Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve worked on the frontlines of the hospital, clinic, and delivery rooms for the last 25 years and in global settings after traumatic disasters…As a physician activist, Justice is my act of service. And yet, the moment I found out my young son had a fatal illness, fighting for Justice felt elusive. Until I started fighting for myself. Until I realized that if I walked back toward my unfathomable pain, I could find something revolutionary... Joy. Now, this work of finding Joy has become my most potent medicine for my patients and myself. It is my mission to make sure everyone knows Joy is accessible. No matter what. 


I wrote

Joy Is My Justice: Reclaim What Is Yours

By Tanmeet Sethi,

Book cover of Joy Is My Justice: Reclaim What Is Yours

What is my book about?

If you think finding Joy is too much to hope for, or only for people who are “resilient enough,” Joy…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

The books I picked & why

Book cover of Inciting Joy: Essays

Tanmeet Sethi Why did I love this book?

This collection of essays feels so intimate into the author’s heart, yet universal into all of ours.

It’s a collection of essays that explore connection and meaning in our lives as a path to Joy. It’s exactly why I describe Joy as so different than happiness. In each exploration the author offers shows how Joy can spring from whatever is happening in our life, not from a cognitive evaluation of how it is going.

He speaks of how Joy springs from our pain and sorrow which I deeply believe. They live so close to each other and each essay invites us to recognize this.

By Ross Gay,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Inciting Joy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A collection of gorgeously written and timely pieces in which prize-winning poet and author Ross Gay considers the joy we incite when we care for each other, especially during life's inevitable hardships.

In "We Kin" he thinks about the garden (especially around August, when the zucchini and tomatoes come on) as a laboratory of mutual aid; in "Share Your Bucket" he explores skate-boarding's reclamation of public space; he considers the costs of masculinity in "Grief Suite"; and in "Through My Tears I Saw," he recognizes what was healed in caring for his father as he was dying.

In an era…


Book cover of All Along You Were Blooming: Thoughts for Boundless Living

Tanmeet Sethi Why did I love this book?

I love this book of poetry because it is so easy to pick up and read one poem like a meditation.

Each one invites the reader to explore Joy in their surroundings and inner world as something that is so accessible to them. I use it almost as a mirror to reflect back to myself my most powerful and Joyful capacity when I have forgotten it. It’s a perfect book for anyone’s bedside or altar. 

By Morgan Harper Nichols,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked All Along You Were Blooming as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A celebration of hope. An encounter with grace. A restoration of the heart. A healing of wounds. An anthem of freedom. This illustrated collection of poetry and prose invites you to stumble into the sunlight and delight in the wild and boundless grace you've been given.

Popular Instagram poet and bestselling author Morgan Harper Nichols gives you the ultimate love letter to your mind, heart, soul, and body, reminding you:

There is a purpose in every season No matter how you want to race through this day or run away from this place, you are invited to live fully-right here,…


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Book cover of Ferry to Cooperation Island

Ferry to Cooperation Island By Carol Newman Cronin,

James Malloy is a ferry captain--or used to be, until he was unceremoniously fired and replaced by a "girl" named Courtney Farris. Now, instead of piloting Brenton Island’s daily lifeline to the glitzy docks of Newport, Rhode Island, James spends his days beached, bitter, and bored.

When he discovers a…

Book cover of Microjoys: Finding Hope (Especially) When Life Is Not Okay

Tanmeet Sethi Why did I love this book?

This book is exactly the upward spiral of Joy someone needs when they ask me, “But, how, Dr. Sethi, how do I even start to feel Joy?”

It’s so simple and accessible. Each essay or prompt brings the reader closer into seeing their own life as the way to get to Joy, especially when things are hard. 

By Cyndie Spiegel,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Microjoys as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

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…


Book cover of Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole

Tanmeet Sethi Why did I love this book?

I love this book. It’s the exact intermingling of sorrow, melancholy, and connection and Joy that I espouse in mine.

Susan Cain takes us on a global search of how the connection and creativity that arises from sorrow is universal, so very human. And how this acknowledgment of the pain can lead us to greater connection and belonging.

This book is one I have post-it noted, ear flapped, and come back to over and over.

By Susan Cain,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Bittersweet as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

AN OPRAH BOOK CLUB PICK

THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER -- FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER QUIET: THE POWER OF INTROVERTS IN A WORLD THAT CAN'T STOP TALKING

In her inspiring new masterpiece, the author of the bestselling phenomenon Quiet describes her powerful quest to understand how love, loss and sorrow make us whole - revealing the power of a bittersweet outlook on life.

Bittersweetness is a tendency towards states of longing, poignancy and sorrow; an acute awareness of passing time; and a curiously piercing joy at the beauty of the world. It recognizes that light and…


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Book cover of Brother. Do. You. Love. Me.

Brother. Do. You. Love. Me. By Manni Coe, Reuben Coe (illustrator),

Brother. Do. You. Love. Me. is a true story of brotherly love overcoming all. Reuben, who has Down's syndrome, was trapped in a care home during the pandemic, spiralling deeper into a non-verbal depression. From isolation and in desperation, he sent his older brother Manni a text, "brother. do. you.…

Book cover of Women Are the Fiercest Creatures

Tanmeet Sethi Why did I love this book?

I had to put this book in because sometimes it gives me great Joy to get lost in a good story, especially one where women come out victorious.

This is set in Seattle, where I currently live, which also was fun and literally I turned page to page and lost track of time. It’s been a long time since I’ve read fiction and reading this was pure Joy. At the end, I wanted it to keep going and am secretly hoping for a sequel!

Explore my book 😀

Joy Is My Justice: Reclaim What Is Yours

By Tanmeet Sethi,

Book cover of Joy Is My Justice: Reclaim What Is Yours

What is my book about?

If you think finding Joy is too much to hope for, or only for people who are “resilient enough,” Joy Is My Justice is a radical exploration of your healing and liberation. Joy is not a commodity or a destination; it is within you, the deepest Justice you will ever know. You can reclaim Joy despite this unjust world, past traumas, or what a whitewashed wellness world says about your capacity to do so.

Joy is your birthright. And it’s this book’s mission to make sure you find yours.

Book cover of Inciting Joy: Essays
Book cover of All Along You Were Blooming: Thoughts for Boundless Living
Book cover of Microjoys: Finding Hope (Especially) When Life Is Not Okay

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Nature writer Sharman Apt Russell tells stories of her experiences tracking wildlife—mostly mammals, from mountain lions to pocket mice—near her home in New Mexico, with lessons that hold true across North America. She guides readers through the basics of identifying tracks and signs, revealing a landscape filled with the marks…

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