I remember — shortly after quitting an offshore job, shortly before I was made redundant from a corporate marketing job — wondering if this was it; if adulthood was a matter of grinning and bearing the endless apathy and exhaustion until one day we simply keel over, grateful for the respite.
Shouldn’t it all be a bit more joyful than this?
This is what I've made my life's work.
I’m Chloe Markham —
writer, philosopher of joy, and perhaps the only woman excited to compare Epicureanism, nervous system regulation, and really good pizza.
I don’t believe joy is a mood, a morning practice, a journalling prompt, or any kind of tasteless, green smoothie.
I believe joy is
PUNK.
It’s ancient.
It’s grounded in the reality
that we die,
so we’d better live beautifully while we can.
I believe it SHOULD all be a bit more joyful than this.
And I'm here to defend that argument against the prevailing suspicion that serious people don't have much time for it.
Because not only do we have time for it, we must make the time.
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What I do
I write about nervous system science, Stoic and Epicurean philosophy, and the benefits of a really good tea break.
I draw from over a decade of yoga teaching, excellent music, and the particular joy of a Tuesday afternoon with zero agenda and something good in the oven.
I’ve been featured in national press. I've won awards for my yoga classes and coaching.
But the biggest highlights of my work so far are helping women get in touch with their bodies for the first time ever, heal from trauma, and open their lives back up to magic and joy.