Preview

Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

The Finnish Guide to Happiness

By: Melanie Dower
Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $14.95

Buy for $14.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Year after year, Finland is named the "Happiest Country on Earth". What's their secret?

If you ask a Finn, they will likely be as baffled as you are. That’s why Melanie Dower, an expat who has been living in Finland for the past decade, has taken up the charge. Her vantage as an outsider entrenched in Finnish culture uniquely positions her to identify the keys to Finnish happiness that elude the rest of the world and that Finns take for granted. From sauna to strong social safety nets, Finnish life is made up of a constellation of habits and structures that leave its residents relaxed, healthy, and fulfilled.

In this short guide, Melanie lays out the surprisingly simple and often accessible steps to living as the Finns do.

©2024 Melanie Dower (P)2024 Audible Originals, LLC.
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

About the Creator and Performer

Originally from Aotearoa New Zealand, Melanie Dower now calls Helsinki, Finland home. Since relocating in 2014 with her husband and young son, she has immersed herself in local culture, enjoying pastimes such as sauna and ice swimming and spending summers at her tiny cabin on an island in the Baltic Sea. Her first book, Helsinki: People Make the City, was co-created with concept designer and photographer Laura Iisalo and features interviews with local creatives alongside tips on how to enjoy the best features of Nordic life. As her day job, she supports new arrivals to Finland to acclimatize to life in the north as they too come to appreciate all this unique country has to offer.

About the Performer

Narrator of over 400 audiobooks, Saskia Maarleveld is listed as one of AudioFile Magazine’s best voices of 2015, 2016, and 2018. Maarleveld is an Audie and SOVAS award-winning narrator, including a nomination for Best Female Narrator for her performance in The Alice Network. Raised in New Zealand and France, now living in New York, Maarleveld switches seamlessly between accents, often heard narrating in British, Australian, and countless others, in addition to her American accent.

What listeners say about The Finnish Guide to Happiness

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    155
  • 4 Stars
    32
  • 3 Stars
    17
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    169
  • 4 Stars
    23
  • 3 Stars
    10
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    150
  • 4 Stars
    29
  • 3 Stars
    19
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

INSPIRING BOOK. (Listening after Hurricane Helene)

I will listen to this again and again. Many of us who are living through Hurricane Helene and its aftermath have lost somewhere between basic services and everything. It has thrown us back on human kindness and generosity. The Finns figured that out and how democracy should work. I hope the US can do that. Apparently hard times are the teacher. BEAUTIFUL BOOK.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very true- moved from the USA to Helsinki in 2018

Excellent summary of “ My Own Notes from Finland” - very accurate, well done and insightful observations!
I recommended it to everyone, and now I do not have to speak or write about it 😉.
NPL

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Inspiring, refreshing, definitely worth the time.

I really enjoyed a break from the doom, gloom and madness that is the world today.
Much to be taken from the Finnish approach to life as highlighted in this book.
Well written and narrated. Definitely worth the time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Insightful!

A fresh wonderful perspective! I wish all of America and the world actually could live more this way.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Well researched including snippets of studies on themes which promote well

This was a short but comprehensive piece on what makes Finns content and satisfied with daily life in a practical and realistic way.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting view of another culture’s approach to happiness

The author makes clear points about how the Finnish culture is unique and different than the USA, and why these aspects may contribute to their country being called the Happiest Place on Earth. Interesting survey with personal stories of having moved and lived there, You’ll find striking differences!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Finland sounds like heaven!

I wish that each American could hear this story of Finland. There are so many ideas that we can take from it to accomplish positive changes that would make a difference.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Not a guide, more of a tourist brochure

Enjoyed the descriptions of Finland and the Finnish lifestyle & philosophy. This is not a work of great depth. Often the message was: this is a great place, but you’re not likely to be able to live here, so just visit, then go home.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Selective points with glaring omissions

Narrator whispers rather than speaks, which I found challenging to comprehend. Got used to it, and enjoyed the story, though not enough character development or plot to truly call it a story. Focusing on aspects of this unified socialize 5M, micro sized in terms of a typical country’s population, without even a passing nod to the exclusivity and homogeneity of this near “tribal” modern culture was disingenuous. Much like an exclusive, “members only” gated (and in America: hated) neighborhood community where everyone plays the same three or four sports, eats from the Country Club menu and enjoys strong arm security, access to excellent schools and above average work/life balance. I love the ideas of nature, silent meditation and appreciation of life’s blessings… but don’t ignore the set-up and the happiness that comes from simply belonging to a group. Fitting in counts for much in life….

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Gift of a Book!

It warms the heart to learn that somewhere in the world there is a country with such a great set of values. Melanie Dower does an amazing job of capturing the spirit of Finnish culture, economy, and education. She writes in a concise and yet heart-warming style. Saskia Maarleveld is marvelous narrator that enhances the way one receives this information. Many-many thanks for this gift of a book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful