About this product
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A profound, funny, and deeply human case for joy that doesn’t depend on everything getting better, from the beloved author of Everything Happens for a Reason and No Cure for Being Human
“ Joyful, Anyway is colorful and layered, unafraid of the occasional gut-punch of raw feeling and vulnerability—much like Kate Bowler herself. She suffers no fools, especially the toxic optimists.”—Jerry Seinfeld “A book to take you through life’s aftermaths.”—Katherine May, New York Times bestselling author of Wintering True joy—an unmistakable blend of gratitude, hope, and delight—will find you, even in the midst of sadness. Allowing yourself to receive this gift is what will get you through.
We are overwhelmed. Frightening headlines, illness, uncertainty, grief, and email. We are left wondering why, if we’re doing everything right, life still feels like an endless game of whack-a-mole. Joyful, Anway is bestselling author Kate Bowler’s bracingly honest exploration of this dilemma.
By sharing her personal experience and stories from some of our culture’s preeminent historians, philosophers, and religious scholars, Bowler presents an original and inspiring understanding of joy. This is a type of joy that is different from happiness, and it does not depend on resolving the things that make life difficult. Drawing on a decade of living with serious illness and a lifetime, as a divinity professor, studying America’s obsession with progress, she shows why the relentless pursuit of happiness may, in fact, keep us from experiencing true joy.
Joy isn’t something you can optimize or manufacture. It subverts our expectations, finding us when life rewrites our scripts. Joyful, Anyway offers language for the ache we all carry and practices—loosening control, introducing novelty, choosing charity—that will open us up to the surprising, technicolor moments that pull us back into life. Inspiring, funny, and soulful, Joyful, Anyway is a book you will turn to again and again.
Joy reminds us that no matter what, life is still worth loving. For every time we ask is this it?, joy will answer: There is more. Read more
Editor's Take
Readers and reviewers describe Joyful, Anyway as warm, funny, and deeply human, with a strong focus on finding joy without pretending life is easy. Amazon-style product listings and reader comments emphasize its emotional honesty, and Goodreads reviewers praise Kate Bowler’s dry humor, tenderness, and relatable voice.
Professional reviews are broadly positive: The Independent Critic calls it a moving, thoughtful read, while Kirkus and other book reviews highlight its reflective, faith-adjacent exploration of joy, suffering, and meaning. Some reviewers note that the book may resonate most with readers who already connect with Bowler’s podcast or earlier work, since her humor and style are part of the appeal.
Across sources, the main takeaway is that this book is appreciated for its candid tone, comfort during hard seasons, and blend of wit and vulnerability.
Price History
Specifications
| Topic | Happiness |
Product Details
| Publisher | The Dial Press |
| Publication date | April 7, 2026 |
| Language | English |
| Print length | 304 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 059373419X |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0593734193 |
| Item Weight | 1.25 pounds |
| Dimensions | 5.78 x 1.05 x 8.54 inches |
| Best Sellers Rank | #6,088 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #52 in Women's Biographies #80 in Spiritual Self-Help (Books) #83 in Happiness Self-Help |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars (384) |
