but it's more about families and harsh pasts, so this thread isn't in the theology forum.
i found this article quite compelling, and realise that maybe this is why i see people who have "perfect lives" always seem so sad. perhaps they're hiding from their hard past or pretending that life's problems don't get to them. either case, it seems that admitting failure is on the road to true happiness.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-fei ... _ref=false
interestingly enough, they sort of touched on this in supernatural (lol). when bobby singer was trapped in his coma, his way out was to touch on his most horrible memory. facing and embracing your past, no matter how difficult and horrible, is the only way to get over it.