The need for my mind to travel has me reading a lot—mainly fiction that promises a happy ending.

Matt Haig’s “The Midnight Library” is the story of Nora Seed, a young woman who sees her life as a series of failures. Her cat’s death pushes her to the brink. She decides to commit suicide but is a failure in this, too. Instead of dying, she wakes up in a very strange library with a very strange kind of librarian, Mrs. Elm. Thanks to the magic of the library, Nora has the opportunity to see what her life could have been like had she made other choices. And [spoiler alert] after having visited various possible lives, Nora understands that the life she most wants is the one she already has.

Nora’s story inspired the following DIY suggestions for living a happier life:

1. Make friends with yourself so that you can have someone to count on
2. Declutter your mind of negative thoughts as they are toxic
3. Remember that if you focus on the good, the good will get better.

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