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'A funny, sad and serious memoir, How to Be Happy is David Burton’s story of his turbulent life at high school and beyond. Feeling out of place and convinced that he is not normal, David has a rocky start. He longs to have a girlfriend, but his first ‘date’ is a disaster. There’s the catastrophe of the school swimming carnival—David is not sporty—and friendships that take devastating turns. Then he finds some solace in drama classes with the creation of ‘Crazy Dave’, and he builds a life where everything is fine. But everything is not fine.
'And, at the centre of it all, trying desperately to work it all out, is the real David.
'How to Be Happy tackles depression, friendship, sexual identity, suicide, academic pressure, love and adolescent confusion. It’s a brave and honest account of one young man’s search for a happy, true and meaningful life that will resonate with readers young and old.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Review : How to Be Happy
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Books + Publishing , July vol. 95 no. 1 2015; (p. 16)
— Review of How to Be Happy : A Memoir of Love, Sex and Teenage Confusion 2015 single work autobiography -
Review : How to Be Happy
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Good Reading , October 2015; (p. 67)
— Review of How to Be Happy : A Memoir of Love, Sex and Teenage Confusion 2015 single work autobiography -
Review : How to Be Happy
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking about Books for Children , September vol. 30 no. 4 2015; (p. 22)
— Review of How to Be Happy : A Memoir of Love, Sex and Teenage Confusion 2015 single work autobiography -
Review : How to Be Happy
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Reading Time , September 2015;
— Review of How to Be Happy : A Memoir of Love, Sex and Teenage Confusion 2015 single work autobiography -
Q and A with David Burton
Trisha Buckley
(interviewer),
2015
single work
interview
— Appears in: Reading Time , September 2015;
-
Happiness in a Book
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 27 August 2015; (p. 18)
— Review of How to Be Happy : A Memoir of Love, Sex and Teenage Confusion 2015 single work autobiography 'Brisbane author and playwright David Burton is not afraid to be honest in his Text Prize-winning memoir...' -
Review : How to Be Happy
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Reading Time , September 2015;
— Review of How to Be Happy : A Memoir of Love, Sex and Teenage Confusion 2015 single work autobiography -
Review : How to Be Happy
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking about Books for Children , September vol. 30 no. 4 2015; (p. 22)
— Review of How to Be Happy : A Memoir of Love, Sex and Teenage Confusion 2015 single work autobiography -
Review : How to Be Happy
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Good Reading , October 2015; (p. 67)
— Review of How to Be Happy : A Memoir of Love, Sex and Teenage Confusion 2015 single work autobiography -
Review : How to Be Happy
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Books + Publishing , July vol. 95 no. 1 2015; (p. 16)
— Review of How to Be Happy : A Memoir of Love, Sex and Teenage Confusion 2015 single work autobiography -
Q and A with David Burton
Trisha Buckley
(interviewer),
2015
single work
interview
— Appears in: Reading Time , September 2015;
Awards
- 2016 shortlisted APA Book Design Awards — Best Designed Young Adult Book designed by Imogen Stubbs.
- 2014 winner Text Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing For the 2014 manuscript.