What do you think?
Rate this book
The Gravity of Joy: A Story of Being Lost and Found
“My vocation was supposed to be joy, and I was speaking at funerals.” Shortly after being hired by Yale University to study joy, Angela Gorrell got word that a close family member had died by suicide. Less than a month later, she lost her father to a fatal opioid addiction and her nephew, only twenty-two years old, to sudden cardiac arrest. The theoretical joy she was researching at Yale suddenly felt shallow and distant—completely unattainable in the fog of grief she now found herself in. But joy was closer at hand than it seemed. As she began volunteering at a women’s maximum-security prison, she met people who suffered extensively yet still showed a tremendous capacity for joy. Talking with these women, many of whom had struggled with addiction and suicidal thoughts themselves, she “Joy doesn’t obliterate grief. . . . Instead, joy has a mysterious capacity to be felt alongside sorrow and even—sometimes most especially—in the midst of suffering.” This is the story of Angela’s discovery of an authentic, grounded Christian joy. But even more, it is an invitation for others to seize upon this more resilient joy as a counteragent to the twenty-first-century epidemics of despair, addiction, and suicide—a call to action for communities that yearn to find joy and are willing to “walk together through the shadows” to find it.
245 pages, Hardcover
First published March 9, 2021
49 people are currently reading
498 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
March 4, 2021
Don't let the title of the book fool you. This isn't some clap-happy, sentimentalized book that advises you not to worry, but just be happy. This book is about as real as you can get when speaking about joy. In fact, you will come away with a very different vision of joy than perhaps you had before. This is a book that seeks to develop a theology of joy in the midst of deep suffering -- including that of the author.
The Gravity of Joy is a deeply personal book that brings together life experience with research on a theology of Joy. The stories involve opioid addiction, suicide, and prison life. The question is, where does joy fit into this picture? How might one experience joy in the midst of suffering?
The author, Angela Williams Gorrell, is currently serving as the assistant professor of practical theology at George W. Truett Theological Seminary (Baylor University). The roots of the book, however, are found in her previous work at the Yale Center for Faith and Culture as a member of a team working on the Theology of Joy and the Good Life project. Her job was to research joy and teach a class at Yale titled "A Life Worth Living."
The stories you will read in this book begin to unfold right at the moment Gorrell was to begin teaching a section of the Life Worth Living class at Yale. Just a year after she was hired for this project, three family members died in quick succession over a period of four weeks, what she describes as her four weeks of hell. The first death came from the husband of a cousin, who committed suicide. The second death was a nephew who suddenly died of a heart attack in his early twenties. Finally, her father died as a result of his opioid addiction that had stripped away what had been a fulfilling life. All of this took place in December of 2016. Of her father, she writes "Chronic pain had changed him from a fun, loving, passionate person into someone holed up in a bedroom addicted to pills." (xv).
This is a book about joy in the context of a conversation about suicide, the opioid addiction crisis, and the realities of prison life. As she notes in her prologue to the book, her purpose in writing this book is to describe "connections between suicidal thinking, addiction, and despair, and it prescribes joy as the counteragent to despair" (p. xvii). She writes from experience, seeking to understand research joy even as the world around her was falling apart. She confesses that it took almost nine months of crying and seven months of therapy to get to the point where she could write this book.
The first death came just a week before Christmas, when word came that Dustin had killed himself. This death came not long after she had begun teaching this course about lives worth living. Then two weeks later her nephew Mason died, not long after Dustin's funeral. Then not long thereafter, Angela's father came into the picture. She speaks of her father, who had been an attorney by vocation, and who by her description had lived his life big, was dying of his opioid addiction. All of this takes place while teaching a class on a life worth living.
These deaths as they intersect with the class and the project on joy lead to more stories about addition, recognizing the realities of addiction and how it is perceived often as a moral problem. In these chapters, she speaks of her own wrestling with her father's addiction and trying to figure out how it occurred. She remembered the way he lived his life and the family that existed. Having spoken of these realities, she then speaks of her own grief, of her own sense of despair. So how do you teach about joy when grief has taken hold? Some deaths were more easily explained than others, but even then there was little comfort.
Interestingly enough, she began to find healing and hope after she began co-leading a Bible study in a women's prison. Gorrell tells the stories of these women whom she met, their challenges dealing with hopelessness at times, and yet finding a sense of hope in the community formed by these studies. And Gorrell found her own healing and sense of joy in their lives as she got to know them. Out of these conversations come opportunities to reflect on mass incarceration, often due to drug issues. How many people are incarcerated because of "drug offenses" but never get the treatment necessary. Instead, they live lives that at times don't seem worth living, which of course leads to suicides and suicide attempts. In the midst of these conversations, Gorrell brings into the conversation the importance of community.
It's hard to describe the book as it's rooted in Gorrell's own story and the stories of persons she comes to know in her life and through her research. These are woven together in a tapestry that speaks to the tragedies of life. Yet, there is this thread of joy. It's not always front and center, but it ties things together. She writes at one point in the book that "since joy is the 'present experience of God's being and becoming' ---a recognition of God, the very manifestation of goodness and meaning --- profound rejoicing is possible particularly in suffering." (p. 128). In many ways, the theology of joy that she was exploring at the time is present but with subtleness. That seems appropriate. Faith is central to the story, but it's not spoken of in a way that glosses over the realities of lives lost and hurt. So, theologically she can speak of joy as "a counteragent to despair because it can be sustained and sustain us, even when standing right next to sorrow." (p. 138). When it comes to experiencing joy, we can't simply create it like, to use her analogy, we make spaghetti. However, we can do things that can help us prepare to receive joy and recognize it when arrives. Thus, "we all can live postured toward joy, alive to its possibility, even in the unlikeliest of places, even in close proximity to our sorrow, even and most especially in the midst of our suffering" (pp. 169-170). What can obstruct joy are fear and anger. Thus they must be attended to if joy is to come. The pathway to joy, again, requires community. We can't find it alone. The good news is that we can experience lives worth living, and the path to that is to remind each other of this truth. That she believes will help rescue people from despair.
In her epilogue, she gives us some guidance regarding suicide, opioid addiction, prison/justice reform. She speaks to the root causes of despair and invites us to join together in reducing suicide, heal addiction, and change the prison system. There is much work to be done, but there is joy to be found in the midst of this work to which we are called.
I found the book to be profoundly moving. I believe that it offers a word of hope to many who may think that experiencing joy is an unreachable goal. The truth is, the path to joy in the midst of suffering, is a path that requires us to walk together with eyes wide open. I received the book as an advanced reader's copy that came without the foreword by Miroslav Volf, who directs the center that gave birth to the project that stands behind Gorrell's book. That foreword might give some more context, but even without it, the book is one to be read and pondered.
The Gravity of Joy is a deeply personal book that brings together life experience with research on a theology of Joy. The stories involve opioid addiction, suicide, and prison life. The question is, where does joy fit into this picture? How might one experience joy in the midst of suffering?
The author, Angela Williams Gorrell, is currently serving as the assistant professor of practical theology at George W. Truett Theological Seminary (Baylor University). The roots of the book, however, are found in her previous work at the Yale Center for Faith and Culture as a member of a team working on the Theology of Joy and the Good Life project. Her job was to research joy and teach a class at Yale titled "A Life Worth Living."
The stories you will read in this book begin to unfold right at the moment Gorrell was to begin teaching a section of the Life Worth Living class at Yale. Just a year after she was hired for this project, three family members died in quick succession over a period of four weeks, what she describes as her four weeks of hell. The first death came from the husband of a cousin, who committed suicide. The second death was a nephew who suddenly died of a heart attack in his early twenties. Finally, her father died as a result of his opioid addiction that had stripped away what had been a fulfilling life. All of this took place in December of 2016. Of her father, she writes "Chronic pain had changed him from a fun, loving, passionate person into someone holed up in a bedroom addicted to pills." (xv).
