Joy is My Justice: Reclaim What Is Yours

by Tanmeet Sethi

Reclaim your joy and personal power and find healing in this radical guide to powerful stories and meditations rooted in neuroscience. If you think finding Joy is "too hard, too much to hope for," or only for people who are “resilient enough,” if you’ve been made to feel broken or that your pain is your fault, here is a radical guide that will open you to the potential of healing, rooted in powerful stories, potent guided exercises and meditations, and neuroscience.

In Joy Is My Justice , Integrative Medicine Physician and activist Tanmeet Sethi shares her methods for shifting your nervous system and biochemistry into Joy at the cellular level. You can reclaim Joy—as you reclaim your personal power, strength, and purpose—despite the burden of living in an unjust world, despite past traumas, and despite what a whitewashed wellness world says about your capacity to do so.

Everyone alive will endure great pain—multiple times and usually beyond your control. An invitation to everyone whom "wellness" has left behind, Joy Is My Justice will help you rediscover your Joy, not as a destination or solution but as a profound practice for healing. Every footstep you take toward Joy is a radical act of Justice.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Mental Health, Personal Growth

288 pages, Hardcover

Published May 2, 2023

About the author

Tanmeet Sethi, MD is a board-certified Integrative Family Physician, Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Washington, author of Joy Is My Justice: Reclaim Yours Now, activist and TEDx speaker who has dedicated her career to care for the most marginalized patients in Seattle’s refugee, uninsured and homeless populations as well as global communities traumatized by manmade and natural disasters as Senior Faculty for the Center for Mind Body Medicine. She has been Core Faculty in residency medical education for the last two decades focusing on inpatient and outpatient family medicine, integrative medicine, and anti-racism in medicine. She is a primary clinical researcher at the University of Washington on psilocybin, certified in Functional Medicine through the Institute of Functional Medicine and fellowship trained in Integrative Medicine from the University of Arizona. She currently sees patients for Integrative and Psychedelic Medicine consultations.

Reviews

[Brown Girl Bookshelf]

"Joy Is My Justice" is a thought-provoking book that blends a memoir, manifesto, and mindfulness journal into a cohesive and impactful read. Author Dr. Tanmeet Sethi provides a wealth of scientific and actionable steps for both the mind and body, aimed at helping readers reclaim joy, even in times of deep suffering. And to illustrate this, Dr. Sethi uses experiences from her own life, ranging from serving the community as an integrative medicine physician to raising a son with a terminal illness.

My favorite section was "Gratitude Doesn't Solve Everything." Dr. Sethi writes, “[Gratitude] is about looking at life, instead of away, and finding the sliver of this moment that feels like something worth living and fighting for." She then delves into the neuroscience of gratitude, such as the neurochemicals of serotonin and dopamine that contribute to happiness. She also shares exercises designed to help readers find gratitude and perhaps even express it, including writing a letter to someone they are grateful for but haven't had the opportunity to tell. Needless to say, many friends received handwritten messages from me over the past month.

The book’s composition of personal experiences, tangible actions, and practical steps is both intriguing and empowering, making it a valuable resource for anyone looking to live a more fulfilled, especially joyful, life. Overall, "Joy Is My Justice" is a powerful and insightful read that offers a unique perspective on the importance of reclaiming joy in our lives, even in the most challenging circumstances.

[Anne Phyfe Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just adored this gem of a book. Tanmeet is a compassionate warrior, fighting for the essential nature of joy, for all beings. Joy as an inherent right, and as a practice that can help us through the toughest of times. Great practices that helped me access deep parts of myself quickly. Highly recommend.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tanmeet Sethi is an integrative family physician, author, and TEDx speaker dedicated to caring for Seattle, Washington’s refugee and uninsured populations. She’s a member of The Center For Mind-Body Medicine’s Faculty and Supervision Team, where she provides training and support for physicians, healthcare professionals, educators, and leaders helping communities around the world develop the tools they need to heal population-wide trauma. It’s amazing work.

