The Happiness Playlist: The True Story Of Healing My Heart With Feel-Good Music

Mark Mallman is experiencing the worst panic attack of his life. Mallman is a musician in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as well as a son, brother, and friend to many. He’s masculine but displays his emotional side when needed. In The Happiness Playlist: The True Story of Healing My Heart with Feel-Good Music, Mallman learns to overcome the fear in his life before it gets the best of him entirely. A year and a half after the unexpected passing of his mother, the doctors tell him that his brain is just now ready to proceed through the grieving process. During this time he experiences disruptive anxiety and restless sleep. He considers the soothing effect that music can have and decides to use it to regain a sense of normalcy in his life and to feel better. He decides to make a “happiness playlist” to ensure the positivity of his musical exposure. Being a musician, Mallman has music in his blood. While still learning to be on his own, personally and emotionally, he sees his mother peering into many parts of his daily life. Each chapter covering a different month, and the reader will watch him grow emotionally into self-reliance, with the help of his friends, father, and music. In spite of the downfalls in his life, Mallman has been and continues to be a very upbeat person who chooses to see the good in situations and people.

Having never experienced anxiety or the loss of a parent myself, I still feel that I can understand Mallman’s story well through his writing and the emotion it portrays as well as through my personal understanding of the impact music has on changing a person’s mood. Music is such a big deal in all areas of life. When one is knowledgeable in music, it can help boost intelligence and creativity. Having lived in Minnesota and the Minneapolis area for the last several years, it was enjoyable to read about the places to which Mallman traveled and frequented. It’s too bad I didn’t know about him before. With love, positive feelings, and good music playing a large role in his book and life, the target audience could be any age, any gender, but are probably those who live in the northern states or places with a colder climate who understand how hard it can be to keep an upbeat attitude when it’s cold most of the year.