101 ratings | 50 reviews | avg rating:4.83

Joy’s Year In Books

Joy’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at Joy’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

Go to Joy’s 2025 Year in Books

Joy Jordan-Lake’s Followers (513)

Joy’s Bookshelves

to-read (48)
currently-reading (46)
read (116)
did-not-finish (0)
funny-insightful-joyful (2)
tearjerker (1)
wonderful-main-character (1)

Joy’s Friends (1,181)

Claire

1,958 books | 667 friends

Sarah Pekkanen

108 books | 1,929 friends

BreAnna (Bre'sBooks)

10,271 books | 273 friends

Cherie

2,874 books | 1,540 friends

Julian Worker

1,836 books | 5,144 friends

Karen

385 books | 314 friends

Patty

2,569 books | 98 friends

Erin

7,761 books | 2,557 friends

More friends…

Joy Jordan-Lake

Goodreads Author

Born

Washington, D.C., The United States

Website

http://www.joyjordanlake.com/

Twitter

joyjordanlake

Genre

Fiction, Nonfiction, Historical Fiction

Member Since

February 2011

edit data

Joy Jordan-Lake's varied--and admittedly odd--professional experience has included working as a college professor, author, journalist, waitress, director of a program for homeless families, university chaplain, horseback riding instructor, free lance photographer, and --the job title that remains her personal favorite--head sailing instructor.

Born in Washington, D.C., Joy Jordan-Lake's first vivid childhood memory was watching her mother weep in front of the television, where newscasters were just reporting the shooting of Martin Luther King, Jr. Later moving south with her family, she grew up on Signal Mountain, Tennessee, just outside Chattanooga, where she learned to observe the ways in which communities respond with courage to bigotry Joy Jordan-Lake's varied--and admittedly odd--professional experience has included working as a college professor, author, journalist, waitress, director of a program for homeless families, university chaplain, horseback riding instructor, free lance photographer, and --the job title that remains her personal favorite--head sailing instructor.

Born in Washington, D.C., Joy Jordan-Lake's first vivid childhood memory was watching her mother weep in front of the television, where newscasters were just reporting the shooting of Martin Luther King, Jr. Later moving south with her family, she grew up on Signal Mountain, Tennessee, just outside Chattanooga, where she learned to observe the ways in which communities respond with courage to bigotry and violence--or fail to do so.

After earning a bachelors degree from Furman University and a masters from a theological seminary, Joy re-located to the Boston, Massachusetts, area where she earned a masters and a Ph.D. in English Literature from Tufts University, and specialized in the role of race in 19-century American fiction.

While in New England, she founded a food pantry targeting low-income and homeless families, served on the staff of a multi-ethnic church in Cambridge, worked as a free-lance journalist, and became a Baptist chaplain at Harvard. Her first book, Grit and Grace: Portraits of a Woman's Life (Harold Shaw Publishers, 1997), was a collection of stories, poems and essays which The Chicago Tribune described this way: "Written with much heart and wit, this little gem of a book touches on the ordinary and profound experiences that make up a woman's life . . . a poignant and satisfying collection . . . funny and sad, inspiring and awfully surprising."

Joy's second book, Whitewashing Uncle Tom's Cabin: Nineteenth-Century Women Novelists Respond to Stowe (Vanderbilt University Press, 2005) continued her doctoral dissertation work, exploring the inter-weavings of literature, theology, and race in American culture.

During this period, life for Joy and her husband, Todd Lake, was becoming increasingly chaotic with two careers, numerous re-locations for Todd's work, two young biological children and the adoption of a baby girl from China. Joy's nearly-manic need to ask everyone around her about how they managed--or not--to balance kids and career led to her third book, Working Families: Navigating the Demands and Delights of Marriage, Parenting and Career (WaterBrook/ Random House, 2007). Publishers Weekly called the book, "refreshing for its social conscience," and written with "sharp humor and snappy prose."

In its review of Joy's fourth book, Why Jesus Makes Me Nervous: Ten Alarming Words of Faith (Paraclete Press, 2007), Publishers Weekly again praised the author: "A professor at Belmont University and a former Baptist chaplain at Harvard University , the author mines her personal history...to illumine and interpret ideas such as...hope. Sometimes wry, occasionally stern, Jordan-Lake, with a touch of Southern gothic sensibility...has a gift for welcoming, lucid and insightful prose...."

