Microjoys

Finding Hope (Especially) When Life Is Not Okay

By: Cyndie Spiegel

Narrated by: Cyndie Spiegel

Bighearted and hopeful. Unflinchingly honest and healing. A profound compendium of intimate, inspiring essays and thoughtful prompts that will keep you afloat in difficult times and sustain you in the everyday.

Microjoys are a practice of uncovering joy and finding hope at any moment. They are accessible to everyone, despite all else. When we hone the ability to look for them, they are always available. Microjoys are the hidden wisdom, long-ago memories, subtle treasures, and ordinary delights that surround us: A polka-dot glass on a thrift store shelf. A dear friend’s kindness at just the right time. The neighborhood spice shop. A beloved family tradition. The simple quietude of being in love. A cherished chai recipe.

Cyndie Spiegel first began taking note of microjoys during the most difficult year of her life—when she experienced back-to-back unprecedented and devastating losses—and she found that these fleeting moments of hope helped her move through each day with a semblance of comfort and a lot more joy.

Through beautifully written narrative essays and prompts, Cyndie shares the microjoys that have kept her going through tough times and shows us how we can learn to see the microjoys in our own lives. Microjoys don’t change the truth of loss or make grief any more convenient, but they allow us to temporarily touch joy, keeping us buoyed and moving forward, one moment at a time.

©2023 Cyndie Spiegel (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

A SELF Magazine March Book Club Pick
One of TIME’s 12 New Books You Should Read in February
One of BookRiot’s 10 Riveting New Nonfiction Books to Read in February 2023
One of The Root’s February 2023 Books by Black Authors We Can’t Wait to Read

“The book is a microjoy in and of itself, broken down into short chapters in which Spiegel recalls microjoys she’s experienced and the magical, miraculous ways she’s come to find them. At the end of each chapter, Spiegel provides a prompt to consider, guiding you to discover microjoys in your own life too. Her writing is visual, poetic, and whimsical. It’s refreshing to be instructed to find purpose and calm in something other than elaborate self-care routines and self-help manuals—because actually, as Spiegel demonstrates, the simplest things in life can bring about the biggest change in perspective.” —SELF

“After the most difficult year of Cyndie Spiegel’s life, when she suffered devastating and unexpected losses, the author decided to zoom in on the small things and bask in the pleasure they bring. In her new book, Microjoys, Spiegel gives actionable guidance on how to take in these moments of joy and find relief. For Spiegel, those include her mother’s cake recipe, her local spice shop, and a sun-soaked room in her new apartment. Each chapter ends with a prompt to invite readers to shift their thinking this way, too.” —TIME

“The real genius of microjoys is that it removes the need for things to be okay and allows things to be just as they are: a mix of joy and sorrow, okay and not okay. Learning how to experience microjoys allows you to learn how to experience microsorrows as well. And experiencing both is what it is to live fully and well.” —Spirituality & Health

Finding Joy Wherever We Are

Microjoys is the practice of accessing joy and finding hope at any time, at any moment. It offers the perspective to observe the hidden wisdom, long-ago memories, subtle treasures, and ordinary delights that surround us: A dear friend’s kindness at <i>just</i> the right moment. A beloved family tradition. The simple tranquility of being in love.

In the introduction, author Cyndie Spiegel begins by taking note of microjoys during the most difficult year of her life. During that time, she experienced back-to-back unprecedented and devastating losses. Microjoys helped her move through each day with a semblance of comfort and a lot more joy.

Through beautifully written narrative essays and prompts, Cyndie shares the microjoys that have kept her going through tough times and shows us how we can learn to see the microjoys in our own lives. Microjoys don’t change the truth of loss or make grief any more convenient, but they allow us to touch joy if only temporarily, keeping us galvanized and propelling forward, one moment at a time.

Too Vain

People who have had humble upbringings, should not become pompous when they get money.

Overall: I gave a three star because if you can stomach the amount of upper class stories being bestowed upon you, and extract the advice out of them, then they may be able to help you. Otherwise you will find yourself rolling your eyes throughout the reading.

Performance: I gave a four-star because during the times that the author mentions stories where pricey things are being bought, you don't feel like you can even empathize. You just feel like you're being told a story by a rich person, who has experienced death in their family.

Story: I gave a two-star because the story is disorganized and non-conducive to learning the technique of finding microjoys. I did my best to try and stick it out to the end of the book, but I had to quit with 50mins left. There's a chapter where the author tells the reader to buy themselves something it's not about spending the money it's just about buying a little happiness for your future. this resonates throughout the rest of the book as the author describes flying in business class to different countries, eating expensive food and drinks at restaurants, being given free expensive drinks on a bartop and finding people to give them away to because they'll be appreciative, buying expensive dresses that are never going to be worn. All these situations made me feel sick.

This made me remember that not everyone is cut out to be an author, or that the editor should have done a better job of trimming the fat from this book.

More of a biography than a how to

Which I guess is fine, if you’re looking for a biography. But I was looking for help in finding Microjoys. All I heard was how she found hers. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