5
Customers say
Customers find the book’s content insightful and helpful for those new to veganism. They appreciate the compassionate approach and supportive tone of the author. The book is described as inspiring and encouraging, guiding readers toward a joyful and compassionate lifestyle. Readers praise the author’s writing style as eloquent and comforting.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Finding plant-based recipes? Easy. Dealing with the social, cultural, and emotional aspects of being vegan in a non-vegan world? That’s the hard part.
The Joyful Vegan is here to help.
Many people choose veganism as a logical and sensible response to their concerns about animals, the environment, and/or their health. But despite their positive intentions and the personal benefits they experience, they’re often met with resistance from friends, family members, and society at large. These external factors can make veganism socially difficult—and emotionally exhausting—to sustain.
This leads to an unfortunate reality: the majority of vegans (and vegetarians) revert back to consuming meat, dairy, or eggs—breaching their own values and sabotaging their own goals in the process.
Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, known as “The Joyful Vegan,” has guided countless individuals through the process of becoming vegan. Now, in her seventh book, The Joyful Vegan, she shares her insights into why some people stay vegan and others stop.
It’s not because there’s nothing to eat. It’s not because there isn’t enough protein in plants. And it’s not because people lack willpower or moral fortitude.
Rather, people stay vegan or not depending on how well they navigate the social, cultural, and emotional aspects of being vegan: constantly being asked to defend your eating choices, living with the awareness of animal suffering, feeling the pressure (often self-inflicted) to be perfect, and experiencing guilt, remorse, and anger.
In these pages, Colleen shares her wisdom for managing these challenges and arms readers—both vegan and plant-based—with solutions and strategies for “coming out vegan” to family, friends, and colleagues; cultivating healthy relationships (with vegans and non-vegans); communicating effectively; sharing enthusiasm without proselytizing; finding like-minded community; and experiencing peace of mind as a vegan in a non-vegan world.
By implementing the tools provided in this book, readers will find they can live ethically, eat healthfully, engage socially—and remain a joyful vegan.
From the Publisher
The Joyful Vegan: How to Stay Vegan in a World That Wants You to Eat Meat, Dairy, and Eggs
Joyful vegans manifest and model compassion.
We all know how easy it is to have compassion for those who agree with us, look like us, vote like us, and eat like us, but being compassionate means striving to have compassion for everyone:
– the guilty and the nonguilty
– the kind and the unkind
– the good and the evil
– the human and the nonhuman
– the people we like and the people we don’t
Authentic compassion means having compassion even for people who are not compassionate.
Joyful vegans plant seeds and remain unattached to whether or not those seeds germinate.
This concept is difficult to comprehend and even more so to implement, especially for those who perceive letting go as weakness or passivity. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Being clear and standing firm in what you say but remaining unattached to how someone reacts to what you say is incredibly empowering and liberating.
Worry less about people who don’t agree with you.
Harness instead the power and energy of the people who do agree with you, get to work, and let others do theirs.
Joyful vegans find common ground.
They even find common ground with people who may on the face of it seem like “the enemy” or “the opposition.” This is not always easy to do because you have to be more willing to find resolution than you are eager to be right; you have to be more willing to solve the problem than you are anxious to win the argument. Joyful vegans ask, Do I want to be right or do I want to be effective?
Publisher : BenBella Books (November 12, 2019)
Language : English
Paperback : 304 pages
ISBN-10 : 1948836467
ISBN-13 : 978-1948836463
Item Weight : 11.2 ounces
Dimensions : 6.06 x 0.81 x 9 inches
Mark Peters –
An Essential Guide for the Compassionate and Curious
The Joyful Vegan is a remarkable guide that walks alongside each compassionate and curious reader, pulling back the curtain on the mental acrobatics we perform to avoid changing our behaviors. The book helps us counter the remorse over not going vegan earlier in our lives with forgiveness and lays out a gentle path to help others who question “the way things are” through personal narratives. For those brave enough to transition without having another ethical vegan in their lives, The Joyful Vegan erects signposts and lays a solid foundation for these early steps in their journey. In short, it’s the best handbook for vegetarians, new vegans, and the veg-curious that I’ve ever read. Although I had a practiced vegan in my life when I transitioned, I wish this book had been available then for a deeper dive into the questions I had.
