Finding Joy by Anika Toro 5 stars!

Finding Joy by Anika Toro — a lil’ review ✨

I loved this book. Let’s start with that cover?? bright yellow, paper-cut trees and clouds, the word “joy” scattered everywhere like it escaped from the page — i was sold before i even read the description.

so here’s the concept and it’s SO cool: Anika Toro took nine copies of the same book and did erasure poetry on them — meaning she blacked out everything except certain words, leaving them exactly where they appear on the original page, and what’s left becomes a poem or a thought or just this little moment of meaning. no new words added. ever. and then she surrounds all of it with collage, paint, photography, embroidery… genuinely whatever serves the vibe.

some pages are soft and dreamy and others are pure chaos energy. The art is gorgeous and imaginative and there is so much variety as you move through the pages.

And timing is everything because a book that’s literally about finding joy is exactly what we need right now. it’s like toro is saying: the meaning was always in there. you just have to clear away the noise.

this book is permission to play. permission to make something. permission to find the joy hiding in the mess.

5 gorgeous stars!

---

FINDING JOY by Anika Toro

RELEASE DATE: March 17, 2026

GENRE: ART: Mixed Media & Found Poetry

BOOK PAGE:  Finding Joy – Meerkat Press

SUMMARY:

Discover the magic of serendipity and artistic exploration in “Finding Joy”! This mixed media art book takes selections from nine different copies of the same book, showcasing Anika’s transformative and playful approach to the original text.

Each page spread uses hand-selected text, left unaltered from its original position. Through a process of erasure and blackout, Anika redacts everything except a newly found message, thought, idea, or poem, without adding any new text. Analog collages, paint, photography, embroidery, and more celebrate unique narratives, exploring creativity, spontaneity, and the profound moments that emerge from reimagining existing ideas.

Above all, Anika believes that creating should be fun! She hopes this book is a testament to the delight in making and that in exploring this book, you too find a bit of inspiration on your own path to joy.

BUY LINKS:

Meerkat Press | Bookshop.org | Amazon

GIVEAWAY:  MEERKAT PRESS $25 GIFT CARD

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Anika Toro is a mixed media artist with a background in photography and collage. Her current work fuses narrative, serendipity, and playful experimentation into art that transforms familiar texts and images into unexpected expressions of creativity. Her innovative projects have found homes in hotels and private spaces around the world, while her award-winning photography has been seen in magazines, on record covers, and in exhibitions throughout the United States.

In her debut book, Finding Joy, Anika offers an intimate look at her creative journey—a path of wonder, discovery, and those unexpected twists that make art so fun and magical. When not in her studio, Anika finds inspiration in music, nature, tarot, and time with her family. She lives in Tennessee with her husband, teenage daughter, and their much-loved cat.