St. Paul downtowner releases book on finding joy

St. Paul downtowner releases book on finding joy
By Tim Spitzack | Editor | November 2025

On any given Tuesday, you’ll find Peg Guilfoyle wandering through the skyways and streets of St. Paul. For the past four years the downtown resident has led the skyway walking group that meets at 9 a.m. on Tuesdays at the US Bank skyway level and ambles a mile and a half through the skyways. Her insatiable curiosity and intent on finding good things in life makes her an amiable walking partner.

It is Guilfoyle’s ongoing pursuit of joy that led to her latest book, “An Eye for Joy: Noticing the Good World Everywhere,” to be released November 5 by Sea Crow Press. Through short engaging essays she reveals how good things are all around us, waiting to be seen, savored and celebrated.

The inspiration for the book came from her desire to remind people that the world is full of beauty, and that seeing and savoring this goodness helps balance life’s difficulties.

“The world besieges us every day with sensation in an overwhelming flood,” said Guilfoyle in a statement. “It’s a conscious act to notice its details, its beauties and its humor…. It casts each day in gratitude. The rewards of noticing are immense. And it’s self-sowing. When you get in the habit of noticing, beautiful moments jump out at you. And it’s fun.”

She cultivates joy in her own life by staying open to the odd and interesting and digging into the backstory, and by talking with strangers. For others, she advises them to seek out and spend time with joy-filled people, revisit old passions and try something new.

Guilfoyle will present readings in November and December. You can find her November 8 at the Twin Cities Book Festival at Union Depot; 11 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 15 at Storyline Books at Union Depot; and 4 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 23 at Subtext Books, 6 W. Fifth St.

“An Eye for Joy” is a companion to her 2021 title, “Singing All the Verses: Essays from a Mid-American,” in which she also shares magical moments of her life that are full of joy. She is also the author of “The Guthrie Theater: Images, History, and Inside Stories” (Nodin Press), which won a Midwest Book Award and an Independent Publishers Award, and “Offstage Voices: Life in Twin Cities Theater” (Minnesota Historical Society Press). She and husband John Baillie live in Kellogg Square. She has served on the Skyway Governance Advisory Committee for the CapitolRiver Council, the Lowertown Future Fund Advisory Board, and the Friends of the University Libraries Board. She also owns her own publishing company that specializes in regional histories of organizations.