This is a book about joy in the context of a conversation about suicide, the opioid addiction crisis, and the realities of prison life. As she notes in her prologue to the book, her purpose in writing this book is to describe "connections between suicidal thinking, addiction, and despair, and it prescribes joy as the counteragent to despair" (p. xvii). She writes from experience, seeking to understand research joy even as the world around her was falling apart. She confesses that it took almost nine months of crying and seven months of therapy to get to the point where she could write this book.
The first death came just a week before Christmas, when word came that Dustin had killed himself. This death came not long after she had begun teaching this course about lives worth living. Then two weeks later her nephew Mason died, not long after Dustin's funeral. Then not long thereafter, Angela's father came into the picture. She speaks of her father, who had been an attorney by vocation, and who by her description had lived his life big, was dying of his opioid addiction. All of this takes place while teaching a class on a life worth living.
These deaths as they intersect with the class and the project on joy lead to more stories about addition, recognizing the realities of addiction and how it is perceived often as a moral problem. In these chapters, she speaks of her own wrestling with her father's addiction and trying to figure out how it occurred. She remembered the way he lived his life and the family that existed. Having spoken of these realities, she then speaks of her own grief, of her own sense of despair. So how do you teach about joy when grief has taken hold? Some deaths were more easily explained than others, but even then there was little comfort.
Interestingly enough, she began to find healing and hope after she began co-leading a Bible study in a women's prison. Gorrell tells the stories of these women whom she met, their challenges dealing with hopelessness at times, and yet finding a sense of hope in the community formed by these studies. And Gorrell found her own healing and sense of joy in their lives as she got to know them. Out of these conversations come opportunities to reflect on mass incarceration, often due to drug issues. How many people are incarcerated because of "drug offenses" but never get the treatment necessary. Instead, they live lives that at times don't seem worth living, which of course leads to suicides and suicide attempts. In the midst of these conversations, Gorrell brings into the conversation the importance of community.
It's hard to describe the book as it's rooted in Gorrell's own story and the stories of persons she comes to know in her life and through her research. These are woven together in a tapestry that speaks to the tragedies of life. Yet, there is this thread of joy. It's not always front and center, but it ties things together. She writes at one point in the book that "since joy is the 'present experience of God's being and becoming' ---a recognition of God, the very manifestation of goodness and meaning --- profound rejoicing is possible particularly in suffering." (p. 128). In many ways, the theology of joy that she was exploring at the time is present but with subtleness. That seems appropriate. Faith is central to the story, but it's not spoken of in a way that glosses over the realities of lives lost and hurt. So, theologically she can speak of joy as "a counteragent to despair because it can be sustained and sustain us, even when standing right next to sorrow." (p. 138). When it comes to experiencing joy, we can't simply create it like, to use her analogy, we make spaghetti. However, we can do things that can help us prepare to receive joy and recognize it when arrives. Thus, "we all can live postured toward joy, alive to its possibility, even in the unlikeliest of places, even in close proximity to our sorrow, even and most especially in the midst of our suffering" (pp. 169-170). What can obstruct joy are fear and anger. Thus they must be attended to if joy is to come. The pathway to joy, again, requires community. We can't find it alone. The good news is that we can experience lives worth living, and the path to that is to remind each other of this truth. That she believes will help rescue people from despair.
In her epilogue, she gives us some guidance regarding suicide, opioid addiction, prison/justice reform. She speaks to the root causes of despair and invites us to join together in reducing suicide, heal addiction, and change the prison system. There is much work to be done, but there is joy to be found in the midst of this work to which we are called.
I found the book to be profoundly moving. I believe that it offers a word of hope to many who may think that experiencing joy is an unreachable goal. The truth is, the path to joy in the midst of suffering, is a path that requires us to walk together with eyes wide open. I received the book as an advanced reader's copy that came without the foreword by Miroslav Volf, who directs the center that gave birth to the project that stands behind Gorrell's book. That foreword might give some more context, but even without it, the book is one to be read and pondered.
March 20, 2024
"I never understood or paid much attention to Holy Saturday before these tragedies happened. Now I think I know a bit more about what it means. Holy Saturday is the day between Jesus’s death on Friday and his resurrection on Sunday morning...It is the time in between...It is the time spent somewhere between death on Friday and resurrection on Sunday, reconciling life’s tremendous losses and unspeakable joys...Saturday is quiet...Saturday is liminal space...This is because we have known Sunday’s goodness before, moments when our hearts pound instead with great joy, when unexpected and spontaneous connection, opportunity, renewal, and healing come.”
Not only do I think this quote is beautiful, but it's the best words I can think of to describe Gorrell's words. I went into reading "The Gravity of Joy" thinking that it was going to be another Christian book about how to deal with grief. Spoiler alert: There isn't a cookie-cutter answer. Grief must be wrestled with. It is complex. It is a part of what it means to be human. Its seeming counterpart, known as "joy," is just a complex.
I write this to process my thoughts, but also to recommend the "Gravity of Joy," for anyone who needs to hear the voice of someone who has wrestled with grief. Gorrell's words are real, honest, and inviting to a conversation to listen and receive a loving presence. "Jesus wept," and so should we as Christians.
Not only do I think this quote is beautiful, but it's the best words I can think of to describe Gorrell's words. I went into reading "The Gravity of Joy" thinking that it was going to be another Christian book about how to deal with grief. Spoiler alert: There isn't a cookie-cutter answer. Grief must be wrestled with. It is complex. It is a part of what it means to be human. Its seeming counterpart, known as "joy," is just a complex.
I write this to process my thoughts, but also to recommend the "Gravity of Joy," for anyone who needs to hear the voice of someone who has wrestled with grief. Gorrell's words are real, honest, and inviting to a conversation to listen and receive a loving presence. "Jesus wept," and so should we as Christians.
September 19, 2022
This book is a heavy hitter. Give yourself plenty of time and space to read and reflect. I loved the honesty in sharing both pain and the joy found in the midst of it. A truly powerful read.
March 10, 2021
The Gravity of Joy is the book America needed in 2021. We all know what 2020 brought and I feel like more people are lost in their voids, aren’t joyful and don’t even know how to search or be open to joy. The book is written by a woman who I believe is an up-and-coming voice. Angela Williams Gorrell has a knack at painting very vivid pictures of real life situations that happened to her and retelling the stories other shared with her. Two different stories in the book made me set the book down because I was crying as if I were in the room with these individuals. It felt so personal, like this is not a space I am supposed to be in as a reader. But wow thank you for letting me in because I am now open to hearing what you have to say. ( I read A LOT of books a year and in nonfiction I feel like I am always kept at arms length or even a football field away from the author). Where the author is brilliant is she knew just the right moment to insert something light to breathe or to laugh. The flow of the book was perfect in the push and pull of emotions.
At the VERY beginning of the book (the forward by Volf) we learn the author is a Yale professor who teaches a very popular class Life Worth Living… um what??? Gorrell goes on to describe that when the class started she had her students stand and she talks about how each of them come with their own stories, fears, doubts. How everyone is welcome here and you are important and your story matters. That she is here to learn from them. (She says it way better. I don’t want to give to much away so I gave a vague description.) I chose to highlight this section because I’ve had some tragedies in my life, the author (I believe) views her readers in a similar light as her students and I found comfort in feeling that. She doesn’t sugar coat, give fluff writing or say everything is magically going to be okay. What she does do is carefully walk you through steps to the other side using her own story.
