The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Henry, Emily. Happy Place. Berkeley, 2023. Kindle.

The novel is narrated in first person presented by Harriet, the protagonist. Chapters are numbered and labelled either “Happy Place,” “Dark Place,” “Unhappy Place,” “Not Quite Real Life,” or “Real Life.” Although all types of chapters are narrated in present tense, the “Real Life” and “Not Quite Real Life,” chapters take place in the narrative present while the rest take place in the past. In the end, the “Happy Place” and “Real Life” chapters converge into one.

Harriet is a young woman who is in the middle of a residency in San Francisco where she is training to be a brain surgeon. She is delighted to be going on vacation to the cottage where she and her best friends have spent every summer together since college. Harriet first met Sabrina and Cleo when they were assigned to the same dorm at Mattingly College in Vermont. Sabrina’s wealthy family owns the cottage and allows her to use it every summer. The young women always come to the cabin with their partners. Sabrina always brings Parth, who she is attending law school with. Cleo always brings Kimmy, who she runs a farm with. And Harriet always brings Wyn, who she has been engaged to for years. The six of them are more than friends—they consider themselves family. However, Wyn is not supposed to come this time because he and Harriet ended their engagement almost six months ago. Harriet plans to reveal the news in person to her friends. However, when she arrives, she is shocked to find that Sabrina had called Wyn and forced him to come by announcing that she and Parth were getting married in a small ceremony at the end of the week and that her father was selling the cottage.

Harriet does not want to ruin the wedding, or mess up their final week in the cottage, so she and Wyn decide to pretend that they are still together for the week. Doing this is very hard for Harriet, though, because Wyn broke up with her in a four-minute phone conversation. She blocked his number, but she has missed him every day, and she is still deeply in love with him. To make matters worse, she and Wyn first met at the cottage, and they had their first kiss at the cottage, too. Wyn seems to be completely over the relationship, which infuriates Harriet. When he asks her if she is happy, she lies and says yes so that he does not know how sad she really is.

The next day, Harriet and her friends go grocery shopping and then head to a bookstore. Harriet gets suspicious of Wyn when he buys an expensive coffee table book because he normally would never spend that much money on a book, so she assumes he is dating someone new. They take a day trip to Acadia National Park, and then they have dinner at the Lobster Hut. Harriet wears a red dress to make Wyn jealous, and then she flirts with him aggressively in front of their friends. When they get back to their room, Wyn asks if they can call a truce and just be friends, and she reluctantly agrees.

On Wednesday, Harriet and her friends go out to breakfast. Their plans get ruined because of a storm, so they spend the day at the movie theater. Harriet and Wyn hold hands, and Harriet gets so overwhelmed that she must run out to the bathroom. When she comes out, she runs into Wyn in the hallway carrying a bunch of different candies for her. Wyn tells Harriet that he was in a very dark place because of his father’s passing when he broke up with her, but he truly hopes that she is happy with her new boyfriend. Harriet explains that she is not dating anyone, and Wyn admits that he is not dating anyone either. They reminisce and nearly kiss, but they are interrupted by their friends.

They all take weed gummies and then head to the Lobster Festival together. Harriet and Wyn go on the Ferris wheel together. They talk and nearly kiss, but they are once again interrupted by their friends. They all head back to the cottage and jump into the pool. Finally, Wyn and Harriet actually kiss. They go back to their room, and Wyn asks Harriet what this means. She says she does not know, so he says they should not continue and leaves the room.

The next day, Harriet and her friends take a boat out to an island for a picnic. Sabrina and Cleo get into a fight on the boat. Harriet and Wyn talk on the island. He says that he hates not being able to touch her, and she tells him she wishes he had told her that months ago. They all take the boat back to the mainland and talk about the upcoming wedding. Everyone asks Wyn and Harriet when they are finally going to pick a date for their wedding. When they get back to the cottage, Harriet finds a text from Wyn’s mom on his phone. They go out to pick out a cake for Sabrina and Parth, and Harriet asks Wyn about the text. He explains that he started his own business in Montana and is now making lots of money selling furniture. After they get back to the cottage, Harriet finds Wyn in the outside shower and asks him why he broke up with her. He says he still loves her, but he knew his depression after his father’s passing was making her sad, so he broke up with her in order to make her happy. She tells him she loves him too, but they both think there is no way for them to be together. They kiss and decide to have one last night together before saying goodbye.

Sabrina takes everyone out for dinner and to get tattoos. Cleo refuses to get one, and Sabrina runs off crying. Harriet follows her, and Sabrina reveals that she and Parth found out about Harriet and Wyn’s breakup weeks ago and have been trying to get them back together all week. Everyone goes back to the house in a bad mood. Harriet finds Wyn in the middle of the night and they have sex.

The next morning, Harriet goes out to get coffee for everyone and finds Cleo at the shop. Cleo admits that she is pregnant. Harriet meets up with Wyn and tells him she hates her residency and wants to move to Montana with him. He tells her he cannot let her build a life around him.

They go back to the cottage and find that Sabrina has left. Harriet and Cleo find her at the church where her parents got married. They all apologize for keeping secrets, and then they go back so Sabrina and Parth can get married. That night, Harriet and Wyn have sex again, and he tells Harriet that he loves her. In the morning, Harriet wakes up early and asks Sabrina and Cleo to drive her to the airport without saying goodbye to Wyn.

Harriet checks in and waits for her flight, but then she decides she cannot be without Wyn. She runs out of the airport and finds Wyn pulling up to the airport. They decide to move to Montana together and get married. Harriet quits her residency and takes a job in a pottery shop, which makes her happy for the first time in a long time.