How to Find Joy during Difficult Times

At age 35, Kate Bowler was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer. Her new book, "Joyful, Anyway," reflects on what it means to find delight and gratitude in the face of uncertainty, pain and ordinary struggles.

Drawing on her own experience with illness, the stories of others and her background as an educator and historian, Bowler explores what she calls “the ache” — the persistent sense of longing and incompleteness that comes with being human. Joy is not a cure for the ache, she writes, but something that can — and should — co-exist alongside.

Bowler, now 45 and a history professor at Duke University, sat down with The Washington Post to discuss how to look for signs of joy, even during the hardest times. (This interview has been edited for clarity and length.)

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.