An extended review of a 2024 book by Alastair Sterne
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Intervarsity Press, 2024. 240 pages. $25 (e-book $25, audio $20)
If you’re familiar with books on joy you know they tend to be much like sermons on joy: full of enthusiasm but short on real substance. I, for one, have a deep resistance to joy literature. Whether it’s the latest study or a bestselling pastor’s book sneaking in self-help advice dressed up as biblical wisdom, I can’t help but feel wary. It all too often feels like a cheap fix for something deeper. That is not this book.
I recommend Longing for Joy to anyone engaged in spiritual formation – it’s different, but it’s critical. I recommend it to those who are grieving, because it will sit tenderly with you in that space. And I recommend it to anyone feeling jaded or cynical about joy, because it offers a gentle discipleship out of that dark valley.
Alastair Sterne, associate pastor at Coastline Church in Victoria, B.C., doesn’t try to dazzle you with literary valium to numb your pain. Sterne’s presence in the pages is warm and inviting, as though he’s saying, "Come, sit by the fire, share a meal, and let’s talk."
Longing for Joy is the work of someone who doesn’t just philosophize about joy, but has learned it in the trenches, the hard and painful seasons where joy is not a quick or easy thing to find. It’s a book that feels safe for those carrying the heavy, weary weight of grief and despair, offering a space to rest and breathe.
The heart of Sterne’s book is his own story of depression. Depression serves as his anchor to reality, pulling him back to joy’s absence, forcing him to address his experiences. He doesn’t rush past longing – he lets it breathe, which gives the book its real, human pace.
In the first section titled The Absence of Joy, Sterne gets comfortable with the idea that joy isn’t always there. One of the images that resonated with me most was his comparison of joy to a community garden. “You cannot make a seed germinate. Even so, working in the garden matters. Because you can only choose carrots after cultivating the garden. And so it is with joy.” (19)
Following this is a purposefully Trinitarian core for the book, The Story of Joy. I found myself moved to tears when he shared a story of a late friend who asked, “‘Alastair, what was the joy set before Jesus?’ He didn’t wait for an answer. ‘You are the joy set before Jesus.’”
Sterne masterfully portrays joy as deeply rooted in God’s triune nature. He mentions at the end of the book, “When I imagine joy, I picture Julia dancing” (206), and this is consistent throughout the book as Joy appears as a woman who dances. This plays into Sterne’s adamantly Trinitarian theology of joy, one in which the Trinity draws us into their own joyful dance.
The remainder of the book is a series of brief essays titled Possibilities of Joy. These essays are best described as fragmented – as short, deeply relatable reflections on joy that stand alone rather than flowing into one cohesive argument. Each piece feels like its own window, inviting the reader to pause and take in the view.
I found the fragmented nature of these chapters disorienting at times, especially with the content in each chapter so concentrated – not difficult, but busy. Each one is undeniably engaging – almost too engaging, like a vivid reel that captures your attention so completely it leaves you disoriented when it ends. You pause and wonder, Wait, where are we? What are we doing here? Ah, yes – Joy. And then you’re drawn back in, turning the page, eager to see what comes next.
To Sterne’s credit, this fragmented approach is intentional. Each piece is a vignette of joy, offering a practical glimpse into how we might cultivate it. As Sterne writes in the introduction, “All I am trying to do is open up the possibility of joy, not pin her down” (4). I found myself pausing to ask at many points, “Why is this book about joy making me cry so much?” and to use Sterne’s explanation, “Joy includes the pang of longing” (149).
If you’ve lost sight of joy’s place in your discipleship to Jesus, this book is a partner that will lead you back in step with His Spirit.
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