She’s also the mother of three children, including a son with a life-threatening illness, Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

And amidst all this, she’s found deep healing and light in the darkest challenges. In Joy is My Justice, she shares science, story, and skills so we can do that, too.

She assures us, “You and only you get to decide how and when you will move through the darkness, but Justice is holding onto the belief that you can. You didn’t ask for this pain; you definitely don’t deserve it. But you never need to earn your right to move through it with Joy at your side.”

Life is very difficult, at times treacherous. But along with the experience of pain, overwhelm, and confusion, we have the right to rejoice! And not just to hold ourselves in compassion (though that, too), but to feel Joy in our bodies, in the moment. To feel awe and beauty. To feel grace and gratitude.

Tanmeet says, “The Joy is feeling it all…the anger, the rage, frustration, sadness…and learning you don’t have to be overwhelmed by it. In fact, the more you can see and name exactly the emotion you are feeling, while deeply knowing it’s okay to feel it, the more you can see yourself as vast as the sky above you and your emotions as clouds, some large or dark and some billowy and small. You can hold them all without being defined completely by any single one of them.

“This is the Joy of being fully alive.”

Joy is My Justice is powerful healing for whatever challenge is beyond your capacity to face. There are practices that increase your bandwidth, expand your spirit, and help you find both the Joy and the Justice that are your right.

This book is honest, intense, and alive with hope!

5 beaming stars. :)

[Alex K · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Joy is my Justice” is the mindfulness book we all need right now. Equal parts memoir, review of neuroscience literature, and traditional “self-help,” Dr. Sethi shows how mindfulness and Joy is an essential part of our lives, even in the face of oppression and tragedy. As a woman of color in medicine, which has only recently begun to explore its own institutional racism, but more importantly, as a mother to a child with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Dr. Sethi knows all too well about the struggle for Justice. Her mindfulness practices haven’t arisen out of some ivory tower or retreat in Costa Rica, but out of the need to be present and genuine through all the Joy and pain life gives.

As an integrative medicine physician working with the underserved, I have seen the power these practices can have for individuals from all walks of life, and whole-heartedly agree with all the recommendations Dr. Sethi has for reclaiming your Joy. But don’t expect any pithy or neat definitions of Joy or Justice in this book. These concepts are much too big, broad, and organic to be quickly summarized in a single sentence or paragraph. Instead, come to this book looking to explore these ideas and how they fit into your life. Most importantly, you will learn how reclaiming your Justice in a world full of injustices is, in fact, a path to your Joy.

Lastly, on a more personal note, I had the pleasure of having Dr. Sethi as a mentor during my medical training, and I can attest that she walks the walk. She is as genuine and warm an individual, teacher and clinician as she appears in the pages of this book. I am so grateful that she gets to share this all-too-important message, particularly in these darker times, with the world.

[Vanessa Litman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joy is my justice is incredible! Part self help part personal narrative, I love this book.

I had the great pleasure and good faith to meet Tamneet as a teacher and mentor during my residency. When I was pregnant with my first child and nervous about what could happen, I remember one moment so clearly of her encouraging me to be vulnerable and allow myself to be joyful, despite my anxieties and worry. This seemingly simple piece of advice completely changed my mindset and opened me up to something greater. Fast forward 10 years and I am ecstatic to be able to continue to learn from her about finding joy in life through her new book. Her work around vulnerability and sitting with feelings and allowing joy in is so important. It’s a huge game changer.

I love the format of the book that allows the reader to take pauses in the process. The book is a great mix of her stories of growing up Brown in America, her personal family experience as a mom to a child with an incurable disease as well as her experiences as a physician practicing mind-body medicine in groups. I can’t wait to hear the audiobook and hear it again in her own voice!!!

Tanmeet is a revolutionary spiritual teacher and a brave, inspirational mom, friend, community leader, and overall human being. I can’t recommend this book enough.

take the risk and ask yourself “why not me”? If you haven’t already, your life will be changed forever for the better.

