A Year of Living Kindly: Choices That Will Change Your Life and the World Around You

by Donna Cameron

Overview

2020 New York City Big Book Awards Winner in Self-Help: Motivational
2020 14th Annual National Indie Excellence Award-Winner in Self-Help Motivational
2019 IPPY Gold Medal Winner: Self Help
2019 Nautilius Book Awards Gold Winner in Personal Growth & Self-Help
2019 Next Generation Indie Book Awards: Gold Medal Winner in Motivational
2019 Readers’ Favorite Awards: Gold Medal Winner in Nonfiction Self-Help
2019 Eric Hoffer Award Winner: Self-Help
2019 Independent Author Network Book of the Year Awards: First Place in Self-Help
2019 Chanticleer I & I Book Awards for Instruction and Insight Finalist
2019 International Book Awards: Finalist, Self-Help: General
2019 Nancy Pearl Best Book Award: Finalist in Memoir
2019 Eric Hoffer Montaigne Medal: Finalist
2019 Foreword Indies Finalist: Adult Nonfiction—Self-Help
Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2018

Being kind is something most of us do when it’s easy and when it suits us. Being kind when we don’t feel like it, or when all of our buttons are being pushed, is hard. But that’s also when it’s most needed; that’s when it can defuse anger and even violence, when it can restore civility in our personal and virtual interactions. Kindness has the power to profoundly change our relationships with other people and with ourselves. It can, in fact, change the world.

In A Year of Living Kindly—using stories, observation, humor, and summaries of expert research—Donna Cameron shares her experience committing to 365 days of practicing kindness. She presents compelling research into the myriad benefits of kindness, including health, wealth, longevity, improved relationships, and personal and business success. She explores what a kind life entails, and what gets in the way of it. And she provides practical and experiential suggestions for how each of us can strengthen our kindness muscle so choosing a life of kindness becomes ever easier and more natural. An inspiring, practical guide that can help any reader make a commitment to kindness, A Year of Living Kindly shines a light on how we can create a better, safer, and more just world—and how you can be part of that transformation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781631524790
Publisher:	She Writes Press
Publication date:	09/25/2018
Pages:	296
Sales rank:	161,290
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Donna Cameron has spent her career working with nonprofit organizations and causes—as an executive, consultant, trainer, and volunteer. She has seen kindness in action and been awed by its power to transform. When she committed to a year of living kindly she considered herself a reasonably nice person (with occasional lapses into bitchiness), but she knew that true kindness was a step above—and over the course of that year, she learned that it takes practice, patience, and understanding . . . not to mention a sense of humor. The recipient of multiple writing awards, Cameron has published numerous articles and, in 2011, coauthored (with Kristen Leathers) One Hill, Many Voices: Stories of Hope and Healing. Raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Donna now lives in a suburb of Seattle with her husband.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The World Gould Use More Kindness 11

The Season of Discovery

I Understanding Kindness

1 Being Nice Isn't the Same as Being Kind 17

2 If I Were Always Kind, I Wouldn't Be Doing This 22

3 The Chasm between Kindness and Unkindness 26

4 Kindness and Indifference Cannot Coexist 30

II Why Kindness Matters: Its Benefits and Power

5 Perform Two Acts of Kindness and Call Me in the Morning 35

6 Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo: Kindness Alleviates Social Anxiety 41