There are not a lot of resources out there on learning to tell your story. Gorrell doesn’t go through how we tell our stories (maybe that is her followup book!!) she stresses why we need to be able to tell our story and how it can help through grief. To often I think we get stuck, people are afraid to be vulnerable to others and we are afraid to sit in our season of grief instead of shoving it under the rug. She gives us beautiful and painful examples of grieving (again a very under discussed topic). She then shows how, eventually, looking outside yourself and channeling your energy to others can be the fire you need to shed the grief and move into joy.
I loved that it was women in prison who helped bring Angela out of her despair. These women’s stories are so powerful and puts so much in perspective. The majority of people in jail are because of drug addictions. There needs to be new systems in place when literally these people who are struggling with addiction and not committing crimes are cared for and provided the proper resources. I am so glad this topic was included and that these women made a difference in her life.
Lastly, Gorrell gives some amazing information about the opioid crisis, the justice system and suicide prevention. After the book ends she includes an entire chapter providing so many resources on these topics. Since writing this book, the Army has contracted her to help train the chaplains in dealing with suicide and grief. This author's resume before and after she wrote this book speak for itself. I want to share so many of the amazing quotes and thoughts from this book, but I would just encourage to pick up the book for yourself. 2021 needs to know the gravity of joy and what it means to be lost and found.
At the VERY beginning of the book (the forward by Volf) we learn the author is a Yale professor who teaches a very popular class Life Worth Living… um what??? Gorrell goes on to describe that when the class started she had her students stand and she talks about how each of them come with their own stories, fears, doubts. How everyone is welcome here and you are important and your story matters. That she is here to learn from them. (She says it way better. I don’t want to give to much away so I gave a vague description.) I chose to highlight this section because I’ve had some tragedies in my life, the author (I believe) views her readers in a similar light as her students and I found comfort in feeling that. She doesn’t sugar coat, give fluff writing or say everything is magically going to be okay. What she does do is carefully walk you through steps to the other side using her own story.
There are not a lot of resources out there on learning to tell your story. Gorrell doesn’t go through how we tell our stories (maybe that is her followup book!!) she stresses why we need to be able to tell our story and how it can help through grief. To often I think we get stuck, people are afraid to be vulnerable to others and we are afraid to sit in our season of grief instead of shoving it under the rug. She gives us beautiful and painful examples of grieving (again a very under discussed topic). She then shows how, eventually, looking outside yourself and channeling your energy to others can be the fire you need to shed the grief and move into joy.
I loved that it was women in prison who helped bring Angela out of her despair. These women’s stories are so powerful and puts so much in perspective. The majority of people in jail are because of drug addictions. There needs to be new systems in place when literally these people who are struggling with addiction and not committing crimes are cared for and provided the proper resources. I am so glad this topic was included and that these women made a difference in her life.
Lastly, Gorrell gives some amazing information about the opioid crisis, the justice system and suicide prevention. After the book ends she includes an entire chapter providing so many resources on these topics. Since writing this book, the Army has contracted her to help train the chaplains in dealing with suicide and grief. This author's resume before and after she wrote this book speak for itself. I want to share so many of the amazing quotes and thoughts from this book, but I would just encourage to pick up the book for yourself. 2021 needs to know the gravity of joy and what it means to be lost and found.
March 31, 2021
On Life: There will be grief and there will be joy…and that is exactly why you need to read Angela Williams Gorrell’s The Gravity of Joy. It is primer on how to begin to live a fully integrated life no matter how much and how deeply you experience grief, and regardless of how little or how sparingly you experience joy. Dr. Gorrell invites her readers alongside her own journey of devastating grief but what she most effectively does is invite her readers to be fully present to their own grief as well as the grief of others.
Grief serves as a launching pad of sorts and within the pages of The Gravity of Joy, you will find the courage to conduct a recalling of your own grief. You will learn there is not only the gravity of anticipatory and deep grief, but there is also room for anticipatory and deep joy as you make spaces for them to exist together over your lifetime. You will find your heart and mind speaking your own grief and joy stories. I was quite literally reading two stories –hers and mine. I found myself constantly writing in the margins of my book, so much so that I will need to reread the automatic heart-prompts to evidentiarily embrace a truer bitter-sweetness of my own life this side of Eternity.
Angela Williams Gorrell’s work not only echoes Corrie Ten Boom’s (WWII Concentration Camp Survivor and rescuer of over 800 Jews) proclamation; “There is no pit so deep, that God’s love is not deeper still,” she also explains through taking her readers with her behind prison doors, of the necessity for giving place for grief and joy to coexist. Within the pages of The Gravity of Joy you will find the means to be a able to bless others in the most unfathomable of circumstances while simultaneously giving place for the possibility of overwhelming joy.
You will better understand the ingredients of grief of joy and to be able to repurpose them to more deeply connect you to others in the context of your communities. Quite possibly Dr. Gorrell’s most practical gift toward our human condition of a life inescapable of grief, in her own words is this; “We cannot put joy on our to-do lists—it does not work that way—but we can put ladders up against fences. We can be ready and prepare. We can set another seat at the dinner table. We can do things as part of our preparation that make it more likely that when joy is near, we will be able to recognize it and embrace it. And we can give ourselves over to the what if? of joy. We all can live postured toward joy, alive to its possibility, even in the unlikeliest of places, even in close proximity to our sorrow, even and most especially in the midst of our suffering.”
Grief serves as a launching pad of sorts and within the pages of The Gravity of Joy, you will find the courage to conduct a recalling of your own grief. You will learn there is not only the gravity of anticipatory and deep grief, but there is also room for anticipatory and deep joy as you make spaces for them to exist together over your lifetime. You will find your heart and mind speaking your own grief and joy stories. I was quite literally reading two stories –hers and mine. I found myself constantly writing in the margins of my book, so much so that I will need to reread the automatic heart-prompts to evidentiarily embrace a truer bitter-sweetness of my own life this side of Eternity.
Angela Williams Gorrell’s work not only echoes Corrie Ten Boom’s (WWII Concentration Camp Survivor and rescuer of over 800 Jews) proclamation; “There is no pit so deep, that God’s love is not deeper still,” she also explains through taking her readers with her behind prison doors, of the necessity for giving place for grief and joy to coexist. Within the pages of The Gravity of Joy you will find the means to be a able to bless others in the most unfathomable of circumstances while simultaneously giving place for the possibility of overwhelming joy.
You will better understand the ingredients of grief of joy and to be able to repurpose them to more deeply connect you to others in the context of your communities. Quite possibly Dr. Gorrell’s most practical gift toward our human condition of a life inescapable of grief, in her own words is this; “We cannot put joy on our to-do lists—it does not work that way—but we can put ladders up against fences. We can be ready and prepare. We can set another seat at the dinner table. We can do things as part of our preparation that make it more likely that when joy is near, we will be able to recognize it and embrace it. And we can give ourselves over to the what if? of joy. We all can live postured toward joy, alive to its possibility, even in the unlikeliest of places, even in close proximity to our sorrow, even and most especially in the midst of our suffering.”
November 29, 2021
How I came across this book -- I went to the library to see if any of the books I had ordered had come in. They had not so I decided to walk through and see what was on the display shelves. Gorrell's book was on the NEW BOOKS shelf. I'm not a student of Dr. Gorrell's, but it's always good to see students who appreciate their professor and what she writes. (And, how wonderful that the professor's book is a reasonable size with a reasonable price tag and is readable -- may other professors follow suit!)
