When Dawn Barton tells us that joy is a choice, we know she means it--not just because she's an upbeat Southerner with good hair and a successful business background, but because she's had more heartache in her lifetime than most of us can imagine.

In this collection of honest and sometimes raw stories, Dawn throws a loving, untoned arm around readers as she brings them along on her journey through the loss of a child, divorce, cancer, rape, the death of her only sibling, her husband's substance abuse, and finding her way back to Jesus in the middle of it all. Dawn shares her personal story to show readers how to find happiness and purpose even in the darkest of days.

A beautiful gift book, Laughing Through the Ugly Cry is a great reminder to your girlfriends that you are with them every step of the way. It's also a touching, winsome, and funny book to share with those facing cancer or other heart-wrenching circumstances. Dawn writes, "If more women were open about just how difficult our lives feel and how hard we are on ourselves, I think we'd learn to relax a little and give ourselves the grace God gives us every day."

As Dawn wholeheartedly believes, the obstacles in our lives should not beat us down but give us reasons to more fully embrace joy wherever we can find it.