It seems that we all increasingly looking for ways to become happier. However, it is only recently that social scientists have begun to study happiness systematically. But is it possible to be happy at the end of life? Some hold that investigating this positive emotion is an indulgent goal compared to the need to understand other aspects of human suffering. In this blog post I reflect on the valorisation of upbeat patient affects in the context of research by Jonathan Koffman on happiness at the end of life.