About Joy
and where to find it...
A couple of days after I came home from the hospital, James was helping me to bed. I still couldn’t get in bed and get situated unassisted, and he was (is) unendingly patient. He made a passing, silly comment, and I lost it. I couldn’t stop laughing, despite it causing me absolutely excruciating pain. He kept apologizing, and I kept laughing until I was crying from both mirth and misery. Once I finally got it together, I looked at my darling husband and said in all earnestness, “What I really need is less joy in my life.” He grinned hugely, but didn’t say a word, and as I got settled, kissed my forehead. When he was climbing into bed on his side, very careful not to jostle me or knock the large U-shaped pillow (affectionately referred to as the cozy) that keeps me supported and prevents me from rolling over, I asked what was so funny, and he just shook his head at me, told me he loved me, and went back to watching a video on how to build a disappearing bookcase. I started reading my book and didn’t think more about it. Until it hit me.
In the last two and a half years, I’ve had four surgeries and seven organs removed. My best friend was diagnosed with a particularly vicious breast cancer and is undergoing a less than lovely chemo regimen, my father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, my father-in-law died due to complications from lung cancer and pneumonia, and America is hardly great again. In the midst of all of this, I was asking for less joy.
Several times over the next couple of weeks, I had to make James leave the room (“I rebuke you!”) as we continued to cope with humor. He’s still teasing me about how, when he was helping me to my feet so I could shuffle off to the bathroom, I told him sincerely that I figured out that the problem was the pain.
When I got frustrated that I couldn’t concentrate well enough to read much, I remembered that I prepared for this by ordering a Cozy Girl coloring book recommended by a friend in my writers’ group (Write Minds). And a dear friend sent me a carepackage with another plus a few accoutrements that lifted my heart. It took me four hours to color one page, but I was proud, and I found great joy in the incredibly simple picture.
This summer, months before we knew about the cancer, one of my sister-friends and I met for a weekend lake trip outside of Charlotte. We found a wonderful Airbnb on the lake with beautiful views. We agreed that we’d both work half-days on Friday, and I booked us an afternoon at the salt spa and a fancy dinner out. We were so excited to be on the lake. Except for an infestation of red algae, which prevented us from doing anything other than pouring ourselves a couple of seltzers and moseying on down to sit in a docked boat and appreciate the musical taste of the college kids a couple of houses down. We could’ve been so very bummed, but instead we luxuriated at the salt spa, had an incredibly decadent dinner, and spent the rest of the weekend watching Love Island UK and talking books. And I drove home feeling better in my whole soul than I had in too long.
I am far from a Pollyanna, and I do NOT believe in being an ostrich, but I will tell you that at one of the protests I attended recently, I found my cheeks wet with joy while singing the national anthem. My point is that in the midst of a fair amount of awful, there can be joy. Not every minute of every day, but it is there if you are willing to let it infiltrate.
What I’m Reading
I haven’t started this yet. I had intended to this weekend, but got distracted taking down Christmas (as in decorations, not a terrorist act). It has been on my list since it came out. A very good reading/writing friend highly recommended it, and I’ve been a fan of the author’s for years. I feel like it is going to be exactly what I need right now. But may I also recommend The Once and Future Witches and The Spellshop. Oh! and The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches.
Preorder Information
Preorders are live through the end of the week! Body of Work officially releases late-March, but we aren’t scheduling events until the end of April due to shipping and anticipated supply chain issues.
Ways for you to support me and this book:
Follow me on social media
Tag a friend or share one of my posts with someone who would enjoy what I’m doing and/or loves poetry
Pre-order an extra copy to give as a gift or donate to your local library
Review the book on socials
Share about the book with a bookclub
Don’t forget, if you want signed copies, they’ll be available at As the Page Turns (where we’re launching!) when the book is out, but I can send you a signed bookplate if you’d like one. Just send me your address.
Come for the poetry, stay for the critters.
Rowe, thank you for sharing pure joy.
So much sweet friend. Sending you love.