Lost & Found (Tim Sharp, Pantera)

Lost & Found is the latest book by author, speaker and leader of Australia’s positive psychology movement, Dr Tim Sharp (aka ‘Dr Happy’). A self-help guide with a difference, it asks the reader to ponder the value of becoming ‘lost’, of slowing down, getting off track and allowing our bodies and minds to wander. According to Sharp, society’s current notion of happiness—squeaky clean, unrealistic and ultimately toxic—diminishes our resilience to the discomforts and uncomfortable emotions that should be embraced as a normal part of life. In accepting this impossible standard, we are setting ourselves up for failure. The result? A sense of disappointment and failure that leads to damaging self-beliefs and poor mental health. For readers who enjoy Robin Sharma’s and Nicole LePera’s books, Sharp uses research, clinical experience and personal stories (from experiencing depression and suicidal tendencies in his 20s to hiking and camping crises and more recent crossroads in his career) to show that the antidote lies in getting off the physical and mental beaten tracks: spend time in nature, get dirty, seek out challenging activities, and make time to sit with uncomfortable emotions. Timely, optimistic and warmly encouraging, Lost & Found shows that self-confidence and improved mental health are there for the taking; the key is to embrace life in its natural state: ‘dark and messy, dirty and even smelly at times…but also beautiful, awesome, friendly and fantastic’.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Jacqui Davies is a writer, reviewer and library officer living on the Limestone Coast in South Australia. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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