Mostly I pay attention to 2 and 3 star ratings on books. The 3 star reviewer (one thus far) was looking for a book on joy in lament. I had no real expectations going into this book. Once I started it, I thought maybe it was going to be more on her work on Theology of Joy and Good Life project, and it was but not in the Brené Brown style that one reviewer was looking for. It is more fluid, and, yes, more anecdotal, but I definitely did not get the feeling of "pontification". Gorrell writes in a different style. My take is to not expect everyone to be Brené Brown because then no one else's voice would ever matter. We each have our own voices and each voice does matter.
The book is full of grief, truly deep grief. No superficial "I'm sad, but it's all going to work out" here. There's some anger at the opioid industry. There are hard questions for the prison system. However, there definitely is joy pulling one into embracing arms of connection and "withness", and constant reminders that your life is worth living.
Bringing it home, I was reminded of a time of dancing and singing with my granddaughters which saved me during a time of grieving the loss of a job and community. That grief did not equal the future grief of the death of loved ones, but I had forgotten how playing with children had the gravitational pull of joy in my life.
Other pluses: I saw Parker J. Palmer and James K.A. Smith's recommendations on the back flap. I know and like the writings of these authors. I can see me buying my own copy of this book so I can highlight passages to come back to.
Mostly I pay attention to 2 and 3 star ratings on books. The 3 star reviewer (one thus far) was looking for a book on joy in lament. I had no real expectations going into this book. Once I started it, I thought maybe it was going to be more on her work on Theology of Joy and Good Life project, and it was but not in the Brené Brown style that one reviewer was looking for. It is more fluid, and, yes, more anecdotal, but I definitely did not get the feeling of "pontification". Gorrell writes in a different style. My take is to not expect everyone to be Brené Brown because then no one else's voice would ever matter. We each have our own voices and each voice does matter.
The book is full of grief, truly deep grief. No superficial "I'm sad, but it's all going to work out" here. There's some anger at the opioid industry. There are hard questions for the prison system. However, there definitely is joy pulling one into embracing arms of connection and "withness", and constant reminders that your life is worth living.
Bringing it home, I was reminded of a time of dancing and singing with my granddaughters which saved me during a time of grieving the loss of a job and community. That grief did not equal the future grief of the death of loved ones, but I had forgotten how playing with children had the gravitational pull of joy in my life.
Other pluses: I saw Parker J. Palmer and James K.A. Smith's recommendations on the back flap. I know and like the writings of these authors. I can see me buying my own copy of this book so I can highlight passages to come back to.
October 20, 2023
My gosh. This book. I cried. I laughed. I felt seen. I wish more Christians talked about how messy grief is and how joy can coexist in the messy grieving process. She discusses all this and more in powerful and raw stories that are every bit of honest and powerful. I sometimes get scared of those places in me, but she dove right in. For that, I am so inspired. I will say, big trigger/content warning for drug use and suicide conversations. It's a deep reality that's discussed in depth. For me who has experienced suicidal thoughts and attempts but also suicide loss and immense griefs, this was powerful but sometimes hard to read. I had to take it in small doses. But oh how it's worth it. So worth it. And real. The reality of grief and reality of joy are beautifully illustrated across this book. And for those who are lucky enough to have not experienced profound grief, this book is also incredible in teaching how to sit in it even when it's not yours. I remember specifically reading a part that talked about when you don't know what you need when you grieve. It was a call for supporters to rally around the person and not ask. But just do. During a season of grief, my mentor quoted this to me once, without me realizing it, and it was the most relieving acknowledgment. I think it shaped how she helped me as she didn't ask. She just did. It was so kind and helped me vocalize where I was and helps me in my ministry with my grieving congregation that they may find joy again. Fully recommend. Excellent read.
March 12, 2021
This book is incredible. Dr. Gorrell is an excellent storyteller, and she tells about her heartwrenching losses and journey to healing in a way that is both relatable and inspiring. In addition, her research and understanding of grief, trauma, and their relationship to the twin epidemics of suicide and addiction in America make this book much more than a memoir. I would have thought it impossible to write about joy in the face of loss without sounding trite or Pollyanna-ish, but she's done a great job. When I read a book I really love, I never hold on to it long because I want to share it. I know I'll end up purchasing this one many times over because I want to give it to so many people.
March 9, 2021
Joy is something I think all of us have been longing for; it’s been in short supply, especially this last year. Through the winsome sharing of her own stories, experiences, and, most poignantly, losses, as well as those of people she loves and cares for, Angela points to the possibilities of joy even when it seems hard to grasp. Really grateful for this beautiful, timely book.
April 28, 2021
The Gravity of Joy is a beautiful book about finding joy in sorrow. Gorrell speaks from experience with tragic circumstances to share how she found joy in the midst of death. It took me a month to read this, because of so many other things going on, but when I was able to dedicate time to it, I had a hard time putting it down.
April 28, 2021
sweet Dr. Gorrell :') I'm in my last week of her Jesus and the Meaning of Life class at baylor and it has been a defining point of my last semester here. both in this book and in her class we've talked at length about joy shining through in the midst of suffering and how to truly see our neighbors and sit with them and love them with no agenda and I plan to carry it all with me throughout my life.
October 29, 2023
This book takes a deep and honest dive into personal grief. There's no joy to be found or realized without the grief work. This book isn't "self-help," but much more so "process."
Highly recommended for anyone struggling with the death of a loved one, the lost way of the world, and/or the trauma that seems to be all-surrounding.
Although the author is a pastor, she's doesn't get churchy. She lets us in on her journey, and it's worthwhile to settle in alongside her.
Highly recommended for anyone struggling with the death of a loved one, the lost way of the world, and/or the trauma that seems to be all-surrounding.
Although the author is a pastor, she's doesn't get churchy. She lets us in on her journey, and it's worthwhile to settle in alongside her.
June 12, 2021
This book is for anyone who has been offered cheap, half-baked "solutions" to suffering clothed in the finest Christianese. Not only was Dr. Gorrell's book immensely encouraging to me as someone who is constantly trying to make sense of the suffering of others and my own suffering; my hope is that Dr. Gorrell's book will also challenge the American Church to adopt a posture of—in her own words—"withness" and "witness" in the face of life's inevitable struggles. I cannot recommend this theologically rich, practically insightful, and poignant memoir highly enough.
March 31, 2021
Warning: A gripping and life altering read! No one ever said that being human was easy.
This book requires two hands—not only because you will not want to put it down, but one hand is required to hold the joy and delight of life and the other to hold the sorrow and lament in life. Angela’s vulnerability, honesty, and authenticity compel the reader to journey through the depths of anguish and the astounding heights of human life in a way that emboldens and encourages one further and deeper into one’s own journey with hope.
This book is so timely. In 2021, in a world in which we are all confronted by vulnerability and the bankruptcy of the pursuit of happiness, Angela offers an alternative—joy. Through her writing, we don’t just read about—but we experience the weight and gravity of joy and come to understand that a meaningful life is forged as we journey with our hands open to experience and extend joy and to hold and to share our sorrow with God and others.
This book requires two hands—not only because you will not want to put it down, but one hand is required to hold the joy and delight of life and the other to hold the sorrow and lament in life. Angela’s vulnerability, honesty, and authenticity compel the reader to journey through the depths of anguish and the astounding heights of human life in a way that emboldens and encourages one further and deeper into one’s own journey with hope.
This book is so timely. In 2021, in a world in which we are all confronted by vulnerability and the bankruptcy of the pursuit of happiness, Angela offers an alternative—joy. Through her writing, we don’t just read about—but we experience the weight and gravity of joy and come to understand that a meaningful life is forged as we journey with our hands open to experience and extend joy and to hold and to share our sorrow with God and others.
March 30, 2021
I'm not usually one to pick up books about joy, but was interested by the description about what the author experienced as she researched joy.
