Joy for Beginners by Erica Bauermeister is a quiet pleasant read. Kate has a second chance on life after surviving cancer. In this book she reflects on the friends she has gathered and the joy of truly living in the moment. Her friends united to help her through the dark days. What they didn't know was how much she was thinking of them.
At a celebration dinner, she tasked each with a fresh joy - something they wouldn't think to do themselves, but from her observations is necessary. Each woman - Robin (her daughter), Caroline, Marion, Ava, Daria, Sara, and Hadley - questions this opportunity, but in each of their chapters, we journey with them to a satisfying conclusion.
Robin signs her and her mother up for a white water paddle trip in the Grand Canyon. Caroline needs to clear the bookshelves of her exes books. Daria must learn to bake bread. Sara (mother of twins) has to travel overseas on her own. Marion gets a tattoo. Hadley has allowed her cottage to be swallowed by overgrowth - she must clean out her greenery - and thus emerge from her hiding. Ava had to fund raise and do the sixty mile breast cancer walk with Kate.
Joy For Beginners sheds a light on stepping out of the box and finding new joys, discovering oneself, and testing boundaries. This is not a preachy book and the characters are fully formed. These are women who celebrate their friendship and grow stronger from their center, Kate.
