The Joyful Life by Margaret Sangster

Margaret Sangster has helpful exhortations for young women to live a Godly life. “Each chapter of this book is a simple and friendly talk . . . and the author’s aim has been to suggest something helpful . . . [for] our happiness and usefulness.” Her advice includes: “If one can but take whatever comes as part of God’s plan, and not as the happening of a blind chance, one will be surer of content. A plan of God in every life, and life joyfully lived in accordance with God’s plan, is a good formula for true happiness.” Also: “One of the most successful recipes for curing the blues, no matter what the source, is to engage actively in some work outside one’s self.”

Paperback 6X9, 104 pages, ISBN 9781941281598

MARGARET ELIZABETH SANGSTER (1838–1912) was born in New Rochelle, New York to John and Mary Munson. She was educated in private schools and lived in a deeply religious household. She read voraciously growing up. She attended a Presbyterian Church and later Dutch Reformed Church. She married George Sangster in 1858. She edited and wrote for “Hearth and Home,” “Christian Intelligencer,” “Harper’s Bazaar,” and others.