Although this book does talk about joy, I found it to be mostly about grief as the author processed the sudden deaths of three family members. In the midst of that grief, joy still showed up- partly because she was looking for it, and partly because she witnessed it in community. Joy is purposeful and joy is collective (among other things).
I was intentionally reading this book to relate it to lament, so I was looking for more discussion about joy in society- especially as a part of lament. While the book connected the author's grief over her family members to the larger societal challenges of suicide and opioid abuse, it felt a collection of statistics and anecdotes instead of a lament.
Although this book does talk about joy, I found it to be mostly about grief as the author processed the sudden deaths of three family members. In the midst of that grief, joy still showed up- partly because she was looking for it, and partly because she witnessed it in community. Joy is purposeful and joy is collective (among other things).
I was intentionally reading this book to relate it to lament, so I was looking for more discussion about joy in society- especially as a part of lament. While the book connected the author's grief over her family members to the larger societal challenges of suicide and opioid abuse, it felt a collection of statistics and anecdotes instead of a lament.
March 9, 2021
This book is not what you expect. I can’t stress that enough. This is not a happy or “recycled” work about the majesty of God or peace to be found in repressing difficult feelings. This book is a slugfest, intended to pop every balloon of false happiness and confront the sobering reality of life.
As someone who studied for a short time with Angela and her husband, who had drinks with them and shared stories, I can verify that this book is true – which the highest compliment I can give any work, especially now that I teach literature and writing for a university in Southeast Louisiana. I could see and hear her in every personal account. I could smell the homes, hear the intonations of the voices, and in this way experience life through her eyes. Angela is raw and, at times, violent in her honesty about her family, the unique loss of someone to suicide, and the aftermath of devastation – the blame, the anxiety, the outbursts, the hopelessness, and ultimately the awkward silence and false starts of coming back from what it means to have your entire psychology and spiritual life restructured. Her life and the range of experiences and emotions are on full display here and the cover is indicative of what you will discover, shades of meaning and nuance which blur and blend with boldness.
However, as someone who had previously worked with churches and who knows all too well (even participated in) the sacred silence communities of faith have toward opioid addiction, suicide, and crises of faith, the most revealing part of Angela’s writing is the way that it specifically names this silence as a fault and failure of the American Church, which has spent decades seducing the faithful with promises of happiness, wealth, joy, and protection in direct contradiction to the lived reality we see every day around us. Angela spends a significant part of The Gravity of Joy grounding the reader with gravity, not joy, and implicitly remind you through her own suffering that this too shall pass... but not just yet.
In these pages, yes, she addresses what scripture and Christian culture say about joy and positivity but it is her work as a practical theologian that comes through in those moments because she goes further by naming the ways in which we, as believers and as fellow humans, need to challenge our politeness and the safety of delayed promises that it will be okay someday. Instead, the challenge is clear: We still have room for growth and understanding. As Christians, grief, death, and confusion are embedded into our religion but we have called the obvious a “mystery” for far too long. She exposes the palliative care of the Church in favor of something costlier and more profoundly healing. Instead of quick answers or even “correct” answers, Gravity of Joy teases the ways in which honesty and transparency are the real medicine we need right now, in this world, in this reality, when we are confronted with unrelenting devastation and the freefall of despair.
As a former pastor, what stands out in neon lights to me is that I wish I had a copy of this book when I worked with congregations. I wish I had a copy of this book to give those under my care. But more than anything, I wish I had a copy of this book a decade ago when I finally came to terms with the traumas and losses of my own life. Immediately after reading the first chapter, I addressed an envelope so that I could send a copy of this book to my mother, who is the director of a substance abuse facility. I pledge to send a copy to a pastor friend of mine, encouraging her to share Angela’s words with her congregation. I pledged to send a copy to a family member who works with the incarcerated. And I did this not because I call Angela a friend, but because this book is necessary. It is necessary because Angela is not alone. It is necessary because we in the Church have been silent for too long, silently accepting the suffering in our congregations rather than admitting and sharing our own. If you are in a ministerial setting, your congregation either needs to read this book together and make time for shared stories of suffering, or you’ll begin to see this book quietly appearing in their homes within the next year and I really hope you don’t miss the opportunity to ask them what they thought and let someone be honest about the silent grief they are experiencing.
As Angela shares, there is a silent opioid problem in America that is taking the lives of those we love and care for. There is a profound crisis when the Church is unable and unwilling to ask one another if they are okay and to follow through with patience and humanity. Repairing or at least taking account of this will take time, surely, but what Angela has done here is nothing less than bring forward a necessary challenge for us; will we express or will we repress?
As someone who studied for a short time with Angela and her husband, who had drinks with them and shared stories, I can verify that this book is true – which the highest compliment I can give any work, especially now that I teach literature and writing for a university in Southeast Louisiana. I could see and hear her in every personal account. I could smell the homes, hear the intonations of the voices, and in this way experience life through her eyes. Angela is raw and, at times, violent in her honesty about her family, the unique loss of someone to suicide, and the aftermath of devastation – the blame, the anxiety, the outbursts, the hopelessness, and ultimately the awkward silence and false starts of coming back from what it means to have your entire psychology and spiritual life restructured. Her life and the range of experiences and emotions are on full display here and the cover is indicative of what you will discover, shades of meaning and nuance which blur and blend with boldness.
However, as someone who had previously worked with churches and who knows all too well (even participated in) the sacred silence communities of faith have toward opioid addiction, suicide, and crises of faith, the most revealing part of Angela’s writing is the way that it specifically names this silence as a fault and failure of the American Church, which has spent decades seducing the faithful with promises of happiness, wealth, joy, and protection in direct contradiction to the lived reality we see every day around us. Angela spends a significant part of The Gravity of Joy grounding the reader with gravity, not joy, and implicitly remind you through her own suffering that this too shall pass... but not just yet.
In these pages, yes, she addresses what scripture and Christian culture say about joy and positivity but it is her work as a practical theologian that comes through in those moments because she goes further by naming the ways in which we, as believers and as fellow humans, need to challenge our politeness and the safety of delayed promises that it will be okay someday. Instead, the challenge is clear: We still have room for growth and understanding. As Christians, grief, death, and confusion are embedded into our religion but we have called the obvious a “mystery” for far too long. She exposes the palliative care of the Church in favor of something costlier and more profoundly healing. Instead of quick answers or even “correct” answers, Gravity of Joy teases the ways in which honesty and transparency are the real medicine we need right now, in this world, in this reality, when we are confronted with unrelenting devastation and the freefall of despair.
As a former pastor, what stands out in neon lights to me is that I wish I had a copy of this book when I worked with congregations. I wish I had a copy of this book to give those under my care. But more than anything, I wish I had a copy of this book a decade ago when I finally came to terms with the traumas and losses of my own life. Immediately after reading the first chapter, I addressed an envelope so that I could send a copy of this book to my mother, who is the director of a substance abuse facility. I pledge to send a copy to a pastor friend of mine, encouraging her to share Angela’s words with her congregation. I pledged to send a copy to a family member who works with the incarcerated. And I did this not because I call Angela a friend, but because this book is necessary. It is necessary because Angela is not alone. It is necessary because we in the Church have been silent for too long, silently accepting the suffering in our congregations rather than admitting and sharing our own. If you are in a ministerial setting, your congregation either needs to read this book together and make time for shared stories of suffering, or you’ll begin to see this book quietly appearing in their homes within the next year and I really hope you don’t miss the opportunity to ask them what they thought and let someone be honest about the silent grief they are experiencing.
As Angela shares, there is a silent opioid problem in America that is taking the lives of those we love and care for. There is a profound crisis when the Church is unable and unwilling to ask one another if they are okay and to follow through with patience and humanity. Repairing or at least taking account of this will take time, surely, but what Angela has done here is nothing less than bring forward a necessary challenge for us; will we express or will we repress?
