Best Seller
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Joy Is a Risk Worth Taking
Hardcover
$30.00
Published on Oct 13, 2026 | 304 Pages
Bestselling author and renowned psychologist Kelly McGonigal offers a groundbreaking look at joy and how we can embrace it
As psychologist Kelly McGonigal reveals in this paradigm-shifting book, joy gives life meaning, sustains hope, and helps us feel close to others. It is the emotion that tells us: life is worth living, good things are possible, and you are not alone.
And yet, many people find it difficult to allow themselves to feel, show, or even seek joy. Instead, we worry: Is it selfish to want joy? Is joy even possible when life is hard? Instead of turning to joy as a resource, we try to protect ourselves from the perceived risks of caring too much. What if, instead, you were able to trust the feeling of joy and appreciate the good in your life? And what if you were able to help others experience the benefits that joy provides?
Weaving together personal storytelling with insights from psychology, neuroscience, and research conducted around the world, McGonigal offers tangible ways to experience this powerful emotion in everyday life. You’ll discover:
Motivating and uplifting, Joy Is a Risk Worth Taking shows that seeking and sharing joy is an act of courage and compassion—and one you can take even when life is difficult.
As psychologist Kelly McGonigal reveals in this paradigm-shifting book, joy gives life meaning, sustains hope, and helps us feel close to others. It is the emotion that tells us: life is worth living, good things are possible, and you are not alone.
And yet, many people find it difficult to allow themselves to feel, show, or even seek joy. Instead, we worry: Is it selfish to want joy? Is joy even possible when life is hard? Instead of turning to joy as a resource, we try to protect ourselves from the perceived risks of caring too much. What if, instead, you were able to trust the feeling of joy and appreciate the good in your life? And what if you were able to help others experience the benefits that joy provides?
Weaving together personal storytelling with insights from psychology, neuroscience, and research conducted around the world, McGonigal offers tangible ways to experience this powerful emotion in everyday life. You’ll discover:
- How joy works in the brain and body to provide relief
- How to create moments of meaning, connection, and celebration, in challenging times
- Why joy is a form of social support, and how to bring joy to others
- Strategies to counteract joy dampening that keeps us from enjoying good moments
- Tools to navigate common obstacles to joy, such as envy, guilt, anxiety, and grief
- 20 “joy experiments” you can begin implementing today
Motivating and uplifting, Joy Is a Risk Worth Taking shows that seeking and sharing joy is an act of courage and compassion—and one you can take even when life is difficult.
Author
Kelly McGonigal, PhD
Kelly McGonigal, PhD is a psychologist, a lecturer at Stanford University, and an award-winning science writer. She is the author of the international bestseller The Willpower Instinct, The Upside of Stress, and The Joy of Movement, and the co-author of The Stanford Compassion Cultivation Training. Her work has been published in more than thirty languages.
Learn More about Kelly McGonigal, PhD
