Anna Quindlen has been a very busy writer. She is the author of three best-selling novels. Her New York Times column "Public and Private" won a Pulitzer Prize in 1992, and a selection of those columns was published as Thinking Out Loud. She is currently a columnist for Newsweek.

A Short Guide to a Happy Life is already a national bestseller. It's a brief but snappy treasure trove of advice that sounds like it was given as a commencement address for college students. The spiritual undertow to her thoughts gives it quite a counterculture texture. Instead of pushing the work ethic gung ho, Quindlen writes: "Don't ever confuse the two, your life and your work." And for those girded up for the competitive ballgame, the author quotes a postcard from her father: "If you win the rat race, you're still a rat." Quindlen hits high stride when she goes against the all American paradigm of success: "All of us want to do well. But if we do not do good, too, then doing well will never be enough."

The upshot of this homily is "get a life." Quindlen advocates the spiritual practices of gratitude, being present, and attention. Best of all she plunges right in by squaring off against the taboo subject: death. Here's how she puts it: "And think of life as a terminal illness, because, if you do, you will live it with joy and passion, as it ought to be lived." By all means, give this to a loved one for graduation. Quindlen's subversive spirituality is exhilarating.