[CEOMama · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must-read! Dr. Sethi writes in a very accessible way and her words resonates with you on a such a personal level -- you feel that she is speaking directly to you.

She does an incredible job sharing and winding her own stories, particularly highlighting her experience growing up as a first generation Sikh, Desi American Woman, practicing integrative medicine as a Brown Woman, and being a mother of three children with one having the devastating diagnosis on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

I appreciate the way Dr. Sethi structures the book. She shares an experience, expands of the feelings of that experience, teaches you a little bit of neuroscience behind some of those feelings and what is going on in the body, and then shares some mindfulness practices in working through those feelings, both body and mind. The book creates "pauses" so that you can digest the words more, practice the steps she outlines, or simply to just take a break.

This book would have helped me as a teenager when the switch in our brains turns off and we become narrow-minded and self-destructive. I cannot wait for my children to read this book to help remind them and guide them to find their "Joys", especially my one child who lives with the spiraling anxiety that we all know too well.

Her words are like Jiminy Cricket, and I will carry them daily with me as I work to find my Joy because "why not me?"

[Faith O'Malley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by my PCP, who I think went to med school with the author. At the time, my mom had just died after a long battle to recover from 10.5 months on a ventilator and complete paralysis as a result of a severe case of Guillain-Barré syndrome. It took me more than a year to finally read it, but I wish I would have read this when my mom first got sick. The author writes about finding joy after her son was diagnosed with a terminal illness resulting in high care needs. There was so much I related to about her journey with her son’s illness and trying to find joy in life again. At the end of the book, she briefly calls her experiences “traumatic grief” and as someone navigating traumatic grief myself, I felt like this book was extremely helpful. Some of the exercises were things I already implement in my day to day life, but I am excited to try out some of the other exercises. Overall, this book was great and I highly recommend it to anyone going through a long-term traumatic event who feels guilty or stuck in the cycle of gloom. We all deserve joy and joy is essential to survival. This books helps you find your joy again.

[Natalie Nevares · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Joy Is My Justice” is a passionate call to action for all who suffer from the pains and traumas of being human, to make space for Joy and put it into daily practice. A mixture of neuroscience, memoir, and practical self-help, Dr Sethi’s book invites YOU the reader to transform your own pain and injustices into liberation and Joy. As a Brown, Sikh, Desi woman from an immigrant family who’s son has a terminal illness (and a wholistic medical doctor, social justice activist who works with an underserved population), Dr. Sethi shows us that liberation can be found in the darkest shadows, if you give them space to exist with coexist with Joy, no matter your class, race, or gender expression. What I love most about Joy Is My Justice is how incredibly accessible it is. It is a vital a must-read for all humans, one that I will return to again and again for my own roadmap back to Joy. Buy a copy today, and share this profound treasure with everyone you know. You will feel your own liberation from pain and suffering turn to ease and Joy as you turn the pages!

[diane rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author of this book doesn’t just write about reclaiming joy; she is a master teacher who brings hope and healing to shattered lives. In the aftermath of the tragic shooting at my school in Parkland, Florida, Dr. Sethi, a faculty member at the Center for Mind-Body Medicine, brought us hope and healing amidst the overwhelming grief and sorrow. Her book, "Joy Is My Justice," goes beyond mere words and provides compassionate guidance for reclaiming joy. Her practical and transformative strategies help us embrace the power of our bodies and minds so we can find solace, strength, and joy within ourselves. Through her touching words, Dr. Sethi reminds us of the immense strength we possess and urges us to connect with our emotions. The tools she presents are profoundly empowering and allow us to discover joy despite living in a world marred by injustices and tragedies.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Sethi takes us on a journey into our deepest selves and how joy is accessible for us all. She knows what it's like to fight from the ground up and still find joy. This book feels like a massage for the soul.