March 2, 2021
Read Full & Detailed review: https://cynthology.blogspot.com/2021/...
The Gravity of Joy tries to understand and measure the concept and feeling of joy against research done from multiple disciplines. The author, who describes herself as a practical theologian, has proposed that joy be a counteragent to America’s crisis of despair.
In early 2016, Angela was hired by the Yale Center of Faith and Culture to work on the Theology of Joy and the Good Life project. At this point, she was full of hope and the future filled with possibilities. Within a year, she lost three family members within four weeks. Her cousin’s husband died by suicide, her nephew died of a heart attack, and her father died as a result of illness stemming from his opioid addiction.
Through the throes of her sorrow, Angela felt suddenly ill equipped to discuss joy, let alone teach others to strive to achieve it. Struggling with grief, she became part of a team leading a Bible study at a women’s prison. It was there that she became aware of the helplessness of the lives of the female convicts, how badly the odds were stacked against them, and how they cling to hope. These women acted as the friends who took the lame man on a mat to Jesus. Lost herself, Angela helped the prison women and was helped by them in turn.
The author’s experience in the prison ministry touches our hearts, making women like Amy, Gloria and Jayla and many others real to us. It is these experiences, combined with stories from her life and other observations that make up the book.
Each chapter begins with a verse from a famous writer, such as Rainer Marie Rilke, the Psalms, Acts of the Apostles etc. This quote sets the tone for the chapter.
Angela relates her commentary to relatable events, such as Anthony Bourdain’s death by suicide, even as he projected joy and passion for his work. Along the way, we get introduced to poems like Walt Whitman’s “O Me! O Life!” along with bits of her course work that she teaches at Life Worth Living.
The writing style is engaging, friendly and meaningful. The author writes candidly on subjects that must have been painful to write about, in particular, her father’s addiction to opioid pills and how they altered his personality.
Talking to the family members of young people who have given in to their addictions, she creates a counter to the culture of despair. She encourages us to name and acknowledge our emotions, particularly our grief and fears.
The author gives us real examples of young people driven to death on account of addictions. She accurately spells out what is wrong with the world today. The fact that social media has influenced us to believe that life matters only if there are high impact achievements. And that people obsess over ways to market their life better as if they were products instead of human beings.
Part of facing emotions is attending to grief through deep listening. To lament openly the things that bring us pain and to search hard for beauty.
Angela draws parallels between her own situation and Holy Saturday’s unique place in Christ’s Passion. She likens Holy Saturday to the in-between space when we no longer feel overwhelming grief but comfort and meaning are beyond our reach too.
She urges us to seek joy and meaning in the midst of grief and reminds us to forge connections and listen to one another’s stories with empathy. So we realise we matter.
Through her experiences with grieving, Angela clarifies how joy and meaning can help us beat sorrow.
The Gravity of Joy tries to understand and measure the concept and feeling of joy against research done from multiple disciplines. The author, who describes herself as a practical theologian, has proposed that joy be a counteragent to America’s crisis of despair.
In early 2016, Angela was hired by the Yale Center of Faith and Culture to work on the Theology of Joy and the Good Life project. At this point, she was full of hope and the future filled with possibilities. Within a year, she lost three family members within four weeks. Her cousin’s husband died by suicide, her nephew died of a heart attack, and her father died as a result of illness stemming from his opioid addiction.
Through the throes of her sorrow, Angela felt suddenly ill equipped to discuss joy, let alone teach others to strive to achieve it. Struggling with grief, she became part of a team leading a Bible study at a women’s prison. It was there that she became aware of the helplessness of the lives of the female convicts, how badly the odds were stacked against them, and how they cling to hope. These women acted as the friends who took the lame man on a mat to Jesus. Lost herself, Angela helped the prison women and was helped by them in turn.
The author’s experience in the prison ministry touches our hearts, making women like Amy, Gloria and Jayla and many others real to us. It is these experiences, combined with stories from her life and other observations that make up the book.
Each chapter begins with a verse from a famous writer, such as Rainer Marie Rilke, the Psalms, Acts of the Apostles etc. This quote sets the tone for the chapter.
Angela relates her commentary to relatable events, such as Anthony Bourdain’s death by suicide, even as he projected joy and passion for his work. Along the way, we get introduced to poems like Walt Whitman’s “O Me! O Life!” along with bits of her course work that she teaches at Life Worth Living.
The writing style is engaging, friendly and meaningful. The author writes candidly on subjects that must have been painful to write about, in particular, her father’s addiction to opioid pills and how they altered his personality.
Talking to the family members of young people who have given in to their addictions, she creates a counter to the culture of despair. She encourages us to name and acknowledge our emotions, particularly our grief and fears.
The author gives us real examples of young people driven to death on account of addictions. She accurately spells out what is wrong with the world today. The fact that social media has influenced us to believe that life matters only if there are high impact achievements. And that people obsess over ways to market their life better as if they were products instead of human beings.
Part of facing emotions is attending to grief through deep listening. To lament openly the things that bring us pain and to search hard for beauty.
Angela draws parallels between her own situation and Holy Saturday’s unique place in Christ’s Passion. She likens Holy Saturday to the in-between space when we no longer feel overwhelming grief but comfort and meaning are beyond our reach too.
She urges us to seek joy and meaning in the midst of grief and reminds us to forge connections and listen to one another’s stories with empathy. So we realise we matter.
Through her experiences with grieving, Angela clarifies how joy and meaning can help us beat sorrow.
March 10, 2021
This is more than a book. It's an experience.
In this work Gorrell sounds the alarm to declare there is a crisis of despair in America. This despair crisis manifests itself in many ways including addiction (that often lands people in prison) and suicide. In the midst of this crisis, Gorrell invites readers to embark on a journey with her to learn about joy, but the journey doesn’t look like what one would expect.
By the third chapter, the reader is bound to ask, “Are we sure we’re taking the right road? Can joy really be found here?” Gorrell’s response is a resounding "yes!"
Her storytelling immerses the reader in her tumultuous journey towards discovering joy. As I read, I teared up, I laughed, I nodded and I audibly said, “hmmm” as I reflected on her discoveries about joy. There are stories of sorrow and stories of hope-many of the stories have elements of both.
Gorrell calls the community to action and provides practical resources to fulfill those actions. (Example: the epilogue lists organizations and action steps readers can take to mitigate despair and there is a reading guide to go with the book on the author’s website!)
Not only did she write this to share her findings on joy, but she wrote specifically with readers who struggle with despair in mind. She wants every reader to know that they are not alone and their life is certainly worth living, even in the face of immense suffering.
In summary, Gorrell doesn't simply tell her story. She bears her soul to the world, inviting readers to join the necessary work of countering the despair crisis in America.
In this work Gorrell sounds the alarm to declare there is a crisis of despair in America. This despair crisis manifests itself in many ways including addiction (that often lands people in prison) and suicide. In the midst of this crisis, Gorrell invites readers to embark on a journey with her to learn about joy, but the journey doesn’t look like what one would expect.
By the third chapter, the reader is bound to ask, “Are we sure we’re taking the right road? Can joy really be found here?” Gorrell’s response is a resounding "yes!"
Her storytelling immerses the reader in her tumultuous journey towards discovering joy. As I read, I teared up, I laughed, I nodded and I audibly said, “hmmm” as I reflected on her discoveries about joy. There are stories of sorrow and stories of hope-many of the stories have elements of both.
Gorrell calls the community to action and provides practical resources to fulfill those actions. (Example: the epilogue lists organizations and action steps readers can take to mitigate despair and there is a reading guide to go with the book on the author’s website!)
