Bolder Joce

04/01/2026

They say love what you do. Follow your passion. Well the journey is in full bloom.

Another great book reading Saturday, March 21! This time in collaboration with Read with Me MN and Café Marguerite bringing community together and uniting in joy. The event was part of the Omega MN D.E.A.R. series that amplifies literacy and representation.

In the words of Nikki Giovanni, "joy is the justice we give ourselves"
This joy is everything right now. Peep the bubble party in the photos.

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More happy news:

You can find Biggest Rainbows in the Sky in Hennepin County Library!

I sold out of my first batch of books. Restock coming soon. See link in comments to sign-up for updates.
I'm growing. I'm in-flight ♥️

02/19/2026

02/19/2026

Joy ahead❤️

Come visit yours truly, the local author of BIGGEST RAINBOWS IN THE SKY and members of the (MN BIPOC Kidlit Collective) at Sabathani's Wall Street Market in Minneapolis this Saturday, Feb 21, 11-3.

Swipe for details.

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Next month, join me for a special read aloud experience at , (Café Marguerite in Northeast Minneapolis) in partnership with (Read with Me MN). More to come on the partnership and why it matters.

Share with a friend.
Learn more at bolderjoce.com/events

02/15/2026

Gardens are great teachers.

Sometimes I have whole stories already written in my heart that live rent-free and just need to make an imprint on the page. This was one of them.

Love is powerful. Stories of love and loss are the ones I choose to normalize.

Because when you can move past loves ending without resentment, control, and anger, you can see, there beyond the story you wanted to tell yourself, with the person you thought you could never live without, that there is a greater lesson and truth to hold.

Never regret the love story even if was only for a moment.

Go with and where love grows.
Trust that love will always teach this too.

Never give up on the love story

02/15/2026

20M and still going strong

Sans utero, I’ve been Black for more than 20 million minutes on this planet. I’ve been Black for more than 14,000 days, 336,000-plus hours.

I love me. I love my people. I love my culture, my roots. I love that all that we are bears no neat, no cookie cutter definition.

I love the Black families breaking generational curses. Not hitting, yelling, and manipulating kids. We decolonize and keep our eyes on the prize.

We tell our stories. We hold our truths. We are the reason for the socially constructed American story and more.

We stand in strength and evolve in ways that cannot be fully studied nor replicated.

We must remember the stars. For it's what’s brought us to and will bring us forward and farther towards infinite freedom.

Legacy is ours.

How's your Blackness doing? We do this 24/7/365
Let me know in the comments.

P.s. I love this picture of me. I'm about 3-years-old. Its a breezy me with a slight milk mustache on a hot summers day in the 1990s while living across the street from Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Park on the Minneapolis south side.

02/02/2026

Live!

‘Live!’ Dad said. ‘That’s all anybody can do right now. Live. Hold out. Survive. I don’t know whether good times are coming back again. But I know that won't matter if we don’t survive these times.’ (Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler)

I'm on chapter 15 (no spoilers please). This 1993 afro futurism novel wouldn't be so trippy if what's happened and happening wasn't so real. Privatization of natural resources, racism, capitalism, the rich are safe and everyone else left to fend for themselves.

Even still, the book reveals the importance of surviving, practicing community care, and staying ready for whatever obstacle may come.

My latest post unpacks my steady and unsteady reflections of living as a Black mother in Minneapolis.

The ritual of making my bed everyday reminds me of the softer edges of life. That there are and can still be gentle folds of life.
I don't know where we're headed, but this is what holding on and trusting in hope looks like to me.

Read here: https://medium.com//the-smoothest-thing-to-happen-today-ca8974761037

02/02/2026

Live!

‘Live!’ Dad said. ‘That’s all anybody can do right now. Live. Hold out. Survive. I don’t know whether good times are coming back again. But I know that won't matter if we don’t survive these times.’ (Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler)

I'm on chapter 15 (no spoilers please). This 1993 afro futurism novel wouldn't be so trippy if what's happened and happening wasn't so real. Privatization of natural resources, capitalism, the rich are safe and everyone else left to fend for themselves.

Even still, the book reveals the importance of surviving, practicing community care, and staying ready for whatever obstacle may come.

My latest post unpacks my steady and unsteady reflections of living as a Black mother in Minneapolis.