Joy's first novel, Blue Hole Back Home, published in 2008 and inspired by actual events from her own teenage years, explores the tensions and eventual violence that erupt in a small, all-white Appalachian town when a Sri Lankan family moves in. Ultimately, Blue Hole Back Home, which bestselling author Leif Enger called "beautifully crafted," is a story not only of the devastating effects of racial hatred and cowardice, but more centrally, a celebration of courage, confrontation and healing. Used in a variety of classroom and book club settings, Blue Hole Back Home was chosen in 2009 as Baylor University's Common Book, and as the Common Book at Amarillo College in 2014.

Joy's latest novel, to be released in fall of 2017, is A Tangled Mercy. Told in alternating tales at once haunting and redemptive, A Tangled Mercy is a quintessentially American epic rooted in heartbr ...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Joy Jordan-Lake questions, please sign up.

Combine Editions
Joy Jordan-Lake’s books

Average rating: 3.98 · 29,546 ratings · 2,959 reviews · 17 distinct works • Similar authors

	A Tangled Mercy 4.09 avg rating — 12,202 ratings — published 2017 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Under a Gilded Moon 3.81 avg rating — 12,709 ratings — published 2020 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Blue Hole Back Home 4.18 avg rating — 1,842 ratings — published 2008	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Bend of Light 4.02 avg rating — 989 ratings — published 2022 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Echoes of Us 4.37 avg rating — 852 ratings — published 2024 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Crazy-Much Love by Joy Jordan-Lake (Goodreads Author), Joy Jordan-Lake (Goodreads Author) 4.14 avg rating — 264 ratings — published 2019 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	All the Little Animals: A Bedtime Book from A-Z by Joy Jordan-Lake (Goodreads Author), Jane Chapman (illustrator) 4.55 avg rating — 93 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Why Jesus Makes Me Nervous: Ten Challenging Words of Faith 4.45 avg rating — 44 ratings — published 2007 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Working Families: Navigating the Demands and Delights of Marriage, Parenting, and Career 3.83 avg rating — 18 ratings — published 2007 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Grit and Grace: Portraits of a Woman's Life (Wheaton Literary Series) 4.75 avg rating — 12 ratings — published 2000 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Joy Jordan-Lake…

1 post
Joy Jordan-Lake's Blog

Behind the story of A TANGLED MERCY

A Tangled Mercy
Joy Jordan-Lake
Dear fellow readers,

The below is from the Author's Note in my recently released novel A TANGLED MERCY. Some of you may have read this when you read the novel, or for others, this might be helpful background before you read it. Regardless, thank you for your time in sharing this journey with me, and as always, please feel free to tell me YOUR story...

SOME BACKGROUND O Read more of this blog post »

2 likes · Like • 2 comments • flag

Published on January 28, 2018 11:19 • Tags: a-tangled-mercy, charleston, clementa-pinckney, denmark-vesey, emanuel-ame, grimke, joy-jordan-lake, low-country, race, slave-revolt, south, southern-fiction, tom-russell, walter-scott

Joy is Currently Reading

Joy is currently reading

Kissing the Sky

by Lisa Patton (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Jul 02, 2026 09:10AM

Joy is currently reading

Braving the Truth: Essential Essays for Reckoning with and Reimagining Faith

by Rachel Held Evans

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Jun 19, 2026 09:19PM

Joy is currently reading

End Game (Will Robie, #5)

by David Baldacci (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Jun 19, 2026 09:18PM

rss
Joy’s Recent Updates

Joy finished reading The Wedding People by Alison Espach	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 07, 2026 10:11PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Wedding People by Alison Espach. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Wedding People by Alison Espach <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Joy is currently reading The Wedding People by Alison Espach	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 06, 2026 07:32PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Wedding People by Alison Espach. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Wedding People by Alison Espach <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Joy is currently reading Kissing the Sky by Lisa Patton (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 02, 2026 09:10AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Kissing the Sky by Lisa Patton. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Kissing the Sky by Lisa Patton <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Joy rated a book it was amazing The Museum of Lost Dreams by Christine Nolfi (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Christine Nolfi’s books are extraordinary for any number of reasons, but especially for how they portray family. The Museum of Lost Dreams in particular depicts family in all its messy, marvelous, imperfect forms and with such authenticity, insight a ...more
Jun 26, 2026 04:00PM · 5 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Museum of Lost Dreams by Christine Nolfi. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Museum of Lost Dreams by Christine Nolfi <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Joy is currently reading Braving the Truth: Essential Essays for Reckoning with and Reimagining Faith by Rachel Held Evans	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 19, 2026 09:19PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Braving the Truth by Rachel Held Evans. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Braving the Truth by Rachel Held Evans <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Joy is currently reading End Game (Will Robie, #5) by David Baldacci (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 19, 2026 09:18PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of End Game by David Baldacci. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — End Game by David Baldacci <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Joy is currently reading Moonflower Murders (Susan Ryeland #2) by Anthony Horowitz (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 29, 2026 06:14AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Joy is currently reading The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 22, 2026 09:14PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Joy is currently reading The Peacock and the Sparrow by I.S. Berry (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 18, 2026 01:47PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Peacock and the Sparrow by I.S. Berry. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Peacock and the Sparrow by I.S. Berry <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Joy is currently reading The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 16, 2026 09:19PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

More of Joy's books…

Quotes by Joy Jordan-Lake (?)

