Spotlight on the "I Want You to Know" Journal | Gretchen Rubin [Skip to content](#content) [ ![](https://staging.gretchenrubin.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/gretchenrubin-logo-768x344.png) ](https://staging.gretchenrubin.com) - September 18, 2024 - [Gifts](https://staging.gretchenrubin.com/tag/gifts/) # Spotlight on the “I Want You to Know” Journal ![](https://staging.gretchenrubin.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/I_Want_You_to_Know_8-e1731614819488.jpg) Ta-da! I’m extremely excited to announce my new journal: *[I Want You to Know: My Portrait of You](https://the-happiness-project.com/collections/new/products/i-want-you-to-know).* I’ve never done a journal like this before. Speaking for myself, I cannot *wait* to fill out multiple copies to give as holiday gifts this year. Some background: Ancient philosophers and modern scientists agree that a key—perhaps the key—to happiness is strong relationships with other people. But if you’re like me, you may find it hard to put loving feelings into words—to express yourself openly. Or, in the business of everyday life, you find it hard to take the time to share funny or significant memories. This journal will help you to put your loving feelings into words, and by making that record, it allows you to create a meaningful keepsake for someone you love. The questions will prompt you to capture the things you’ve always wanted to say and record your favorite memories. I’m planning to use this journal to create birthday and Christmas gifts. It would also make a great keepsake for a wedding, a graduation, an anniversary, a Valentine’s Day gift, a retirement, or any milestone moment. Or just as a spontaneous gift! I wish this journal had been ready so that I could’ve filled it out and packed it in the “[blues bag](https://www.instagram.com/p/C_Jk0DORp4g/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==)” I gave to my daughter Eleanor when we dropped her off at college. It would be fun to give a blank journal to a child so that they could fill it out for a parent, grandparent, or best friend as a “handmade” gift. I worked with a brilliant team on this journal—the design is gorgeous and the questions are very thought-provoking. Here are just a few of my favorites: - One of my first memories of you is…. - These songs make me think of you: - A habit of yours I secretly find endearing is… - Knowing you had made me… - This quotation makes me think of you: As you see, the prompts are open-ended, so you can pick the vibe that works for you—tender, humorous, whimsical, nostalgic. ![](https://staging.gretchenrubin.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/I_Want_You_to_Know_13-1024x682.jpg) Expressing ourselves creatively can be a very important element in a happy life, and I’m very interested in everyday creativity—how we can express ourselves imaginatively without needing a lot of time, energy, money—or even *skill*! The design of this journal makes it easy to create something that, while not taxing in execution, is nevertheless extraordinarily meaningful and creative. Once you get the journal, here’s a practical note: Read through all the prompts before you start filling in the pages; you may find that a particular story or detail fits better in a different prompt. I’m sure that people will come up with inventive ways to use this journal that I haven’t even considered. I can’t wait for it to make its way into the world. *I Want You to Know: My Portrait of You* is available for pre-order now, and ships by late October. [Click here](https://the-happiness-project.com/collections/new/products/i-want-you-to-know) to visit the Happiness Project Shop to learn more and pre-order your copy. #### YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE ![gold and white gift box](https://staging.gretchenrubin.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/f1te839byrq-768x512.jpg) [Gretchen Rubin's 2025 Gift Guides](https://staging.gretchenrubin.com/articles/gretchen-rubins-2025-gift-guides/) ![purple and white stick with white background](https://staging.gretchenrubin.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/kjtqrwwkq2k-768x512.jpg) [Gretchen Rubin's Gen Z Gifts](https://staging.gretchenrubin.com/articles/gretchen-rubins-gen-z-gifts/) ![white pillar candles on brown wooden table](https://staging.gretchenrubin.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/bdvmikx_gis-768x549.jpg) [Gretchen Rubin's Fun Candle Gifts](https://staging.gretchenrubin.com/articles/gretchen-rubins-fun-candle-gifts/) #### DISCOVER MORE # Like what you see? Explore more about this topic. - [Connection](https://staging.gretchenrubin.com/secondary_tag/connection/), [Gifts](https://staging.gretchenrubin.com/secondary_tag/gifts/), [Relationships](https://staging.gretchenrubin.com/secondary_tag/relationships/) # Interested in happiness, habits, and human nature? From renowned happiness expert and *New York Times* bestselling author Gretchen Rubin, the “Five Things Making Me Happy” newsletter is one of today’s most popular newsletters. You’ll get a weekly round-up of what’s making Gretchen happy, as well as practical tips, research, and resources about how we can make our lives happier, healthier, more productive, and more creative. Email Submit Manage Cookie Consent To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions. Functional Functional Always active The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network. Preferences Preferences The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user. Statistics Statistics The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you. Marketing Marketing The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes. - [Manage options](#) - [Manage services](#) - [Manage {vendor\_count} vendors](#) - [Read more about these purposes](https://cookiedatabase.org/tcf/purposes/) Accept Deny View preferences Save preferences [View preferences](#) - [{title}](#) - [{title}](#) - [{title}](#) Manage consent # Subscribe to Gretchen’s newsletter. Every Friday, Gretchen Rubin shares 5 things that are making her happier, asks readers and listeners questions, and includes exclusive updates and behind-the-scenes material. Email Submit ; ![](https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=1375714196636303&ev=PageView&noscript=1&cd%5Bpost_category%5D=Articles&cd%5Bpage_title%5D=Spotlight+on+the+%22I+Want+You+to+Know%22+Journal&cd%5Bpost_type%5D=post&cd%5Bpost_id%5D=137273&cd%5Bplugin%5D=PixelYourSite&cd%5Buser_role%5D=guest&cd%5Bevent_url%5D=staging.gretchenrubin.com%2Farticles%2Fspotlight-on-the-i-want-you-to-know-journal%2F) [x](# "Close optin form")Subscribe to Gretchen's newsletter Every Friday, Gretchen Rubin shares 5 things that are making her happier, asks readers and listeners questions, and includes exclusive updates and behind-the-scenes material. We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time. Invalid email address Thanks for subscribing! [x](# "Close optin form") ![Blue and yellow pens on blue background](https://staging.gretchenrubin.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/cropped-cropped-DSC5980-scaled-e1663786433795.jpg) Join more than One Million Subscribers # Get happiness delivered to your inbox. From renowned happiness expert and *New York Times* bestselling author Gretchen Rubin, the “Five Things Making Me Happy” newsletter is one of today’s most popular newsletters. You’ll get a weekly round-up of what’s making Gretchen happy, as well as practical tips, research, and resources about how we can make our lives happier, healthier, more productive, and more creative. [Privacy Policy]() Invalid email address Onward! Thank you for subscribing.