I carefully select a book to start the year with and 2020 began with the joyful, humorous, and wise words of His Holiness the Dalia Lama and the Archbishop Desmond Tutu. These two men are leaders of different faith communities and further separated by geography, language, ethnicity, nationality, and more. But despite what divides them, they are close friends who find kinship in the innumerable similarities granted to them by love, faith in humanity, and empathy.

 

The Book of Joy is about the journey of the Dalai Lama and Archbishop as they spend time together and endeavored to answer questions submitted by people around the world. It is an elegant and poignant dance between their conversations and their individual thinking. No summary or explanation I can give will do justice but I promise you this—each time you walk away from their stories, you will feel buoyed by their levity and soothed by their compassionate insights.