I find myself carrying her words with me as I take walks, meet with friends, and when I take an emotional fall—"When we reappraise the stories of the wrongs or tragedy, we move toward greater Joy and better health. Ruminating keeps us in a tight, toxic grip while rewriting the narrative gives us power. The practice of reappraising also gives the story, itself, grace: that it has a different meaning than we or the world assigned it to begin with. I love that because it means that when we take ownership and power back, our body recognizes this as healing. And this is Justice."

[Rick Zeller · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book! In Joy Is My Justice, Tanmeet offers so many simple exercises for us to use in reclaiming joy in our lives. You will want to revisit the "Practices" and "Take a Pause" gems that invite the reader to get immersed in exploring joy. She writes as if she's having a personal conversation with each of us. Her personal stories are evidence that we can experience joy in spite of, and along with, our own pain and challenges that come with being human. Highly recommend for anyone who experiences human emotions. You will want to share this joyful book with family and friends.

[Cheryl Dunkel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joy is my justice holds many layers. It’s a beautiful, heartbreaking, insightful reveal of the ugliness directed toward our beautiful brown neighbors their everyday life. It’s a deeply personal share. It’s a reminder that safety is priceless and a privilege. It’s a reminder of the struggle to belong for all of us. It’s a guide to reflect and deep dive into our own pain and the healing that can come from within. It’s a reminder of the ability to carve out space for joy everyday, that I deserve the powerful healing of joy and that joy can act as a buoy and a companion to walk through the hard times. That’s all in the first chapter. I look forward to this poignant read.

[Annamarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tanmeet has written a beautiful book, Joy is My Justice that offers us the container of joy as a space big enough for both our pain and our freedom. Each chapter is full of her own life stories, generous wisdom and self reflective questions you can use to access and deepen your own joy.
Interwoven in all of this is Tanmeet's vast medical knowledge of neuroscience and the body. There are powerful practices here that have already changed my relationship to my own pain and helped me see that joy is present, accessible, necessary. What I am learning from this book is that when I prioritize my joy, I have room and energy to work for the justice I want to see in the world. Joy is our Power.

[Lynda Petruccelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part memoir, part science lesson, part manifesto, Joy is my Justice exists at the intersection of mindfulness, self-help, and activism. Standing in stark contrast to the whitewashed world of self-help we so often encounter, Dr. Tanmeet Sethi effortlessly weaves her story into a profound invitation to claim joy in your life, no matter the circumstances. Her depth of knowledge, stemming from decades of work in integrative medicine, mindfulness & activism, coupled with her lived experience as a mother and Sikh Indian American results in a powerful message as accessible as it is timely. I have no doubt I will be revisiting this book for years to come.

[Jean Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book invites you to reclaim space for Joy and sadness to live together. The author explains how it does not help to try to run away from pain. Trying not to feel sad or angry can have the effect of making you feel worse, with anxiety or rage. It is a deeply human act to face pain and know it is yours to transform. Dr. Tanmeet Sethi gives instruction on how to learn self compassion to feel safe and transform emotions. She does this by weaving stories that drew me into the example she is showing. I found the book captivating and very helpful.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a remarkable testament to the fact that one thing that can never be taken away from any of us is our ability to choose joy. Dr. Tanmeet Sethi does such a remarkable job of pulling from her own experience as a physician, a mother, and an incredibly humble human being to remind us not only of this fact but also of HOW we can tap into our own innate joy resources, no matter what may be going on around us. Her suggestions are simple yet profound, and her delivery is, in many instances, borderline poetic. I will be recommending this book everywhere!

[Jodee F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the midst of harsh realities in life, we can stumble and become overwhelmed. "Joy is My Justice" offers comfort and teaches you to withstand the storm. We aren’t left to struggle alone but are drawn in by her honesty and strength. We are shown tools to navigate each day, keep moving forward and touch joy. We are encouraged to face inequity and illness that threaten to rob us of peace without resentment or anger. Practical and warm, learning from her own pain, Tanmeet Sethi generously shares her hard-won wisdom and leaves us feeling empowered.

