Quick Take
- Read by: Nathan Glad narrates his own story alongside David Osmond, and that choice transforms the material, hearing the subject's own voice delivers an immediacy no proxy narrator could replicate.
- At its heart: Resilience through adversity, gratitude as active practice, faith-grounded optimism
- Vibe: Warm and quietly affecting without tipping into sentimentality
- Short version: Brief but unexpectedly substantial, this audiobook works because Nathan Glad's voice and perspective are the real argument for everything he describes.
Forty-two minutes is not a lot of time. I have spent longer in grocery store checkout lines. But Best Day Ever!, narrated by Nathan Glad himself alongside David Osmond and written by Richard Paul Evans, is one of those short audiobook listens that takes up more space in your thinking than its runtime suggests. I put it on during a short afternoon drive with no particular expectations, and I finished it sitting in my parked car because I did not want to stop and break whatever was happening. That reluctance to leave when a short listen ends is relatively uncommon and worth paying attention to.
Nathan Glad was not expected to survive birth. Born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta, the condition that makes bones extraordinarily fragile and that most people know by the shorthand Brittle Bone Disease, he has experienced more physical ruptures in his life than most people encounter in several lifetimes combined. The audiobook builds outward from that biographical foundation toward something more practical: seven specific, hard-won frameworks for happiness that Glad has developed not from comfort but from genuine adversity. Richard Paul Evans provides the foreword, lending his considerable publishing reputation, but the heart of this audiobook belongs entirely to Glad.
Direct Transmission Instead of Proxy Narration
What separates this from the crowded field of positivity-focused short books is that Glad never pretends his circumstances are easy or that gratitude is effortless. The seven hacks he describes emerge from a life where the body itself is an ongoing crisis, which gives them a credibility that advice written from a position of relative ease simply cannot match. When Glad talks about choosing happiness, he is describing something he has had to work at in conditions that give the word work a very specific meaning. Reviewer John Norman called the experience life-changing and specifically mentioned buying additional copies to share with others, which suggests the book functions as something portable and transferable rather than merely personal.
The decision to have Nathan Glad narrate rather than use a professional voice actor is the most important creative choice in this production. It would be a categorically different thing with a polished narrator performing the same words. Hearing Glad himself describe his own hacks, his own failures, his own stubborn insistence on happiness creates a kind of direct transmission that proxy narration would inevitably dilute. The pairing with David Osmond gives the production a sense of accompaniment rather than performance, and the combination works throughout.
You Can Choose Your Orientation Regardless
Reviewer deborah short noted that Glad shows how to be grateful for every day regardless of what you are going through, and that framing is accurate without being reductive. This audiobook does not pretend that difficult circumstances resolve themselves or that positive thinking eliminates suffering. It argues, through lived example, that a person can choose their orientation toward their life even when they cannot choose the life itself. That distinction between what can and cannot be chosen is where Glad's framework has real intellectual and practical substance, and it is what keeps the book from feeling like mere inspirational packaging.
For a forty-two-minute audiobook, the emotional range is genuinely impressive. Reviewer Luanne T. Recicar described it as an encouragement to anyone who reads it and noted its spiritual grounding: the sense that God does not make mistakes and that living according to His will can bring happiness in any circumstance. The faith component is genuine and present throughout, but it is not exclusionary in its framing. Glad's perspective is rooted in his own belief system without requiring the listener to share it in order to find the seven hacks useful. The practical frameworks exist alongside the spiritual context rather than being wholly dependent on it.
The Point Was Already Embodied in Him
At forty-two minutes, this is a listening experience rather than a comprehensive guide. Do not arrive expecting extended exploration of each framework, case studies, or detailed practical exercises. The brevity is itself part of the argument in a way: Glad does not need more time to make his point because the point is already embodied in how he lives. The density of meaning per minute is high, but the form is genuinely a short inspirational memoir rather than a long-form self-help manual. Listeners who prefer dense, heavily researched personal development frameworks may want to pair this audiobook with longer material on gratitude practice or resilience research.
The faith-forward framing is also worth knowing upfront if that context would affect your experience. The book is not evangelical, but it is rooted. For listeners who share that framework, the result is a deeply affirming listen. For those who do not, the practical frameworks remain useful if slightly differently received, and the credibility of Glad's specific life circumstances carries the weight that would otherwise depend on shared belief.
Nathan Glad's Own Voice, Well Spent
This audiobook works well for anyone sitting in a difficult period who needs to hear from someone who has faced something genuinely hard and emerged with specific, actionable tools rather than generic encouragement. Reviewer deborah short recommended it to young and old alike, and that range holds. It is a strong choice for parents who want to share it with teenagers navigating their own challenges, disability-related or otherwise. Those who need extended analytical frameworks or explicitly secular self-help content may find it thinner than expected, but for most people, forty-two minutes with Nathan Glad's own voice is time very well spent.
What are Nathan Glad's seven hacks for happiness in this audiobook?
The audiobook works through the seven frameworks Glad has developed from his experience living with Osteogenesis Imperfecta. The specifics are best encountered through listening, since Glad's own narration is central to understanding where each hack comes from and why it carries the weight it does. The frameworks are presented in his own voice and grounded in specific lived experience.
Is this audiobook religious or faith-based, and does that affect its usefulness for secular listeners?
Yes, Glad's perspective is genuinely rooted in faith, and that context shapes how he frames happiness and resilience throughout. Multiple reviewers across different backgrounds have found the practical content meaningful and transferable even without sharing that framework. The faith framing is present without being exclusionary, so the seven hacks function for a range of listeners.
Why does Nathan Glad narrate his own audiobook rather than using a professional narrator?
The choice appears deliberate and significantly strengthens the material. Hearing Glad describe his own life and hacks creates a directness that proxy narration would inevitably reduce. The self-narration is part of what makes the audiobook feel like genuine testimony rather than performed inspiration, and reviewers consistently responded to Glad's own voice as the primary source of the book's impact.
Is Best Day Ever! appropriate for younger listeners or teenagers dealing with difficulty?
Yes, the content is appropriate for a wide age range. Reviewer deborah short specifically mentioned it as valuable for both young and old. The accessible length and clarity of Glad's message make the audiobook effective for teenagers navigating challenges, whether or not they share similar physical circumstances.
