There are days when nothing seems to put a smile on your face. Perhaps it was a hard day at the office, your best friend let you down, or you can’t seem to get it all done. You’re exhausted, overwhelmed, frustrated, disappointed—need I go on? We’ve all been there. You’re simply in a funk and it’s taking all your energy to get through the day, let alone do so with a bright and shiny disposition.

When you feel that gloom settling in around you, there is only one cure—books.

But not just any books. There are some that will indeed take you to other places, let you escape and live in a fantasy world for just a little while. Though all books are antidotes to wistfulness, there are few that will bust through the blues, brighten your day and yes, even bring a smile to your face.

Here are a few that I suggest:

• Rising Strong: How the Ability to Reset Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brene Brown
• Lasting Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by the Dali Lama, Desmond Tutu and Douglas Carlton Abrams
• The Book of Happy: 250 Ways to a Happier You by Adams Media
• HumanKind by Brad Aronson
• The Book of Moods: How I Turned My Worst Emotions into my Best Life by Lauren Martin
• Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
• Living a Beautiful Life by Alexandra Stoddard

What about you? What books brighten your day, especially when the blues set in? Please share them here with the Books Uplift Community.