The Year of Living Danishly:
My Twelve Months Unearthing the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country
by
Helen Russell
I say! She doesn't skimp on her research.
Ms. Russell and her husband are transplanted to Denmark for a job opportunity with Lego, so she decides to continue her free-lance writing work while taking up the quest to discover why "Danish people are the happiest in the world." In her search, she discovers that they love to play, do hobbies, sing, and attend traditional festivals ranging from New Year's Eve fireworks (set off by themselves) to turning out the cows on fresh grass in spring. They pay high taxes but don't seem to mind because that guarantees them benefits ranging from free education to top-of-the-line medical care. Danes attempt to respect all jobs equally and ensure that all jobs, from trash pickup to pastry shop cashier, pay a decent living.
She does uncover a few oddities--there seems to be a lot of fighting, especially among kids, drug use, drinking and unprotected sex. But on the opposite pole, there's also a high degree of trust between peoples. She is shocked when she first notices people at a restaurant who left their baby's tram outside in the pleasant weather. It's not uncommon, either!
I won't say I didn't doze off from time to time, but it's so awesomely refreshing to hear about a country where they don't think their fellow citizens are all lazy, self-interested freeloaders who want to rip off the system. Where they know that if you give people a decent education, valuable jobs, and security against accidents and illness, people will choose to work hard, support their community, and pay their taxes on time. When did Americans forget this?
Not wanting to steal her thunder, I won't repeat her final conclusions. But I do believe she ended up believing, in the end, that Danes really are the happiest people in the world. And she knows why.
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