AustLit

'Rachel Hudson succumbs to cystic fibrosis at age twenty-seven, leaving behind secrets that push each of her remaining family to question what it is they want from life, and from each other.

'Her father Brian, a Vietnam veteran struggling with the long-term effects of the war, has been missing ever since he walked out on Beth and their two children in the dead of night twenty years ago. Matt dreams of one day finding his own path like his heroic father, as Beth’s religious fervour propagates a childhood of parental disappointment.

'Rachel sets before her family one last request: a journey to the exotic and the unknown. Rachel, ever the free spirit, administers a dose of her notorious wanderlust.

'The Happiness Jar is a story about how tightly you hold on to what you believe in; how one person’s beliefs can affect a family and tear at the already fragile folds where love hides. It’s about faith, and what can endure despite the burdens we place on ourselves and each other.

'Set against the red dust of the Kimberley desert, and the smoky backdrop of the holy River Ganges in India, The Happiness Jar is a novel that reminds us that we continue to live in the memories we leave behind. ' (Publication summary)