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

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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.

Cyndie Spiegel is a born storyteller–turned–writer; she’s an aspirational voice and an igniter of powerful conversation around self-acceptance, integrity, and joy. She is a former fashion executive, adjunct professor at Parsons School of Design and Fashion Institute of Technology, and holds a masters of professional studies. She is also a TEDx speaker and a certified yoga and meditation teacher. Her honest storytelling, vulnerable self-inquiry, and penchant for swear words have made her a sought-after speaker for conferences, brands, and organizations, and she has been featured in publications such as Forbes, Glamour, Teen Vogue, and The Huffington Post. She currently lives in New Jersey with her (very handsome) photographer husband, two cats, way too many patterns, and an excessive number of houseplants. She is the founder of Dear Grown Ass Women, an inclusive and highly relatable social community for women 35+, and she is also the author of A Year of Positive Thinking.

Jen Pastiloff is an author, public speaker, poet, writing coach, the creator of the Shame Loss movement and self proclaimed real weirdo.  She thinks bios are silly and most of this isn’t as important as her being a person who doesn’t take themselves too  seriously but here’s some things: She is the best-selling author of On Being Human and the forthcoming May You Remember (both by Dutton books.) Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild, calls Pastiloff “a conduit of awakenings” and Kiese Laymon calls her a heart magician. She was on the cover of YOGA JOURNAL magazine with Elizabeth Gilbert for their Creativity Issue and has been featured on Good Morning America as well as in People Magazine, Shape Magazine, and others for her distinct style of teaching, which she has taught to thousands of people in sold-out workshop all over the world as well as virtually in her Allow writing workshops.

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Microjoys: A Virtual Evening with Cyndie Spiegel & Jennifer Pastiloff