cover image Real Moments

Real Moments

Barbara De Angelis. Delacorte Press, $21.95 (272pp) ISBN 978-0-385-31068-0

Is true happiness achived by having a compatible marriage, the perfect job or owning the right house? Not necessarily, according to DeAngelis (How to Make Love All the Time). Happiness is a skill. That's why we need ``real moments''-with our mates, our children and by ourselves-times in which we live fully in the present. A real moment could be enjoying sex or smelling grass after a rain. It could even occur during hard times, as when we receive comforting words from an unexpected source. DeAngelis also warns against defining ourselves by our jobs; even if we love our work, we can take a job too seriously and miss opportunities for real moments. While readers may want to skip the second chapter, ``The Crisis of Spirit in America,'' overall this is an inspiring book. (Oct.)