Pursuing Happiness, Catching Joy: Rest for the Restless at Heart

By Michael A LaMorte

Why does it feel like you can't catch happiness?

You do everything right, everything you were told to make you happy. So why do you feel like you're still standing there frustrated, with a restlessness you can't explain? A yearning that you can't put you finger on? A happiness that comes, and then is gone again?

If you've ever felt successful and empty at the same time, Pursuing Happiness, Catching Joy was written for you.

Drawing on the happiness and virtue framework of St. Thomas Aquinas and the Catholic understanding of the beatific vision, author Michael LaMorte breaks down the things almost everyone mistakes for the path to lasting happiness and shows, through Scripture and Scholastic theology, the dead-ends to perfect happiness. Interwoven with his own life experiences, Pursuing Happiness, Catching Joy is written for the restless at heart by someone who himself has a restless heart.

This isn't generic self-help that leaves you with more questions than it answers. It's a guide to true happiness and joy rooted in the theology of the Summa theologiae, written in plain, accessible language for readers from early teens through adulthood: Catholic, Protestant, or simply searching for answers. You'll learn:

Why honor, fame, and recognition can never deliver lasting happiness, even when you get all of itWhy power, control, and "having it all" run out the same way every timeWhy wealth and possessions can't buy the thing you're actually looking forWhy pleasure leaves you empty, and what that reveals about what you really wantHow to find joy instead of always chasing the next thingThe true story of St. Maximilian Kolbe, who chose joy while being starved to death in a Nazi concentration camp, and what his choice teaches about happiness under any circumstance

With a foreword by Fr. Paul J. Keller, O.P., S.T.D., and written for Catholic families, teens, young adults, and anyone wrestling with the question "why is happiness so hard?", Pursuing Happiness, Catching Joy delivers a path away from endless chasing, and offers the reader a practical alternative of something that can be caught.

Perfect for: Readers of Matt Fradd, Chris Stefanick, and Bishop Barron, Catholic book clubs, confirmation and youth ministry reading lists, OCIA and adult faith formation, or gift books for graduation or confirmation.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0HF8JVJ27
• ISBN13: 9798992489781
• Release Date: August 2026
• Publisher: Springboard Enterprises Ltd
• Length: 94 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"