Jul 29, 2020
Today on the Thriving Beyond Belief podcast, Dawn Barton!
Dawn Barton has endured more pain and heartache in her lifetime than Hallmark can fit into a single movie: the loss of a child, divorce, cancer, rape, near-death of her mother from a brain aneurism, the death of her only sibling, and her husband’s substance abuse.
But because she experienced such incredible pain, she also knows incredible joy… so much so, this sassy southerner refers to herself as a "Joyologist.”
In her new book, Laughing Through the Ugly Cry:… and Finding Unstoppable Joy, Dawn shares her powerful journey to find hope, joy, and laughter in the midst of even the most unfathomable circumstances. And though her trials were heavy, her words are light—laced with the humor and perspective that keep you laughing, no matter what.
“Even in the face of all the things you can’t control – the announcements, the diagnosis, the calls you hoped you’d never get – there’s something you do get to control,” writes Dawn. “Choose to look for joy in the small spaces between fear and confusion, and make that the moral of your story.”
Dawn knows the adversity she’s experienced has enabled her to experience joy in a more profound and vibrant way. Laughing Through the Ugly Cry is a beautiful book that will encourage anyone facing difficulty to do so with humor and faith, and to mindfully seek joy no matter how bleak circumstances may appear.
“Finding joy in your life does not mean you walk around in a perpetual state of skipping and laughing. It doesn’t mean you are grinning and waving to every single passerby, although that would be fun. It means when you are sitting in the pain, you can take a deep breath and smile because you have one more breath to live.”