This book is a good resource full of good encouragements and helpful reminders. It’s generally sensitive and thoughtful when discussing how to have joy in Jesus and why believers sometimes struggle to have joy. There are some useful specific suggestions - for example, breath prayers centering on specific Bible verses. I also appreciated Bell’s vulnerability sharing about her fertility journey and miscarriage. She raises some difficult and valid questions, such as why a baby is allowed to suffer, and generally addresses such topics with compassion for believers enduring suffering.

However, some parts of the book didn’t reach me as much. Bell’s advice to smile at strangers, or to remember that suffering is good for us in some way, isn’t untrue or wrong; it just doesn’t feel helpful to me in a place of deep suffering and feeling distant from God. It will probably still help someone else though - and overall, Bell is very understanding about the difficulty of choosing joy in painful circumstances.

This is overall a great resource for Christians. I give it 4.5 stars rounded up to 5. Thank you to NetGalley and Morehouse Publishing for the free eARC! I post this review with my honest opinions. This review is cross-posted on Goodreads and will be posted on Amazon and Instagram upon the book’s publication.