Angela Crawford, Ph.D. –
A must-read for emotionally thriving as a vegan
Colleen Patrick-Goudreau has been such a helpful guide on my path – and for so many others as well. Her earlier book, the 30-Day Vegan Challenge helped me to move from vegetarian to vegan and overcome the obstacles I was facing on this path. The Joyful Vegan took me further on the journey, by normalizing the different stages and experiences faced by vegans. Her extensive research and experience help to make sense of difficult feelings that come up as we learn about the devastating impact of animal agriculture, and guide us toward healthier coping. Her wise reflections teach us to embody greater compassion, and show us how to communicate more effectively with others.As a psychologist and vegan coach/educator/author, I have drawn on Colleen’s wise guidance and recommendations to empower others on their vegan journeys. I highly recommend this book to thrive and live joyfully as a vegan.Angela Crawford, Ph.D.
Carolyncl –
How much I have learned
My first book on veganism and it has proven to be the best choice for me. The author is amazing. She is so knowledgeable, so compassionate and able to help a newbie learn and move forward.I first heard about Colleen Patrick-Goudreau on her Food for Thought Podcast. I highly recommend this podcast for anyone interested in learning about veganism and just to simply grow on this journey.Her books are amazing. I think I will be eventually reading them all. She’s that good. I have three so far!
Leanne M –
Practical and insightful advice for living a compassionate life
Colleen offers sage advice on how to navigate the challenging situations that may spring up from friends, family and society in general once you have decided to live your life as a newly formed vegan. She describes the ten stages that you may go through once you have made the transition to living a life more aligned to your values, offering practical suggestions of approaching them in a more joyful and compassionate way.This book is a gem for long-time vegans, those curious about becoming vegan and everyone in between. The tone is encouraging, hopeful and inclusive and dispels the myth of vegan perfection: “Keep living your life, speaking your truth, and demonstrating the kind of compassion you would want in return.” and “Don’t do nothing because you can’t do everything. Do something. Anything.”
Victor H. Penayo –
Beautiful
Lovely, I highly recommend this book! I have listened to Colleen’s podcasts and explored her page ever since I went Vegan, and she’s helped me a lot. This book is incredible and a great motivator for sure.
Rick Curry –
It started something
This book was very good. It led me to John ribbons book and then to more. I am a vegan for life now and my husband said he is going to be as well. Wow.
Megan Irwin –
A Joy to Read
Colleen Patrick-Goudreau is part of the reason that I started to shift my perspective about my consumption of animals and animal products. I completed her 30 Day Vegan Challenge and have never looked back! Her books, podcasts, and other resources are fantastic and she offers clear, simple information and advice. I have been vegan for almost 3 years and it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. The Joyful Vegan is a wonderful resource that everyone should have! I found myself nodding throughout the book, thinking about similar experiences I’ve had. This is a thought-provoking book that is written eloquently and provides a wealth of information and helpful suggestions. I highly recommend this book! I also love that Linus is on the cover 🙂
Deimante –
Great information, not much new learned though.
I agree with one review, it feels like it is a lot of repeated information you can hear otherwise. I liked the book because it is everything in one spot, but you may know a lot of the information if you followed on Instagram or listened to her Podcast. I think it is amazing book that has a lot of great information but I can’t really give it 5 stars.
Yali Torres –
What a pleasure to read this book. Anybody that loves animals, and the planet should read this book, specially if you ever thought of going vegetarian or vegan to help the poor animals that suffer so much for the humans that use them in so many differ ways around the world. Colleen makes it so easy for anybody that wants to transition to a vegan diet without fear but with confidence and love, but mostly with hope. One person at a time we can help the animals. Highly recommend it.
Animal defender –
Very helpful and I am grateful for people who write books like these to support vegans.
Client d’Amazon –
Je me suis identifié avec les stages pour lesquels les nouveaux vegans traversent dans leur journée.Coleen donne un aperçu de comment traverser ses stages de la meilleur façon possible.Pour moi, le livre a été un très bon support dans ma journée dans le veganisme afin de traverser les épreuves rencontrées tous les jours dans le monde qui nous vivons actuellement.
Mr. Jankowski Thomas –
Thank you, Colleen, for your wisdom, knowledge, openness, compassion and activism. Your work has been hugely influential in my journey to living more authentically and aligning my behaviors with my values. Your latest book is a wonderful resource and guide to help people navigate the social, cultural, and emotional aspects of being vegan in a non-vegan world. I’m humbled and grateful that you have been a part of my growth and discovery.
Kindle Customer –
A book that everyone should read whether they are vegan or thinking about it. Great advice and information on staying vegan whether you have been for 1 week or 1 year or more. This is a book I would gift to other new vegans.