Reddit mentions of The Art of Happiness, 10th Anniversary Edition: A Handbook for Living

To embrace the misfortune, bad things or bad people in your life, you need to start looking into yourself, why do you think those things or people are bad for you? What does it teach you about yourself? What can you learn out of this? What does this situation envoce inside you?

You could learn healthy and cheap cooking, reflect why your boss is an asshole and how can you react better when the next asshole will cross your way. Hit the gym, library and voluntaring is a good idea... those things will keep you busy, but real change comes from within... maybe you can look into this book http://www.amazon.com/Art-Happiness-10th-Anniversary-Handbook-ebook/dp/B002UK6NO0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427675237&sr=8-1&keywords=the+art+of+being+happy

we humans have two first experiences before we are born that we want to experience again later in life. a) warmth and b) growth. This book focus on b). Usually our society (school, work etc.) focus on growth...

Hope this helps somehow?

http://www.amazon.com/Art-Happiness-Handbook-Living-ebook/dp/B002UK6NO0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422270330&sr=8-1&keywords=the+art+of+happiness

Think for a moment about the person dearest to you in the world. Imagine they were going through exactly what you are going through. What advice would you give them? What should they do to find contentment?

I've got advice for your friend.

First of all, your friend is lucky to have a friend like you. Maybe she needs more accepting people, though? It's always hard to be in a hostile environment. Spending time in less hostile environments isn't just healthy, it's vital. Maybe that means finding a support group. Maybe it means finding a new therapist, or getting involved in a knitting circle or basketball league. If your friend is unlucky, maybe it means moving towns. It's not easy, but it's a gift from your friend to her future self, and it's worth it to spend time on gifts.

Second, your friend might benefit from not just knowing, but really internalizing, that there are a lot of different kinds of women in the world. The good news is that your friend is already one of those women. The other good news is that there are plenty of feminine women with sizes and body shapes a lot like your friend.

For example, Adrianne Palicki is my role model. She's undeniably feminine, but she's also big, and bright, and kind of a haas. Am I that fit? Hell no. But nobody, and I mean nobody, is ever as fit as their hollywood idol, because hollywood idols get paid to be fit. If your friend does some googling, I'm sure she'll find a beautiful example of someone who shares her size and body shape to emulate. Ciswomen aren't superior in any way to transwomen, but even they can't undo bone structure, and have limited control over body shape.

Third, your friend may not be able to progress in some areas of her transition yet, but she can definitely progress in others. It's important to take wins where we can get them. If she can't change her body right now, maybe it's a good time to focus on further naturalizing her voice or poise. Maybe it's time to dig in and study fashion--and not just the superficial magazine stuff. These things can go a long way toward amplifying the effects of future physiological changes. Maybe it's something more cerebral, like learning more about suffrage and the struggles of women before us, or more about trans history. And like I mentioned above; finding an accepting environment? That's a critical step in transition, too. Finding a place in the world is something every woman has to do.

Fourth, while we sometimes have limited control over our situation, we always have at least some control over how we cope. It sucks that your friend is in a shitty situation. She shouldn't have to bear the whole burden of making the universe less shitty, but she does have the opportunity to take back ownership of some things it stole.

For starters, I was really angry for a long time. I was in a lot of emotional pain. I found that Buddhist practice really helped me. I'm not religious at all, and don't believe in the Buddhist ideas about spirit and afterlife, but it's built around a really practical approach to suffering less. Reading the first three or four chapters of The Art of Happiness literally changed my life. Your friend might be able get something from it. Basically, it says that using compassion to understand how others suffer can give us context for our own suffering, and power over how we experience it.

Next, your friend might be able to get something from emulating her favorite characters. Personally, I like cartoons. Even if they were designed for kids, we often missed something the first time through. I find a lot of comfort in Steven Universe, and P.A. Works shows like Shirobako and Sakura Quest. All of them are, at least in part, about a diverse crew of working women. Those women make their worlds work, and I admire them for it. If your friend isn't into that, maybe it's her favorite TV Doctor or Lady President. All of us can find someone we like who just gets shit done.

Finally, /u/ryans01's classic reddit comment about the four rules of living has a lot to teach your friend and I about how to live well and love ourselves.

If you played along, you probably noticed that it's hard to watch a friend struggle, even in our imaginations. We naturally want to help our friends. So the question becomes, how do we become our own friends? I imagine it's just what we've done here. Put someone else in your shoes for a while, and think about what you'd say to, or do for them. Then say or do those things for yourself. You are loved, and you are nor alone, even if it feels that way.

I'm no buddhist, but The Art of Happiness really helps me a lot. I read it again every few years.