Not only did she write this to share her findings on joy, but she wrote specifically with readers who struggle with despair in mind. She wants every reader to know that they are not alone and their life is certainly worth living, even in the face of immense suffering.
In summary, Gorrell doesn't simply tell her story. She bears her soul to the world, inviting readers to join the necessary work of countering the despair crisis in America.
March 10, 2021
Angela Williams Gorrell's masterful weaving of stories that "become alive to the possibility of joy" in the midst of extreme grief in the pages of The Gravity of Joy is a journey that people are going to want to take. From page one, Dr. Gorrell draws you into her story and the stories of others that will leave you hungry to know where her quest for joy leads. The byline "A Story of Being Lost and Found" rings true in this highly readable book. I could not put The Gravity of Joy down - page after page had me wanting to see where each person's story went and how each grief-stricken moment could possibly produce the concept of joy. Through the lens of grief and tragedy in her own family and the powerful stories of women in a prison Bible study, you become convince that we can all "become alive to the possibility of joy." This book will forever change the lives of those who read it and it will shape the perspective of cultural happiness and what is means to be alive and joyful. This story is highly readable with gripping narrative and perspective, relatable tales of living and dying, and is accessible on so many levels. Dr. Gorrell grips this narrative with raw details and energy while challenging community perspective on suicide and the opioid crisis. You will want to own multiple copies of this book so you can give them to your friends, your family, and your co-workers. You will want to teach this book and see it in the hands of others. It is a challenging, powerful read that presses us towards the powerful notion of knowing and seeking out joy.
March 10, 2021
So thankful for Truett Seminary professor Dr. Angela Gorrell’s book, The Gravity of Joy.
Her experiences with pain, despair, grief and trauma are relatable and her journey towards joy so beautifully inspiring. She is so transparent and insightful.
She articulates the words, questions, doubts that many times I could not express, as I read through it, I had to stop in that moment to cry out to God and say, “God this is how I felt or how I feel.” It was healing to find the words that matched lived emotions.
Her journey brings the life of hurting people to our homes and helps us unpack their circumstances, their underlining context and educates us on the realities of mental illness, suicide, addictions, prison, minorities, abuse and so much more.
As a minister I am challenged and inspired to be better at listening, sitting intentionally and being present in grief and in times of joy.
As a woman who has also dealt with despair, I am encouraged to continue sharing stories that bring joy. “…there is joy in finding what has been lost. There is joy in remembering the good that has happened to us and been given to us.” (Gorrell)
As an advocate, I am inspired to continue learning the narratives of those I serve, to humble myself and find the goodness of God in their stories. To remind them that their lives are worth living, they are not a burden and that they belong.
Amazing Grace, Gorrell’s journey towards joy brings me hope.
Her experiences with pain, despair, grief and trauma are relatable and her journey towards joy so beautifully inspiring. She is so transparent and insightful.
She articulates the words, questions, doubts that many times I could not express, as I read through it, I had to stop in that moment to cry out to God and say, “God this is how I felt or how I feel.” It was healing to find the words that matched lived emotions.
Her journey brings the life of hurting people to our homes and helps us unpack their circumstances, their underlining context and educates us on the realities of mental illness, suicide, addictions, prison, minorities, abuse and so much more.
As a minister I am challenged and inspired to be better at listening, sitting intentionally and being present in grief and in times of joy.
As a woman who has also dealt with despair, I am encouraged to continue sharing stories that bring joy. “…there is joy in finding what has been lost. There is joy in remembering the good that has happened to us and been given to us.” (Gorrell)
As an advocate, I am inspired to continue learning the narratives of those I serve, to humble myself and find the goodness of God in their stories. To remind them that their lives are worth living, they are not a burden and that they belong.
Amazing Grace, Gorrell’s journey towards joy brings me hope.
March 14, 2021
This is one of the most important books I've read. If you've ever wondered what the difference between happiness and joy is, or whether joy is worth hoping for in the midst of anguish, or how the capacity for experiencing joy is cultivated, this book is for you.
Angela compellingly weaves her journey through inexpressible loss with her professional life as theologian, professor, and researcher. Just in the moment of her life when she was studying joy, she found herself walking her own personal road of grief and loss, seemingly antithetical to anything she was researching. And then she describes her process of discovering that joy was a companion along the way.
The courage and vulnerability it took to write this book is inspiring. As she describes so many moments of the loneliness of her grief, it made me feel seen in my own moments of grief, albeit different from hers. That is one of many gifts of this book. It creates space for anyone who reads it to acknowledge their own pain and provides powerful insights on welcoming joy, not in spite of but especially in the midst of heartbreak.
This book will make you laugh and cry. You won't want to put it down. You'll walk away from reading this book feeling like you've just been given permission to live life deeply and fully and tools to locate healing, hope, and yes, joy. It will be strength and salve for your journey.
Angela compellingly weaves her journey through inexpressible loss with her professional life as theologian, professor, and researcher. Just in the moment of her life when she was studying joy, she found herself walking her own personal road of grief and loss, seemingly antithetical to anything she was researching. And then she describes her process of discovering that joy was a companion along the way.
The courage and vulnerability it took to write this book is inspiring. As she describes so many moments of the loneliness of her grief, it made me feel seen in my own moments of grief, albeit different from hers. That is one of many gifts of this book. It creates space for anyone who reads it to acknowledge their own pain and provides powerful insights on welcoming joy, not in spite of but especially in the midst of heartbreak.
This book will make you laugh and cry. You won't want to put it down. You'll walk away from reading this book feeling like you've just been given permission to live life deeply and fully and tools to locate healing, hope, and yes, joy. It will be strength and salve for your journey.
March 9, 2021
A SALVE FOR YOUR SOUL*****
I have been waiting for this book since September 14, 2019. I was attending a retreat at Laity Lodge in the Texas hill country. Angela Gorrell was the last speaker of the retreat with a 90-minute slot right before lunch and a leisurely afternoon. Attendees were fiddling with phones and papers as Angela began her talk. Within 10 minutes, you could hear a pin drop. I have been attending retreats at Laity Lodge for almost 40 years and have heard well over 100 speakers, including world-renowned preachers, teachers and theologians. Angela’s talk that day was the most compelling and mesmerizing one that I have ever heard. Her new book, The Gravity of Joy, captures the essence of that 2019 talk and expands it into a life-affirming saga.
The Gravity of Joy is a masterpiece of storytelling about grief and grace and ultimately joy. If like me, you and your family have been impacted by addiction and the opioid crisis and/or by untimely deaths, this book will be a salve for your soul. If your life is filled with too much disappointment, fear, and anger, this book will be a salve for your soul. If you feel your life is not worth living, this book will be a salve for your soul.
I have been waiting for this book since September 14, 2019. I was attending a retreat at Laity Lodge in the Texas hill country. Angela Gorrell was the last speaker of the retreat with a 90-minute slot right before lunch and a leisurely afternoon. Attendees were fiddling with phones and papers as Angela began her talk. Within 10 minutes, you could hear a pin drop. I have been attending retreats at Laity Lodge for almost 40 years and have heard well over 100 speakers, including world-renowned preachers, teachers and theologians. Angela’s talk that day was the most compelling and mesmerizing one that I have ever heard. Her new book, The Gravity of Joy, captures the essence of that 2019 talk and expands it into a life-affirming saga.
The Gravity of Joy is a masterpiece of storytelling about grief and grace and ultimately joy. If like me, you and your family have been impacted by addiction and the opioid crisis and/or by untimely deaths, this book will be a salve for your soul. If your life is filled with too much disappointment, fear, and anger, this book will be a salve for your soul. If you feel your life is not worth living, this book will be a salve for your soul.
