The Soul Tourist: In Desperate Pursuit of Happiness

Middle-aged, mildly misanthropic and a touch disillusioned with the state of the world and his life, Dom Joly sets off on a global quest to answer one deceptively simple question: how on earth do you become happy?

In The Soul Tourist, the grumpy ex-goth and multi-award-winning comedian tries to ditch the comfort of cynicism and heads out "in desperate pursuit of happiness." From India's ancient spiritual heartlands-where he bends himself reluctantly into yoga poses and submits to the mysteries of Ayurvedic medicine-to the neat, contented streets of Denmark, officially one of the happiest countries on Earth, Joly road-tests the world's most popular prescriptions for joy.

Along the way he checks himself into a monastery in search of silence (and perhaps salvation), experiments with chemically enhanced euphoria, and immerses himself in the UK's largest wellness festival-braving sound baths, tree hugging and an army of tie-dye optimists. With his trademark self-deprecating wit and sharp observational eye, Joly throws himself into each experience, forever torn between scepticism and a sneaking desire to be converted.

Is happiness a place, a practice, a pill-or just a state of mind? And can a middle-aged curmudgeon truly change?

Moving, funny and unexpectedly profound, The Soul Tourist is a travel memoir for anyone who has ever rolled their eyes at the self-help industry-while secretly wondering if it might just work.