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Mitzia Arreola
English 113B
Professor Ditch
4 May 2015
A Lifetime of Happiness
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society written by Mary Ann Shaffer and
Anne Barrows takes place in London during World War II, where the lack of resources and
violence created made many residents unhappy and brought them hardships and dark times. The
residents of Guernsey used books as a resource that serves the purpose of bringing them together
creating long lasting friendships and an escape from the unpleasantness faced during the
occupation. Although the members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society suffered
many hardships during the German occupation, they are able to turn to books as a source of
happiness which makes their dark times bearable while creating long lasting friendships.
The novel revolves around letters written by the members of the book club to Juliet
Ashton, a writer at the time of the German occupation explaining their situation and how they are
coping with their sufferings. During the German occupation the book club was formed one night
when an islander decided to feast his pig and invited a few friends over. During that time feasting
on your own animals was prohibited and could get you into serious trouble if you were caught.
The residents were all having a great time and lost track of time while escaping past their curfew,
they were all caught by the German cops and when questioned an Islander named Elizabeth
McKenna told the cops that it was the night of their first book club gathering. From that night on
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society met every night for their meetings and started
creating their long last friendships through the discovery of books. The majority of the islanders

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knew almost nothing about literature but with the company of each other they were all able to
discover the different types of literature and how it appealed to each individual. That's what I
love about reading one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you to
another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book. It's geometrically progressive
all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment (Shaffer11). Through
reading books the members of the book club were able to find happiness within a dark time even
if it only lasted for a short time it was something that they enjoyed doing with the company of
each other.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society members were able to find a source of
happiness within the limited amount of resources they had access to. In a letter written from
Dawsey Adams to Juliet he asks her for a book because the bookshops in Guernsey were all
burned down. These are the pieces I want to read, and though the Germans are gone now, there
arent any bookshops left in Guernsey (9). Although many of their libraries were burned down
and many had never read a piece of literature they were still able to get together and learn how to
read and comprehend books while helping one another to forget about the occupation taking
place. In the article The Secondhand Bookseller by Marina Nemat she talks about her love for
books and how they helped her overcome the Islamic revolution. Nemat states, A couple of
times every night my mother opened the door to my bedroom to see what I was doing and smiled
when she found me reading in a way, books had saved us both(1). The Islamic just like the
German Occupation werent happy times to live in but Nemat found books and an escape that
brought her happiness. As seen in the novel the members of Guernsey built friendships and found
happiness within the shortage of resources they had access to. The German occupation was not a
happy place where many could find an escape, but through reading books these individuals

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discovered that in some way books saved their lives and learned to share their excitement with
other islanders. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was a source of happiness to
the members, where they were able to see happy times and forget for a moment about the
darkness.
Self-help books for psychological disorders have become increasingly popular, yet there
is little research conducted on their scientific status on how useful they are. In the article
Popular Self-Help Books for Anxiety, Depression, and Trauma Richard Reddings studies50
top-selling self-help books for anxiety, depressive, and trauma-related disorders and finds out
how effective they are. The results revealed that books with higher quality had the most impact.
The most highly rated books tended to be those having a cognitive behavioral perspective, those
written by mental health professionals, those written by authors holding a doctoral degree, and
those focusing on overcoming trauma. Patients who read the self-help books were able to cope
with their trauma or depression easier. The novel shows how books helped the members of the
book club overcome a dark time full of depression and possibly trauma it didnt make the
German occupation escape but books served as a source of distraction and allowed them to cope
with the war time.
The German Occupation was a time of sadness where no happiness was found. Many
residents were unhappy with the rules and regulations along with the amount of violence. Their
very scarce resources made it hard to find happiness. Susan managed to procure ration coupons
for icing sugar and real eggs for the meringue (1). They were excited about having real eggs
because during the occupation they had everything powdered. In other places around the world
this doesnt only happen when there is an occupation. In the documentary Happy the happiest
man on earth is said to be Manoj Singh who lives in India and is rickshaw driver. He undergoes

