The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by Dalai Lama XIV, Desmond Tutu, & Douglas Carlton Abrams

I listened to the unabridged audio version of The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by Dalai Lama XIV, Desmond Tutu, & Douglas Carlton Abrams, which I've wanted to read or listen to for over a year now.

Listening time for The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by Dalai Lama XIV, Desmond Tutu, & Douglas Carlton Abrams is 10 hours, 12 minutes.

I enjoyed that The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World was divided into three parts: The Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu discuss "their own stories and teachings about joy (first part), the most recent findings in the science of deep happiness (second part), and the daily practices that anchor their own emotional and spiritual lives (third part)."  Douglas Carlton Abrams acts as sort of moderator in The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World.

Honestly, I think I would have enjoyed this book more if I had read it verses listened to it! 

I didn't like the sound of the voices of the voice actors who read for the Dalai Lama's and Desmond Tutu's voices... I found it initially difficult to differentiate between whether it was the Dalai Lama speaking or Desmond Tutu speaking in certain sections of the book. 

I also found that I would want to go back and listen to certain passages again in this book, which was a bit difficult to do with the audio format. If I was reading the printed version, then I could easily reread passages I just read to gain a better understanding or clarification. Plus, I could use book tags to flag passages I would want to refer to again in the future.

Below is the publisher's summary for The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by Dalai Lama XIV, Desmond Tutu, & Douglas Carlton Abrams from Audible:

Two great spiritual masters share their own hard-won wisdom about living with joy even in the face of adversity.

The occasion was a big birthday. And it inspired two close friends to get together in Dharamsala for a talk about something very important to them. The friends were His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The subject was joy. Both winners of the Nobel Prize, both great spiritual masters and moral leaders of our time, they are also known for being among the most infectiously happy people on the planet.

From the beginning the book was envisioned as a three-layer birthday cake: their own stories and teachings about joy, the most recent findings in the science of deep happiness, and the daily practices that anchor their own emotional and spiritual lives. Both the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Tutu have been tested by great personal and national adversity, and here they share their personal stories of struggle and renewal. Now that they are both in their 80s, they especially want to spread the core message that to have joy yourself, you must bring joy to others.

Most of all, during that landmark week in Dharamsala, they demonstrated by their own exuberance, compassion, and humor how joy can be transformed from a fleeting emotion into an enduring way of life.

I am giving The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by Dalai Lama XIV, Desmond Tutu, & Douglas Carlton Abrams a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars. I think I would have given this book a higher review had I read it verses listened to it.

Until my next post, happy reading!!