Isabel Gillies Livres

The New York Times bestselling author Isabel Gillies presents a fresh perspective on the art of coziness in this inspiring work that blends manifesto, lifestyle guide, and memoir. Coziness transcends mere objects like favorite sweaters or cups of tea; it involves discovering and embracing your innermost truth and carrying it into the world, regardless of your surroundings. Gillies reflects on her journey of learning to cultivate a life where she feels safe and at home. Through personal anecdotes—from family recipes to subway rides—she illustrates that true comfort arises not from material items but from feeling connected to something greater than ourselves. Simple choices can transform hectic lives and uncomfortable situations into more manageable experiences. Just as Marie Kondo provided a philosophy for tidying, Gillies offers a new approach to inhabiting our spaces. By starting with self-awareness and expanding to our homes and communities, she guides readers on how to express their true selves in any circumstance. With warmth and hand-drawn illustrations, this essential book encourages us to seek out opportunities for self-care and to live more authentically. As Gillies emphasizes, “Cozy isn’t something that just exists. You have to make cozy happen.”

Isabel Gillies had a wonderful life—a handsome, intelligent, loving husband who was a professor; two glorious toddlers; a beautiful house in their Midwestern college town; the time and place to express all her ebullience and affection and optimism. Suddenly, the life Isabel had made crumbled. Her husband, Josiah, announced that he was leaving her and their two young sons. "Happens every day," said a friend. Far from a self-pitying diatribe, Happens Every Day reads like an intimate conversation between friends. It is a dizzyingly candid, compulsively readable, ultimately redemptive story about love, marriage, family, heartbreak, and the unexpected turns of a life. On the one hand, reading this book is like watching a train wreck. On the other hand, as Gillies herself says, it is about trying to light a candle instead of cursing the darkness, and loving your life even if it has slipped away.