Welcome. I’m Deronda.

I believe joy has a funny way of showing up where we least expect it.

Sometimes it is found halfway around the world. Sometimes it is buried inside an old memory. Sometimes it comes through music, a conversation, a story shared around a table, or one of those little moments we almost miss because we are moving too fast.

I have spent much of my life noticing those moments.

I’m Deronda Aiken — storyteller, traveler, musician, podcast host, and the woman behind The Joy Ambassador.

My own story has taken me from Kansas to Turkey and back again, through business and music, grief and reinvention, friendships that crossed cultures, unexpected adventures, and more than a few turns I could never have planned.

Somewhere along the way, I realized that joy was not simply something I occasionally experienced.

It had become the thread running through my life.

And I wanted to follow it.

What you’ll find here

The Joy Ambassador is where I tell the stories I cannot stop thinking about.

Some are funny. Some are deeply personal. Some take us wandering through the streets of Istanbul. Some explore what happens when we remember a part of ourselves we thought we had lost. Others begin with music, travel, friendship, faith, storytelling, or a seemingly ordinary moment that turns out not to be ordinary at all.

You will also find my ongoing Letters from Istanbul, conversations about where joy lives in our lives, and glimpses into the other work growing from these stories — including Joy Story Hour™, music, podcasts, and whatever adventure comes next.

There is no single formula here because I do not think joy has one.

I am far more interested in the question:

Where might joy be hiding that we have not thought to look?

Why stories?

I have become fascinated by the power of telling our stories — especially the good ones.

Not because life is always good. Mine certainly has not been.

But our hard stories are rarely the whole story.

There are also the people who loved us, the places that changed us, the ridiculous things that made us laugh, the moments we surprised ourselves, the dreams that refused to disappear, and the memories that still make something inside us come alive.

Those stories matter too.

And I think we should tell more of them.

That belief has grown beyond this publication into Joy Story Hour™, my work with spoken storytelling, and my continuing exploration of the relationship between story, memory, connection, and joy.

Come along

If you are curious about the world, if you have ever felt deeply connected to a place that was not where you were born, if you believe our stories matter, or if you simply want a little more joy mixed into your inbox, you are very welcome here.

Subscribe and come along.

I cannot promise that I know where we are going.

Actually, knowing me, that is probably part of the fun.

But I have a feeling there will be a good story somewhere along the way.

Live Free. Speak True. Be Joy.

For Paid Subscribers

Paid subscribers receive access to Letters from Istanbul, a more personal collection of stories, memories, and reflections from a place that has shaped so much of my life.

I am still allowing this series to become what it wants to become. Some letters may take us into old memories, some into the Istanbul I know and love, and some into the unexpected places where past and present seem to meet.

Becoming a paid subscriber also helps support the time and space it takes for me to keep writing, creating, and sharing this work.

If these stories bring something meaningful into your life and you would like to help me continue telling them, I would be deeply grateful to have you as a paid subscriber.