirational follow-up to the beloved Things I Want My Daughters to Know, lifestyle philosopher Alexandra Stoddard reflects on the lessons she's learned from her daughters and offers further thoughts and words of wisdom garnered from her own life.

A mother, a grandmother, and the author of more than twenty-five books on personal fulfillment, Alexandra Stoddard celebrates the wisdom of motherhood and the lessons mothers can learn from their daughters in this warm and deeply moving new book that cuts to the heart of what is important in life.

Speaking from her own experience and relying on the many conversations she has had with her contemporaries and their children, Stoddard has created a wonderful gift for every mother, daughter, and mother-to-be to give, receive, and share. Bridging generations, full of timeless insights to help us pursue a life rich with happiness, love, and gratitude, The Shared Wisdom of Mothers and Daughters reminds us of everything that makes life beautiful and profound.

Throughout her life, Alexandra Stoddard has sought inspiration from writers, poets, and people she has met. In Grace Notes, she shares this wisdom and her own learnings, beautifully captured in brief, motivating observations, in 365 daily meditations of warmth, affirmation, encouragement, and optimism. Season by season, day by day, you'll explore different themes: joy, love, loss, risk, courage, wholeness, growth, play, and success. In addition to offering inspirational quotes from many cultures and two "grace notes," each page provides space to write down your own sacred inspirations. With courage and confidence, Grace Notes takes you on a spiritual journey every day of your life—and whenever you feel the need to be transported to serenity and grace.

For nearly forty years and in numerous books, Alexandra Stoddard has shared her keen eye for design and sure sense of style. Now this renowned decorator and lifestyle philosopher teaches you hoe to see with the expertise and clarity of professional designers.

First, Alexandra helps you become more attuned to your surroundings-as you set a table, straighten out a linen closet, stroll through a garden, or browse in a thrift shop. Then, through personal anecdotes; examples from masters; a rich array of ideas, tips, and techniques, she reveals hundreds of ways to see and solve problems or proportion, pattern, color, and composition. Her simple suggestions-whether it''s changing a lampshade, rearranging treasured objects on a table, or moving a chair-will yield dramatic results. Filled with practical solutions offered with warmth and encouragement , Open Your Eyes helps make each day a visual feats as it deepens your understanding not only of what makes something beautiful but what makes something beautiful to you.

From moonlight dancing to sunrise swimming, this book explores the sensuous stories of love experienced by one woman during her twenty-three-year marriage while discussing how she has dealt with the occasional trials and tribulations within the relationship.

Alexandra Stoddard has brought beauty and grace to the lives of millions all over the world through her many books, including the phenomenal betseller, Living a Beautiful Life. In Creating a Beautiful Home, Alexandra Stoddard generously shares her professional secrets as an interior designer as well as her personal experiences in renovating and decorating her own 1775 home in Connecticut. Once again, her original and imaginative ideas for every room in the house will inform and inspire you on your own exciting journey of discovery as you transform your living space into a warm and welcoming oasis of harmony, beauty, and joy.

Alexandra Stoddard, world famous interior decorator, author and lecturer, originally opened the eyes of millions to the beauty and grace of simplicity in her phenomenal bestseller Living a Beautiful Life and the books that followed. Now, in Making Choices, she teaches us to widen our horizons by helping us feel the pleasure, satifaction, and joy of creative decision making and self-reliance and to discover our inner being, our own destiny, the lifestyle that is ours, and the art of living in the light of self-expression and fulfillment.

In today's fast-paced world, as we juggle family responsibilities, jobs, and social obligations, we seem to be missing out on what we fundamentally crave: a calmer, gentler, sweeter, and more gracious life. In Gracious Living in a New World, Alexandra Stoddard offers a rich assortment of ideas for achieving a gracious lifestyle. As a busy professional and dedicated wife, mother, and grandmother who revels in the energy of the city and basks in the tranquility of the village, Alexandra is uniquely poised to help us smooth the frayed edges of our lives. Positive and practical, her path toward gracious living does not require money or "extra hands" around the house. When we give ourselves and others positive time and space, our life expands to gracious proportions: "We are surrounded by opportunities for living with grace—our own hands and our own hearts are all the tools we'll ever need."

As a speaker, author, and world-famous interior designer, Alexandra Stoddard was the first to show millions of of people how to turn the place they live in into an oasis of tranquility, beauty, and joy.  Beginning with her bestselling Living A Beautiful Life, and followed by other highly successful books, she demonstrates the magic that transforms living space, from cottages to mansions, not into showrooms, but into homes that reflect the comfort and joy of those who live there. Now in    The Art of the Possible she adds wise words to the dream of creating a perfectly beautiful home, reminding all those who seek beauty to overcome the confines of perfectionism in favor of freedom that allows creativity to flourish.

Alexandra Stoddard continues her creative and insightful guidance by showing us how to make our homes a real expression of our true selves. Starting with the Fifteen Defining Principles of Interior Design, Stoddard grounds us in the classic standards that make any home timeless and follows with inventive suggestions. Her own bold ideas about color, pattern, and texture are affordable tips from her own vast experience involving every imaginable decoration problem. From lighting a room to adding fabrics, furnishings, and the perfect finishing touches, she offers her expertise while always encouraging us to listen to our inner voice for the final answer.

Most decorating books omit the most important element of the home: you. Does your home reflect who you really are? Feeling at Home focuses on this most essential aspect of decorating: creating a home that is truly your emotional center. Every room and object should answer your needs and make you feel more human and whole. Alexandra Stoddard gently leads us through a process of self-attunement and self-expression in which we discover not only our practical needs, but also our yearnings--perhaps a sunny spot for reading; a colorful nook for ironing; an inviting place for paperwork. She urges us to question the rules and to never "pre-compromise" by talking ourselves out of our true desires. With imaginative and practical examples from her personal and professional life, she helps us discover countless ways to express ourselves at home and instantly feel comfort, pleasure, and ease.

Why settle for merely being "in" our homes when we can be "at home?" Feeling at Home puts us on the path to home as we've always dreamed it could be.