ABOUT THE EPISODE:

When Steven Petrow's mother died in 2017, he decided to take up a practice that he'd heard about but never tried: gratitude journaling. As an award-winning journalist for the New York Times and Washington Post and author of several books, he was intimately familiar with writing. But finding joy amidst such an immense sense of loss seemed impossible and a gratitude practice seemed a little woo-woo.

Within a year of beginning, his father also died, his marriage was crumbling, and his sister was diagnosed with cancer.

So when the pandemic hit in 2020, Steven began intense research into the accumulated data and wisdom surrounding joy and happiness. His in-depth work has now culminated in a new book, The Joy You Make: Find the Silver Linings -- Even on Your Darkest Days.

In this episode, Steven and I discuss how everything he learned helped him through his most challenging season of life, the important difference between happiness and joy, and what happened when he decided to honestly answer a stranger who asked, "How are you?"

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Steven Petrow’s website & books
• Steven on Instagram

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