In Joy Is a Risk Worth Taking, bestselling author and psychologist Kelly McGonigal explores why we sometimes hold ourselves back from joy and what can happen when we learn to embrace it instead. Drawing on psychology, neuroscience, international research, and personal stories, McGonigal presents joy as a powerful resource for meaning, hope, connection, and relief, one that doesn’t require life to be easy or free from hardship.
The book explores how joy works in the brain and body, how we can create moments of meaning, connection, and celebration during challenging times, and why sharing joy can itself be a form of social support. McGonigal also offers strategies for overcoming joy dampening and navigating barriers such as envy, guilt, anxiety, and grief.
With 20 practical “joy experiments” readers can try in everyday life, the book makes the case that seeking and sharing joy isn’t frivolous, but an act of courage, compassion, and self-care that can help us keep going when life is hard.
