INCITING JOY - Ross Gay

4.5 stars

The power of community, the healing abilities of positive growth and shared love. Inciting Joy is a collection of "feel good" that I think is the perfect balm for those struggling in these times.

Sense of joy: ★★★★★
Flow of stories: ★★★★
Writing style: ★★★★

There are some books that are both shockingly simple to describe and yet so vastly large they feel impossible to shrink down into the purposes of a review. Inciting Joy is one of those reads.

Ross Gay's essays in this collection all have a central theme—joy, of course—but each feels layered, framed through a different quirk of the lens, and reliant on different modes to convey their message. Joy, like all emotions, is a complex and ever-changing thing.

Growth and green things are a prominent note in this collection. Ideas of life and growing are no strangers to joy.

More surprising to some might be the inclusion of grief and exploration of loss as a means to receive the sharper, more poignant pieces of joy and uplifting emotional resonance.

Beautiful, sharp, soft, and layered, Inciting Joy is a unique thumbprint on a world that often focuses on the sharp and critical. Sit down with Ross Gay for a while and feel some love. It'll help... I promise.

Thank you to Algonquin Books for my copy in exchange for an honest review.