Moving from Gloom to Happiness

I’ve read many of Bob Rich’s books—Aniko: The Stranger Who Loved Me, Hit and Run, and Guardian Angel—and walked away a better person. Lifting the Gloom: Anti-depressant Writings is an anthology of short stories and vignettes written by Dr. Rich, a trained Australian psychologist. Each story provides real life examples of life experiences and knitted within the story are potential courses an individual can take to improve his life circumstances to achieve happiness. 

“The Philanthropist” was one of the many stories that moved me. Here Dr. Rich shows us Martin Matheson, a fictional industrialist based on early 20^th century historical figures like John Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, or J.P. Morgan. Matheson is a miserable person who treats people even worse than he behaves. As he watches his business crumble, he hires a man to put it back on track. Cartwright proposes that his new employer commit himself to philanthropic efforts to improve his image. Reluctantly, Matheson agrees and goes through a transformation that even the Buddha or Jesus would approve. 

There are many examples throughout Lifting the Gloom readers can relate to as they develop ideas to change their own personal behavior to one that will improve the lives of the people they love and interact with daily. 

About the Author

Australian writer Dr. Bob Rich is a self-described mudsmith and psychologist. No matter what his task, he observes life and translates what he sees into words. He uses everything he sees on the faces of people, feels with the touch of a hand, or his sense of smell to use as ammunition for his machine gun of an imagination. Dr. Rich has a PhD in psychology and has learned the art of handcrafting houses from the earth. Note: if you’re in need of a grandpa, get in touch with him. Dr. Bob is also a professional grandfather.

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