I've not read this book, but it does sound interesting. Optimism, in general, is a tricky thing for many people. I consider myself an optimist, but it might be more accurate to make my description that of a cautious optimist. It's easy to be optimist when things are going well and it might even be plausible to be an optimist after a few bad days strung together. But when the whole month explodes, say a number of personal "catastrophic" events occur, then it's really hard to hang onto any thread of optimism, let alone hope. So, perhaps, this kind of describes, my off and on battle with depression. Bottom line, a person can learn to be an optimist, that I believe... and yes, I am working myself into that direction also. That being said, learning to be an optimist, one really has to guard what goes into the mind. There are a lot of negative messages and influences out there which will have an a major impact on a person's attitude and, most certainly, mental health. The media, for instance, is one of the major factors in this issue. I know we all need to know what's going on in the world once in a while through one of the news outlets, but come on, there is not a bigger bunch of negative influencers than the nightly news talking heads! Too much news deals with crime, war, famine, natural disasters, political corruption, etc. and it really will impact a person's sensibilities.