March 10, 2021
This has been one of those books I knew I needed to read but I had no idea how healing and encouraging it would actually be.
Angela has woven together her personal story of tragic loss and insurmountable grief with her wisdom as a pastor and theologian. Her words are healing and profoundly meaningful and will speak right to your heart.
If you’re in a season of grief, or wrestling with joy and its place among difficulty; or if you’ve ever known a loved one to suffer with depression, addiction or suicide, this book will help you heal and give you hope.
If you’re a pastor or in any way work in addiction recovery, or are a therapist or counselor, I urge you to get this book!
Angela’s truth and vulnerability cultivates meaningful reflection about joy and its place in our lives and communities in a way that we all really need to hear. It is unique, honest and raw and before I was even mid-way through I had lost count of how many times I had both cried and laughed out loud.
Angela’s story, reflection, insights and wisdom is such gift. I’m so grateful for this book.
Angela has woven together her personal story of tragic loss and insurmountable grief with her wisdom as a pastor and theologian. Her words are healing and profoundly meaningful and will speak right to your heart.
If you’re in a season of grief, or wrestling with joy and its place among difficulty; or if you’ve ever known a loved one to suffer with depression, addiction or suicide, this book will help you heal and give you hope.
If you’re a pastor or in any way work in addiction recovery, or are a therapist or counselor, I urge you to get this book!
Angela’s truth and vulnerability cultivates meaningful reflection about joy and its place in our lives and communities in a way that we all really need to hear. It is unique, honest and raw and before I was even mid-way through I had lost count of how many times I had both cried and laughed out loud.
Angela’s story, reflection, insights and wisdom is such gift. I’m so grateful for this book.
March 2, 2021
I love the title of this memoir; it reminds one that finding joy is not something to be taken lightly. It is also a reminder to fully experience joy when it appears in one’s life.
This book is one that tells about both heartbreak and resilience. The author was offered the incredible opportunity to study the topic of joy at Yale’s Center for Faith and Culture. While given this experience, the author was also presented with multiple family losses in quick succession. Joy was not her dominant emotion.
However, Ms. William Gorrell went on to learn a lot about joy through her work at a women’s prison. Interacting with and hearing the inmates’ stories was an extraordinary experience and influenced the author’s world view.
This book is geared towards a Christian readership but those of other faiths might also enjoy it.
This book is one that tells about both heartbreak and resilience. The author was offered the incredible opportunity to study the topic of joy at Yale’s Center for Faith and Culture. While given this experience, the author was also presented with multiple family losses in quick succession. Joy was not her dominant emotion.
However, Ms. William Gorrell went on to learn a lot about joy through her work at a women’s prison. Interacting with and hearing the inmates’ stories was an extraordinary experience and influenced the author’s world view.
This book is geared towards a Christian readership but those of other faiths might also enjoy it.
March 9, 2021
A beautifully written book that gives you hope amidst grief. It walks you through ways joy is a counter agent to despair and even a companion in your suffering.
For those who have faced love and loss, in these pages you will find hope. I found myself weeping, laughing, pausing to think and feeling my faith and joy grow in what I discovered on my journey through the Gravity of Joy.
All of us have faced or will face tremendous loss in our lives. For this reason and so many more “The Gravity of Joy” needs to be a part of your library. It offers understanding into some of the most relevant issues in today’s world and promises help in ministering to those in pain because of the way these issues have impacted their lives.
For those who have faced love and loss, in these pages you will find hope. I found myself weeping, laughing, pausing to think and feeling my faith and joy grow in what I discovered on my journey through the Gravity of Joy.
All of us have faced or will face tremendous loss in our lives. For this reason and so many more “The Gravity of Joy” needs to be a part of your library. It offers understanding into some of the most relevant issues in today’s world and promises help in ministering to those in pain because of the way these issues have impacted their lives.
March 9, 2021
I loved this book. Angela's words are honest, vulnerable, comforting, and powerfully relatable. This is not a "how to" book with prescribed directions on how to be joyful, but a journey through one of life's deepest vallies, the death of loved ones, and a poignant reminder of how joy can be a counteragent to despair.
As a person who's been in a bit of a rut, I found "The Gravity of Joy" to be supremely encouraging. We all suffer loss to one degree or another and it is so helpful to know that joy can meet us in those places and help carry us out, but even more importantly, Angela explains the role community has in creating joy and how when we make space for it, joy shows up.
As a person who's been in a bit of a rut, I found "The Gravity of Joy" to be supremely encouraging. We all suffer loss to one degree or another and it is so helpful to know that joy can meet us in those places and help carry us out, but even more importantly, Angela explains the role community has in creating joy and how when we make space for it, joy shows up.
March 10, 2021
The Gravity of Joy is filled with amazing insight – from the Table of Contents to the Foot notes section. I literally went cover to cover and found Dr. Gorrell’s intentions to be that of a person who truly wants us to engage our joy. She recognizes the barriers to joy and attempts to dismantle them.
What I loved most is how she confesses her own filter. I was struck by a comment she made about her dad who battled addiction and who also loved to talk about the Bible. She admitted wondering if his addiction to pills made him unfit for deep theological conversations. That level of transparency made me trust her more.
Highly recommend!
What I loved most is how she confesses her own filter. I was struck by a comment she made about her dad who battled addiction and who also loved to talk about the Bible. She admitted wondering if his addiction to pills made him unfit for deep theological conversations. That level of transparency made me trust her more.
Highly recommend!
March 21, 2021
Powerful. Honest. Real. 100% Recommend!!
Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2021
The Gravity of Joy is by far one of the most moving and powerful books I have ever read. Angela is completely open about her experiences and how they have affected her. Her raw honesty is truly moving. Through her story and the stories of others, Angela was able to show that joy can still be found in the midst of grief. I am truly honored and forever grateful that my story was included in this amazing book. I pray that others can find joy, even through the hardest of times....and through that joy, find HOPE.
Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2021
The Gravity of Joy is by far one of the most moving and powerful books I have ever read. Angela is completely open about her experiences and how they have affected her. Her raw honesty is truly moving. Through her story and the stories of others, Angela was able to show that joy can still be found in the midst of grief. I am truly honored and forever grateful that my story was included in this amazing book. I pray that others can find joy, even through the hardest of times....and through that joy, find HOPE.
September 24, 2024
Do not be afraid to tell someone that their life is worth living. Do not imagine that you have something more important to do than this.
These are the final paragraphs of the book:
And then I told the students some of the greatest truths I have learned. Do not be afraid to tell someone that their life is worth living. Do not imagine that you have something more important to do than this. Do not imagine that there are more intellectual, deeper tasks. Do it as much as possible. Look people in the eyes and tell them that they matter, that their life is worth living. I’m convinced that this simple but profound act can rescue others. It can even rescue us.
These are the final paragraphs of the book:
And then I told the students some of the greatest truths I have learned. Do not be afraid to tell someone that their life is worth living. Do not imagine that you have something more important to do than this. Do not imagine that there are more intellectual, deeper tasks. Do it as much as possible. Look people in the eyes and tell them that they matter, that their life is worth living. I’m convinced that this simple but profound act can rescue others. It can even rescue us.
January 13, 2021
We received an early advanced reading copy of this book (it releases in March 2021).
This was a wonderful story of a woman discovering the ability to experience joy even in the worst of circumstances. There are many heavy topics covered in the book, including the devastation of addictions and suicide.
The book is not for the faint of heart, yet there are hopeful and redemptive qualities in the book.
This was a wonderful story of a woman discovering the ability to experience joy even in the worst of circumstances. There are many heavy topics covered in the book, including the devastation of addictions and suicide.
The book is not for the faint of heart, yet there are hopeful and redemptive qualities in the book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews