Defending Happiness, and Other Acts of Bravery

Defending Happiness, and Other Acts of Bravery is a book about fighting for your bliss. The collection of stories demonstrates how one woman faced off with breast cancer, online dating, and motherhood, using audacity and wit to not only survive, but repeatedly reclaim her human right to happiness.

Amy Shea's first short story was featured in a national magazine when she was just thirteen years old. She has continued to write throughout her life, publishing numerous poems in literary journals and anthologies, receiving the prestigious Dylan Thomas Poetry Fellowship in Paris, France, sponsored by the Paris Review, as well as a coveted residency at the world-famous MacDowell Colony. Delighting in narration, she continues as a chronicler of human behavior with her book of short stories, Defending Happiness, and Other Acts of Bravery. In this collection she shares, with unsparing wit and candor, her take on mother–daughter relationships, parenthood, and the unfortunate lack of speed bumps in online dating. Her hilarious account of aging and her tough and tender story of being diagnosed with breast cancer, take the reader on a deeply felt ride, each account making her point: it's not enough to find your bliss—you have to fight for it.