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hard conditions at work and lives in a house with barley a roof on his head. Singh states
Sometimes we only eat rice with salt but we are still happy. He talks about how seeing his
children call him dad after work brings him the most joy as well as his neighbors who all stick
together and help one another. Singh is happy even if he doesnt have many resources he finds
happiness within the little things like his family and his friends around who all help each other
cope with the circumstances. In the novel the member of Guernsey does the same in the book
club they all helped each other to learn to read and were there for each other when the times
werent so lively.
Studies conducted by Wallapa Songprakum and Terrence V. Mcann show how
bibliotherapy has been proven to reduce physiological distress amongst people with depression.
Bibliotherapy refers a method of using books as therapy in the treatment of mental or
psychological disorders. Their research was based on patients in Thailand with moderate
depression who were given a book to read for a period of time. When the results came back they
proved that their depression was reduced and it was a good form of recovery. They are now
implementing this therapy for mental health nurses to help their patients cope with depression.
The source of books given to these patients allowed them to forget their depressive thoughts and
use their mind to read stories which was what allowed them to cope with their depression. The
members of the society did the same they focused on the books and talked about books rather
than focusing on the hardships outside. The patients still had depression but because of the
reading it was reduced. Same with the members they were still living the occupation but found a
source of happiness within the book club.
Literature was not always the source of happiness for the members of the Guernsey
Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society they were living through a German Occupation and

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although books did bring them happiness there wasnt always a book to make them forget the
reality of their situation. In a letter written from Isola Pribby, a member of the book club to
Juliet, she writes about a time where not even books could bring her a source of happiness, The
only time reading didn't help was after Elizabeth was arrested by the Germans. They caught her
hiding one of those poor slave workers from Poland, and they sent her to prison in France. There
was no book that could lift my heart then, nor a long time after"(53). Reading books didnt make
World War II disappear they simply served as a distraction from their struggles and provided
these individuals with happiness for moments that seemed to dark to be lightened, while building
friendships and bonds that made their time bearable.
Literature provided the members of the club happiness, but it also created friendships that
were helpful during the war time because they were able to turn to one another for support and
became like family which allowed them to get through the dark times. In a letter written from
Amelia, a member of the book club to Juliet she says, We read books, talked books, argued over
books, and became dearer and dearer to one another. Other Islanders asked to join us, and our
evenings together became bright, lively times we could almost forget, now and then, the darkness
outside"(51). Friendships were made and it was made possible through the reading of books
which brought together a community of people that shared the same struggles.
Books have served many individuals with great help when overcoming a hardship and
played a huge in role in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. These individuals
were able to turn to books to alleviate the hardships that they were facing during the German
occupation. It was a time where no happiness could be found but with books the members
bonded with one another creating friendships and reading all sorts of literature that served each
individual greatly. Books allowed many individuals to find happiness in a time of sadness and

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forget about the occupation. They all went out of their comfort zone to learn how to read and
eventually learned the importance and value of friendships. This was all important because with
the company of one another the dark times seemed to be gone even for just a moment they were
able to overcome their sadness.

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Works Cited
Happy. Riko Belic .2012. Film
"Marina Nemat The Secondhand Bookseller." - Complete PDF Download. N.p., n.d. Web. 01
Apr. 2015.
Redding, Richard E., James D. Herbert, Evan M. Forman, and Brandon A. Gaudiano. "Popular
Self-help Books for Anxiety, Depression, and Trauma: How Scientifically Grounded and
Useful Are They?" Professional Psychology: Research and Practice 39.5 (2008): 537-45.
Web.
Shaffer, Mary Ann., and Annie Barrows. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
New York, NY: Dial, 2008. Print
Songprakun, Wallapa, and Terence V. Mccann. "Evaluation of a Bibliotherapy Manual for
Reducing Psychological Distress in People with Depression: A Randomized Controlled
Trial." Journal of Advanced Nursing 68.12 (2012): 2674-684. Web.