Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I'm a glass 1/2 full that loves any and all little or big things that create joy. This is the authors story of joy and I love it. It brought me such joy.

Thank you Broadleaf and NetGalley for this ARC in return of my honest review.

I had high hopes upon beginning this book, anticipating that the essays would be indicators of daily or larger moments to remind the reader of the importance of having joy in one’s life. What essays I read did not fulfil this anticipation and I really sound it difficult to connect the premise of the blurb to the content I was reading.

This was a DNF for me, the essays felt much longer than necessary, containing events of a life. Sadly this content did not reveal moments of joy in a manner in was anticipating. I did not connect with the content or writing style.

Jennifer McGaha's life isn't special, which is what makes this book so special. Her life echoes so many others lives that I think anyone can find true companionship in her writing, but especially those of us fortunate enough to call ourselves Appalachians. She has brilliantly pointed out the small joys of life, in a way that doesn't feel preachy, or like a gratitude journal. This book is a warm bowl of greens and beans on your grandma's front porch. McGaha is both wholly conversational and brilliantly observant in her writing. As a storyteller, her writing evokes an Appalachian Joan Didion or Anne Lamott. I was comforted, uplifted, and impressed by The Joy Document.

This is a great book of essays about what joy means to women of a certain age. It was inspiring and I fully enjoyed it. Thank you Netgalley for the arc.

The Joy Document is a collection of well written and thought out essays on the loose subject of joy. These essays are interesting and uplifting in their storytelling and positivity.

The Joy Document : Creating a Midlife of Surprise and Delight. This book was not at all what I was expecting and I just couldn't relate to it. It is biographical and full of the author's own life events, and how she would see them now with life experience. It is nor joyful or uplifting and many of the stories are quite depressing. Not for me, but I hope other readers can relate to it.

I received a free copy from the publisher through Netgalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

I wanted to read more non-fiction and when I saw this one on Netgalley it made me curious and I requested it. I just loved the idea of a book about joy. I am glad I gave this book a try as I had a great time reading it.

The Joy Document is a collection of essays about the authors life and each of these essays is about joy or another deep emotion or feeling. I feel like not all of them are about joy exactly, but they definitely all were impactful moments in the authors life. Some could be a bit sad or reflective, while others were more uplifting or fun and others were more about surprise or things that made the author think.

I felt like I got to know the author through reading it and I liked getting a glimpse into her life and the way she thought and approached things. It feels deeply personal and also very relatable. It's like this book condenses what makes us human, those moments that really shape our lives and I thought it was a beautiful read. Not all essays I enjoyed reading as much as others, but I really enjoyed the book overall and the way this book gave a glimpse into the author's life and those moments that really matter.

Some days I read just one essay or a few and other times I just read a whole bunch of them in a row. Either way works great. It's a book you can easily pick up and read just one essay or sit down with for a longer while and read a bunch of them. This book made me think and feel. It did feel more heavy and impactful than I had expected at first, but I liked that.

To summarize: The Joy Document offers a deep and personal look into the author's life. The book contains a lot of shorter essays that all depict a moment that made an impact on the author, made her feel or think. Not all of them are quite about joy in my opinion, but they all are about deep emotions, reflections and thoughts. I liked getting a glimpse in the author's life and the way she approached things and thought about things. It could feel quite heavy and impactful, but in a good way and I enjoyed the intense vibe. I feel like this is a book about those moments that really matter, the moments that shape us, moments that make us think and feel. I hadn't read a non-fiction book like this before and I am glad I picked it up.

This book was amazing! It was such a great and inspiring read. It was very well written and I learned some great things from this book!

This book is something else! I guess that, without even knowing, I was waiting for a book like this one to come into my life. Being myself in my middle age years, I can very much relate to the emotions and intentions of the author. I needed it as I'm now trying to watch the world through new eyes, grateful that I can do it. I also love the writing style, It's talent and technique combined and result is touching. I'd give 10 stars if I could.