[Rana Bayrakcismith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. I will be reading this book again and again as there is so much to absorb and uncover with each reading. Dr. Sethi writes in a realistic, accessible way – much like a conversation with the reader. Her very personal stories serve to offer examples that really helped me to understand the concepts and how to work with them in my own life. This book has already helped me find space to work with hope, gratitude, joy – for myself and for my loved ones. I have already bought this book for friends and family who have experienced traumatic experiences.

[Lee Woodruff · Rating 5 out of 5]

We live in a world where we’ve all been told that “joy” and resilience” are within our grasp. And yet, as humans, we will confront challenges, heartbreak, and trauma. Dr. Sethi’s comprehensive guide helps all of us access the power of healing through compelling stories, guided exercises, meditations, and neuroscience. Using her own personal story of having a son with a rare disease, she demonstrates and instructs how joy can be reclaimed at the cellular level, despite the burden and sorrow of past traumas, an unjust world and what greeting card philosophies tell us about being happy.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Hachette Books for this advanced copy.

As a yoga practitioner and teacher for almost two decades, this book validates so much of what I know intellectually as well as what I know in my bones. Dr. Sethi offers accessible tools for reclaiming joy in the face of unspeakable heartache, and backs them up with medical research and her own lived experience. This book posits that joy can live along side pain, making way for the full spectrum of human experience.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve know Tanmeet for more than 20 years and always knew she was a great storyteller. This book lets her full self shine through her powerful personal and professional stories. Her descriptions and practices of Joy, Gratitude, Grace and so much more have already changed my practice as a Social Worker in Oncology and Palliative Care. She brings the healing we all need right now after 3 years of trauma, grief and upheaval.

[Rebekah Byrne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a powerful and practical roadmap to shift our personal narratives from suffering to a larger story that culminates in joy. It weaves Dr. Sethi’s courageous personal journey with the science of integrating our bodies, minds, and hearts. Get ready for guided inner work and experiential practices so that you can have your own embodied sense of the wisdom that Dr. Sethi shares.

[Lovely Loveday]

If you have ever grappled with life's obstacles or if your inner voice frequently disparages you, this book is for you! Joy is My Justice is a captivating journey of both heartache and triumph filled with candid stories from the author.

[hansmeet · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've ever wondered how to discover and turn joy into something obtainable, through life's many challenges, this is the book for you. It's filled with practices, insights and tales of how to discover joy inside yourself.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 2020 I was in a year-long book club to teach me, a white woman, about racism in all its forms. Joy is My Justice would have been a perfect addition to our reads, with books such as See No Stranger by Valerie Kaur, Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates, White Fragility, by Robin DiAngelo, and nine others all striking a cord in me that I could do better to understand the seemingly hidden world around me of systemic racism and parsing apart how embedded it was in me without me even realizing. Joy is My Justice has struck another cord, teaching me that I can overcome in my body the outside influences of a world running at high speed, use my breath to slow down and reframe traumatic triggers so they will not continue to torment me. So that I can experience the Joy that we are all entitled to. Thank you, Dr. Sethi, for writing such an awesome book that is a clear path to feeling more Joy for anyone reading it.

[Kelly Holland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is both medicine and memoir. It has helped me redefine both Joy and suffering and how I relate to both. I learn a new insight or practice with each chapter. This is the gift I will give for every holiday, birthday and anniversary so all those I love can heal with Dr. Sethi’s wisdom.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can joy be found in the midst of unimaginable grief and sadness? Yes. All these seemingly conflicting emotions can co-exist if we take time to nurture and appreciate joy. Slow down and savor this book with a cup of tea. You won’t regret it.

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by a southeast asian woman with a son with a degenerative, fatal disease, this book acknowledges all the social and personal hard stuff and is in no way pollyanna. It is rooted in science and experience and offers numerous practical strategies and practices.

[Taylor Proctor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coming out of an unfair situation and feeling like like is happening to me instead of for me — this book was a blast of fresh air. Great concepts, stories, and exercises that supported choosing joy as a form of justice.

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! This book landed in my life at just the right time. It was a big help.