Life is full of challenges, from the mundane to the difficult and dangerous. The Benefits of a Light Heart is a book which contains a recipe for action, from which you can reframe your problems using the dog metaphor. Dogs, after all, are like our problems - they range from small and innocuous to full-blown, raving monsters. Rather than be too serious, linger awhile and laugh with Dr Prue Millear, PhD (and her alter ego, a cat called Professor Hilary Doodlebug), and discover the Barking Dog Index of Problems. Will you find that you have a Red Kelpie (sensible problems), a Poodle (somewhat annoying ones), or something more challenging, like a Blue Healer (getting really difficult) or the top end, the Hounds of Hell (when civil society has been lost) Once you've identified your Dog and found ways to get your Problem Dog to sit nicely and behave, you can deal with the FLEAS (Fears, Lies, Exaggerations, Absolutes, and Silences) that make any Dog worse than need be.