“A life worth living is one of compassion. And a life of compassion will include many tears.”
― Joy Jordan-Lake, A Tangled Mercy

10 likes

“You've had a tough crack at life, I'll give you that. But you don't got to let the bad thrown at you become the ugly you think you got to be.”
― Joy Jordan-Lake, Blue Hole Back Home

9 likes

“You make sure you do something good with your life, you hear? Something that puts more beauty and more kindness into the world. And be a person of courage, my Kate. With a tender heart but a lot tougher hide.”
― Joy Jordan-Lake, A Tangled Mercy

4 likes

See all Joy Jordan-Lake's quotes »

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Challenge: 50 Books: Teri's 50 for 2009 - Late start but the race is on!	42	180	Dec 30, 2009 06:42PM
Fans of Amish Fic...: Nominate April 2015's Group Read	6	17	Mar 15, 2015 06:09AM
AMERICAN HISTORIC...: Meet our Host Joy Jordon-Lake	11	12	Oct 08, 2018 08:34PM
AMERICAN HISTORIC...: Your FAVORITE OF ALL TIME	8	13	Oct 13, 2018 07:34PM
Nothing But Readi...: Jack in the Box READ BOOKS	123	215	Dec 08, 2018 11:28AM
Retro Chapter Chi...: ¢ Free & Cheap History Deals 2014-2019 ¢	769	157	Dec 27, 2019 10:10AM
Around the Year i...: Hannah's 2020 Reading Plans to Finally Conquer the TBR!	24	225	Feb 03, 2020 06:28AM

More…

Joy’s Quotes

“Anybody who has survived his childhood has enough information about life to last him the rest of his days.”
― Flannery O'Connor, Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose

tags: authors, childhood, humor, southern-authors, southern-writers, writing

764 likes

Joy’s Friend Comments

Comments (showing 1-1) post a comment »

date

newest »

message 1: by Joy

Mar 27, 2022 04:12PM

hi i am Maty rate my selection ᴡᴡᴡⴰJOY.OKGJR.RU

reply | flag

Joy’s Year In Books

Joy Jordan-Lake’s Followers (513)

Add New
Videos

Joy’s Bookshelves

Joy’s Friends (1,181)

Joy Jordan-Lake

Goodreads Author

Learn more
Ask the Author

Popular Answered Questions

Combine Editions
Joy Jordan-Lake’s books

1 post
Joy Jordan-Lake's Blog

Behind the story of A TANGLED MERCY

Joy is Currently Reading

rss
Joy’s Recent Updates

See a Problem?

Preview — The Wedding People by Alison Espach

See a Problem?

Preview — The Wedding People by Alison Espach

See a Problem?

Preview — Kissing the Sky by Lisa Patton

See a Problem?

Preview — The Museum of Lost Dreams by Christine Nolfi

See a Problem?

Preview — Braving the Truth by Rachel Held Evans

See a Problem?

Preview — End Game by David Baldacci

See a Problem?

Preview — Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz

See a Problem?

Preview — The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

See a Problem?

Preview — The Peacock and the Sparrow by I.S. Berry

See a Problem?

Preview — The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett

Topics Mentioning This Author

Joy’s Quotes

recent posts
Joy’s Groups

Joy’s Friend Comments

Joy Jordan-Lake’s Followers (513)

Joy Jordan-Lake

Goodreads Author

Popular Answered Questions

rssJoy’s Recent Updates

See a Problem?

Preview — The Wedding People by Alison Espach

See a Problem?

Preview — The Wedding People by Alison Espach

See a Problem?

Preview — Kissing the Sky by Lisa Patton

See a Problem?

Preview — The Museum of Lost Dreams by Christine Nolfi

See a Problem?

Preview — Braving the Truth by Rachel Held Evans

See a Problem?

Preview — End Game by David Baldacci

See a Problem?

Preview — Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz

See a Problem?

Preview — The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

See a Problem?

Preview — The Peacock and the Sparrow by I.S. Berry

See a Problem?

Preview — The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett

Topics Mentioning This Author

rss
Joy’s Recent Updates