Theologian Angela Gorrell discusses her book The Gravity of Joy, a theological memoir that lays bare the experience of finding the bright sorrow of joy alongside devastating grief, suffering, and pain. The book recounts her experience of joining the Yale Center for Faith & Culture in 2016 as an Associate Research Scholar for our Theology of Joy and the Good Life Project and to teach our Yale undergraduate course, Life Worth Living. That winter, the reality, the extent, and the dangerous potential of joy would become devastatingly clear. The highly abstract question of what it means to live a life worth living would become painfully acute. Interview with Ryan McAnnally-Linz.

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This episode contains some sensitive material about suicide. Use some discretion as you consider listening, and if you are feeling suicidal, thinking about hurting yourself, or are concerned that someone you know may be in danger of hurting themselves, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK.

Show Notes

• Read the book: The Gravity of Joy: A Story of Being Lost and Found
• A devastating winter of loss
• Suicide and opioid deaths as “deaths of despair"
• “Despair is the feeling I think that people can feel when they feel like no one can reach them. No one can get to them. And for me, joy is a counteragent to despair because joy is the feeling that we get after recognizing truth, meaning beauty, goodness, our relationship to other people."
• Joy as a work of resistance against despair (e.g., Willie James Jennings)
• "Joy as an illumination that there is something more.”
• Grief vs Despair—what prevented your grief from becoming despair? Who reached you?
• “Even though I was a year and five months in grief… angry… constantly afraid of getting another call."
• Suicide watch in a women’s correctional facility—“These women are going to minister to me."
• "Is our study of joy too shallow?"
• Different kinds of joy
• Joy and sorrow—from the book: "Joy doesn’t obliterate grief. . . . Instead, joy has a mysterious capacity to be felt alongside sorrow and even—sometimes most especially—in the midst of suffering."
• The ocean as a spiritual sanctuary, the rain as an indicator that change is coming
• "I suddenly found myself rejoicing over what ought to be, what was to come. I suddenly believed that joy might make its way to me again. And just the mirror. Like what if of joy like found me on that beach, running in the pouring rain?"
• Women’s prison bible study—feeling welcome to a community without shame
• Humanizing one another in a dehumanizing institution: “The Gravity of Joy is my effort to humanize people who are incarcerated."
• God’s activity in suffering, pain, and joy: “God was always seeking after you."
• Romans 8:28 "All things work together for good"
• I hope people feel seen.

About Angela Gorrell

Rev. Dr. Angela Williams Gorrell is an author, speaker, and consultant. Dr. Gorrell speaks and writes about finding the life worth living, joy, meaning and purpose, and the intersection of spiritual and mental health. She is the author of Always On, The Gravity of Joy, and a new book (launching fall 2024) about how to make difficult decisions. Angela’s research has been highlighted in media sources such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, and NPR. Dr. Gorrell has taught at several schools including Yale University and Baylor University. She has provided thought leadership and consulting for numerous organizations including the US Army. You can find her at her website www.angelagorrell.com or on instagram @angelagorrell.