I decided to read this book after a particularly difficult depressive episode. I had been seeing a therapist, and my mental health was somewhat stagnant, so in my desperation, I attended a mental health seminar hosted by my employer (I know, I know... but that’s a discussion for another time). The counselor leading the seminar casually referenced this book, so I thought “what the hell... why not” and reserved it at my library. The Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu are great spiritual leaders, and despite being an atheist, I still have the utmost respect for them and their teachings.

To my surprise, I was met with a book that was inspired by Buddhist and Christian teachings, but aimed at a general audience. The authors stressed the importance of interfaith relationships and respecting non-religious viewpoints without trying to convert people, and there were also citations of scientific studies to show that faith and science were not enemies. In that respect, I found this book accessible. You don’t have to know anything about Buddhism or Christianity to find value in the book’s contents, and the insights are not faith-based approaches.

I also really liked that this book did a lot to humanize Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama. Too often, it seems like these great spiritual leaders are put on pedestals, somehow too untouchable or too divine to be seen as regular people. But this book stressed their humanity; it showed the great friendship the two leaders had for each other through depictions of the way they teased one another, the way they were considerate about one another’s meals and food preferences, the way they engaged with mundane things like driving through traffic. I appreciated the effort put in to make them seem more down-to-earth; it made it feel as if the advice they were giving was achievable by regular people.

But perhaps the reason why I didn’t rate this book a full 5 stars was that I was hoping for a little more. Don’t get me wrong - I think this book can be immensely helpful, especially if you’re a reader looking for a little bit of guidance in your life. There are some wonderful insights and useful exercises that I found worthwhile, and I do recommend giving this book a try if you’ve been feeling down or depressed. But I think part of the reason why I didn’t get as much out of it is because I think Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama are compelling figures because of their demeanor - the way they make you feel when you speak to them. Their words are powerful, but it’s the affect behind them that makes them stick, and in a book, part of that affect is gone and you just have words on a page.

I also think this book could have delved further into the more difficult topics, like living in poverty, suffering under oppression, and so on. It seems like this book was written in part as a response to questions such as “how do we find joy when there is so much suffering in the world?” and while the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu talked about poverty, racism, etc., they didn’t go as far as I would have liked. Instead, a lot of their examples about how to deal with stress, anger, fear, etc. involved situations like being stuck in traffic, flights being canceled, and the like, and even some of the more somber examples - such as the Dalai Lama’s exile - seemed to have a lighter air. I don’t make this critique to say I wanted more descriptions of suffering or more details about gratuitous violence; rather, it was difficult for me to follow advice such as “change your perspective” when, for example, people are starving to death or climate change might wipe out entire populations.

TL;RD: The Book of Joy is an insightful interfaith guide to living a more fulfilling life. Though it could have done a little more in terms of acknowledging and addressing suffering, the meditation exercises and the humanizing portraits of Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama were worthwhile in and of themselves, and the book will undoubtedly be useful for readers who are open to the great leaders’ wisdom.