The ritual of making my bed everyday reminds me of the softer edges of life. That there are and can still be gentle folds of life.
I don't know where we're headed, but this is what holding on and trusting in hope looks like to me.

Read here: https://medium.com//the-smoothest-thing-to-happen-today-ca8974761037

Steady and unsteady notes from a Minneapolis mother

01/16/2026

Main character energy

I grew up a middle child, an only girl, Black girl, in a family, a religion, in schools and workplaces that trusted and primed me for supporting roles.

I didn’t seek permission to be the main character of my dreams. I just made it happen. I felt bold, but also scared. Trust me, like Courage, the Cowardly Dog, scared. I wagered a lot and yet, every time I wanted to claw back to second place, something in me said keep going.

As artists, what’s not always shared is the crossroad of vulnerability, the irony of love and launch.

My people reminded me of my crown, my gifts to the world. Bolder Joce, the brand, me, Jocelyn McQuirter a staff of one that’s been building for years. It’s been subtle, soulful, bold, and daring.

I took my dreams to the stage and with them, droves of joy and the believers who watched and supported my bloom.

I grew from survival mode. I moved and defined myself beyond jobs and motherhood. The support made it possible. I followed my heart and made it through hella cringy times.

While many, my 5 moments of 2025:

⭐Whitney Houston candlelight tribute with . Singing our hearts out was necessary ecstasy. I watched The Bodyguard for the first time; it reminded me to be the bodyguard of my dreams.

⭐Jungle Dreams yoga retreat in Costa Rica hosted by @ 512jungle. Best 48-hour decision to be bold and brave with my body. I needed the reset. Thank you for all the offerings of enlightenment and raw vulnerability.

⭐Published BIGGEST RAINBOWS IN THE SKY! Becoming an author's been a life dream. While many waters apart, , Suryaa Rajan, you brought the story alive with remarkable kid joy and courage.

⭐The book launch party was all about love. I thought I knew what joy was, but that night reminded me that joy is endless. From colleagues, friends, former interns, family, elementary school teachers, classmates, and more, the joy was full and forever deep.

⭐Joined the 1% club of marathon runners globally. I ran with so many people last year. I went ten toes down with resounding strength, rest, and finish speeds. Philly, I'll forever rave about you and when I do it again... I'm going where there’s good food and vibes.

Joy is currency. Thank you for the moments. Grateful. Extraordinary Joce.

12/14/2025

I delivered my best fight, flow, and finished my first-ever marathon.

I took to the path ready and willing to feel it all. Unplugged and wide open to new sights and sounds. I didn’t know how long it would take me, but I knew I had it in me to finish. Ready and willing. I kindled both joy and pain. I properly struggled and came out better and bolder.

Many took to the path. They ran past me, behind me, and alongside me. The fans did too. They cheered for their friends and strangers too. That’s the power of community. Community outside and plugged into the greatness in each other — even those they've never met before.

My latest post unpacks my journey on the course. I share a raw moment on the path — a loving reminder to be open to the messengers who show up in your life. Whether for a moment or a lifetime, they are there as journeyers with you, reminders of who you are and who you have the capacity to be.

The journey of a first-time marathon runner

11/28/2025

Living bolder, finished my first-ever marathon!

It was good fun, proper struggle, and hard earned victory.

What did I learn from running a marathon? I learned the art of pursuit. Going after my dreams in such a way that I was the only one who could clock in, do the work, and listen to my body.

If I didn't track when I needed to slow down, manage pain, and recover during training, the marathon would've looked way different.

I learned pursuit is messy. It doesn't always come at the right time. Sometimes pursuit comes dressed in grief, hardship, and despair. Sometimes pursuit is managing the letdowns while still appreciating the chance to begin again.

Pursuit will make you appreciate the darkness, for out of it, there is light.

Pursuit is the ability to suspend, stretch, and soar.

What I've learned to trust is that pursuit takes a willingness of mind. It takes openness to see only a mere glimpse of the path and trust what's ahead.

What's for you cannot be denied. What's for you can be in reach.

I'll write more about this experience soon. Right now, it's restful days and celebrating the BIGNESS OF LITERALLY CHASING MY DREAMS this year in very open and loud ways.

I'm thankful for the people I knew and the strangers along the path. Whether you were watching in-person, online, or in spirit, I felt the love. Every encouraging word and deed brought me forward and closer to the finish line. Thank you.