Make Your Own Sunshine: Inspiring Stories of People Who Find Light in Dark Times

by Janice Dean

Overview

These are the kinds of stories we need right now.

While the news is filled with villains and villainy, we do see a few famous heroes now again. But what about the everyday heroes? The people going out of their way bring a little love into someone else's life? They deserve a time in the spotlight to inspire us all.

Life can be tough—but it helps to know other people have come through hard times with a smile on their face. In Make Your Own Sunshine, Janice Dean shares inspiring stories that will lift your spirit and touch your heart. Good people are all around us doing selfless deeds, from a firefighter who bravely battled for his colleague’s health after 9/11 to a good Samaritan who secretly pays for the coffees of everyone in line behind him.  You can’t help but smile reading about the teacher who cut her hair to make her student feel better.  And you may shed a tear when you hear the story of the dad who never missed writing a napkin note for his daughter, including stashing extra notes in case he lost his batter with cancer.  From a young man who makes bow ties for dogs waiting to be adopted to an Uber driver who brightened a new mom’s day by helping her buy baby clothes, the heroes in this story will warm your heart and stick in your mind.

Janice has made it her mission to uncover and document these good stories to inspire us and gives us a much-needed boost of optimism. All we have to do is open our minds and our hearts, to look for the light on a cloudy day. Because as she reminds us, if we don’t make our own sunshine—who will? 

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781799950141
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	03/02/2021
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 6.70(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Janice Dean is the senior meteorologist at Fox News, and serves as the morning meteorologist on Fox and Friends. She lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

Prologue 1

Chapter 1 Handle with Care 7

Chapter 2 Napkin Notes Dad 17

Chapter 21/2 Emma the Napkin Note Kid 27

Chapter 3 MS Journeys 35

Chapter 4 Friendly Skies 43

Chapter 5 Father-Daughter Dance 55

Chapter 6 Cuts Above the Rest 63

Chapter 7 Baby Steps 71

Chapter 8 Sometimes Your Last Chance Is Just the Beginning 79

Chapter 9 Can I Take Your Order? 89

Chapter 10 Valentine's Day Deliveries 97

Chapter 11 Give Early, Give Often 113

Chapter 12 Forever Dad 125

Chapter 13 Teaching Older Dogs New Tricks 135

Chapter 14 Happy Birthday, Gerard! 141

Chapter 15 Principal Wallace 149

Chapter 16 Ray of Light 157

Chapter 17 Grocery Delivery in the Beginning of a Pandemic 165

Chapter 18 Share Your Smile Movement 175

Chapter 19 Tebow (Makes the Dash Special) 185

Chapter 20 Officer Conley 193

Chapter 21 More Good 201

Epilogue 209

Acknowledgments 215

Websites 219

Editorial Reviews

Does anyone picture Janice Dean without that big, beautiful smile she carries with her everywhere she goes? And it’s a choice, to find the sunshine, because she’s been through a lot. So let her take you on this journey and show you how she does it—by seeing the good and shining it out there for us all!” — Martha MacCallum, anchor of The Story and New York Times bestselling author

“These are the kinds of stories the public needs right now. Read them and feel better about the wonderful people who help make up these United States.” — Jake Tapper, CNN anchor and author of The Outpost

“As a fellow meteorologist and human, there is no message I like to live by more than the clouds don’t last forever, they can’t and won’t. That’s not how the atmosphere works, and it’s not how life works. In this beautifully written book, Janice helps us utilize the storm and cloud killers—kindness, serving others, and gratitude. Those three superpowers are beyond necessary to manage life’s storms, and I love the way my friend weaves them into our wild world." — Ginger Zee, chief meteorologist at ABC News, New York Times bestselling author of Natural Disaster

“I have known Janice for a very long time and have found her to be a constant ray of sunshine for everyone around her. She is the perfect messenger to deliver these hope- and love-filled stories to a hurting world.” — Kathie Lee Gifford

“The many acts of generosity, kindness, and dedication found in this book touch on the very essence of what is important in life. You can’t help but feel inspired after reading these stories. These individuals’ extraordinary acts for the benefit of others make them all coaches in life.”    — Coach Lou Holtz, College Football Hall of Fame coach, speaker, author, analyst, and Presidential Medal of Honor honoree 

“Janice Dean understands a universal, immutable truth of human nature—the fact that we all have the ingredients within ourselves to create a happy, meaningful life. In Make Your Own Sunshine, she conveys that truth with the full weight of her wisdom, humor, and enormous heart. I can’t think of a better message to share at a point in history fraught with so much anxiety, fear, and uncertainty. Read on, center yourself, and remember your own incredible power to shape life as you see fit.” — Chef Robert Irvine, host of Restaurant: Impossible

From the Publisher

Does anyone picture Janice Dean without that big, beautiful smile she carries with her everywhere she goes? And it’s a choice, to find the sunshine, because she’s been through a lot. So let her take you on this journey and show you how she does it—by seeing the good and shining it out there for us all!

Martha MacCallum

As a fellow meteorologist and human, there is no message I like to live by more than the clouds don’t last forever, they can’t and won’t. That’s not how the atmosphere works, and it’s not how life works. In this beautifully written book, Janice helps us utilize the storm and cloud killers—kindness, serving others, and gratitude. Those three superpowers are beyond necessary to manage life’s storms, and I love the way my friend weaves them into our wild world."

Ginger Zee

I have known Janice for a very long time and have found her to be a constant ray of sunshine for everyone around her. She is the perfect messenger to deliver these hope- and love-filled stories to a hurting world.

Kathie Lee Gifford

These are the kinds of stories the public needs right now. Read them and feel better about the wonderful people who help make up these United States.

Jake Tapper

The many acts of generosity, kindness, and dedication found in this book touch on the very essence of what is important in life. You can’t help but feel inspired after reading these stories. These individuals’ extraordinary acts for the benefit of others make them all coaches in life.”   

Coach Lou Holtz

Janice Dean understands a universal, immutable truth of human nature—the fact that we all have the ingredients within ourselves to create a happy, meaningful life. In Make Your Own Sunshine, she conveys that truth with the full weight of her wisdom, humor, and enormous heart. I can’t think of a better message to share at a point in history fraught with so much anxiety, fear, and uncertainty. Read on, center yourself, and remember your own incredible power to shape life as you see fit.

Chef Robert Irvine