7 An Epidemic of Our Own Choosing 45

3 The Business Case for Kindness 49

III Opening Strategies for a Kind Life

9 The Power of the Pause 57

10 Kindness Means Suspending Judgment 61

11 Kindness and Keeping Score 65

12 "Kill Transform 'cm with Kindness": A Lesson from My Mother 69

13 Dancing with Discovery: Taking Time to Notice the Kindness in Your Life 73

The Season of Understanding

I Barriers to Kindness

14 When Fear Gets in the Way of Kindness 79

15 When We Don't Have Time for Kindness 84

16 I Don't Have the Patience for This! 88

17 Other Barriers to Kindness 93

II Resistance to Kindness

18 Rejecting Kindness 101

19 On the Receiving End of Kindness 105

20 It All Starts with Kindness to Self 108

21 No Kindness Is Ever Too Small 113

III Opening Our Lives to Kindness

22 Kindness and Abundance: Enough Is Enough! 119

23 Gratitude Is a Companion to Kindness 123

24 Kindness and Generosity: It's Not All about Money 129

25 Pay Attention: Kindness Requires Presence 134

26 Dancing with Understanding: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back 138

The Season of Choosing

I The Tools of Kindness

27 A Life of Kindness Requires Courage 143

28 Kindness and Curiosity 146

29 Kindness and Vulnerability 150

30 Choosing to Be For or Against 155

II Choosing Kindness

31 What Do You Want Your Legacy to Be? 161

32 Extending Kindness to All: Kindness Isn't Selective or Conditional 164

33 Oh, the Stones We Tell! 168

34 What Are You Looking For (Really)? 172

III Dealing with Unkindness

35 Big Bullies 181

36 Little Bullies: Where It All Begins 186

37 By standing … or Standing Up for Kindness? 190

38 Choosing Our Cyber-Voices and Media Companions 195

39 Dancing with Yes: Dance like No One's Watching 200

The Season of Becoming

I Challenges to Kindness

40 When My Kindness Is Your "Yuck!" 205

41 What If I Don't Feel Like Being Kind? 208

42 Being Kind to People We Don't Like 214

43 I'm Just Sayin'… Honesty Isn't Always Kind 218

44 When the Kindest Thing to Do Is … Absolutely Nothing 224

II Creating a Kinder World

45 A Transformation or an Evolution? The Five Percent Plan 231

46 What We Want Most for Our Kids 234

47 Kindness to the Earth and All Its Creatures 239

48 Strategies for Bringing Kindness into Your Life 246

III Living Kindness Every Day: Your Kindness Legacy

49 Kind Actions That Cost Nothing and Take Little Time 255

50 A Dozen Reasons to Choose Kindness 258

51 The Lessons of Kindness 262

52 The Never-Ending Dance: A Kindness Manifesto 268

Notes 273

Acknowledgments 283

About the Author 287

Editorial Reviews

2020 New York City Big Book Awards Winner in Self-Help: Motivational
2020 Independent Press Awards Winner in Self Help/Motivational
2019 IPPY Gold Medal Winner: Self Help
2019 Nautilius Book Awards Gold Winner in Personal Growth & Self-Help
2019 Best Book Awards: Gold Medal Winner in Best Cover Design
2019 Next Generation Indie Book Awards: Gold Medal Winner in Motivational
2019 Readers’ Favorite Awards: Gold Medal Winner in Nonfiction Self-Help
2019 Eric Hoffer Award Winner: Self-Help
2019 Independent Author Network Book of the Year Awards: First Place in Self-Help
2019 Chanticleer I & I Book Awards for Instruction and Insight Finalist
2019 International Book Awards: Finalist, Self-Help: General
2019 Nancy Pearl Best Book Award: Finalist in Memoir
2019 Eric Hoffer Montaigne Medal: Finalist
2019 Foreword Indies Finalist: Adult Nonfiction—Self-Help
Named as one of Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2018

“An extraordinary and timely contribution in these troubled times.”
—Midwest Book Review

“Cameron knows how to captivate an audience; her prose is, by turns, humorous, astute, logical, eloquent, and sincere. Cameron’s anecdotes are consistently memorable, and her analysis of them is often brilliant. Overall, this well-organized book is engaging enough to read quickly but profound enough to savor slowly.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Frankly, the world needs this book right now. For anyone who is frustrated at the lack of kindness in the world these days—or for anyone who has become desensitized to it—A Year of Living Kindly is a must-read. It’s a sledgehammer to indifference and resignation, and a reminder that being kind doesn’t mean being weak.”
—Independent Publisher Magazine

“A Year of Living Kindly is a beautifully rendered exploration of kindness as a way of life, arriving at the right moment, with the right guide. Donna Cameron writes with humor and grace about this essential virtue. She makes it easy to follow her path—and to want to follow it.”
—Sarah L. Kaufman, author of The Art of Grace and Pulitzer Prize-winning critic for The Washington Post

“Donna Cameron’s contagious warmth, compelling stories, persuasive logic, and useful advice make this gem a joy to read. After I finished each lovely little chapter, I understood the path to kindness a bit better, my inspiration to keep moving down that path increased, and my resolve to forgive myself and others when we slip into unkindness grew stronger.”
—Robert Sutton, Stanford Professor and bestselling author of The No Asshole Rule and The Asshole Survival Guide

“Most people are kind, but don’t always know how to express it. In A Year of Living Kindly, Donna Cameron shares both the why and how of kindness. She’s written a wise, captivating guide for those wishing to claim the power of kindness and use it to change the world.”
—Leon Logothetis, Bestselling author of The Kindness Diaries

“Just being nice will not be enough to save the civility of today’s world. It will take the patience and focus of true and loving kindness. Don’t assume you know what is needed or how to do it until you read Donna Cameron’s A Year of Living Kindly. You will find inspiration for every experience and season of your life.”
—John Kralik, Author of A Simple Act of Gratitude

“This book will absolutely light your heart on fire for kindness! In A Year of Living Kindly, Donna Cameron encourages us to suspend our spectator status and fully embrace what’s happening around us. Through collected research and her own wise observations, she generously shows us how to lead fuller lives through kindness.”
—Nicole J Phillips, author of Kindness is Contagious, Host of The Kindness Podcast

“It's irrefutable that being kind—on purpose—improves health and wellness. With fifty-two delicious, bite-sized chapters containing actionable examples that help readers weave intentional kindness into their daily lives, you can be sure A Year of Living Kindly is a book I'll prescribe to my clients.”
—Laurie Buchanan, PhD, holistic health practitioner, life coach, and author

“An exquisite thread of compassion and kindness is interwoven throughout Donna Cameron’s book, A Year of Living Kindly. With beautiful wisdom and utterly clear examples, this book leads the reader to a new understanding of how to make the world a better place for all of us. I will recommend this book wherever I go.”
—Danna Beal, M.Ed., speaker, coach, and author of The Extraordinary Workplace: Replacing Fear with Trust and Compassion

“Although being kind sounds a lot like being nice, Donna Cameron shares how these two acts are very different. A Year of Living Kindly offers remarkable insights on how to increase your dose of happiness by adding kindness into your daily encounters. I’ve been inspired!”
—Linda Atwell, author of Loving Lindsey: Raising a Daughter with Special Needs

“A Year of Living Kindly is a wise, insightful guidebook—a timely gift to the world. In an era when mean-spiritedness, anger, and polarization are rampant, Cameron draws from her own experience and extensive research, demonstrating that being kind makes a profound difference, while also enhancing our health and wellbeing.”
—Susan Avery Stewart, PhD, emerita Professor of Psychology (Sonoma State University), Licensed MFT, and author of Winter’s Graces: The Surprising Gifts of Later Life

From the Publisher

★ 2018-10-17

A year's worth of valuable insights about kindness.

In 2015, Cameron (One Hill, Many Voices, 2011) dedicated a whole year to becoming a kinder person. The abundant lessons she learned comprise this book, and early on, she makes an important distinction between being kind and being nice: "Nice doesn't ask too much of us…holding the door, smiling at the cashier….[Kind] means thinking about the impact I'm having in an interaction with someone and endeavoring to make it rich and meaningful." She makes a convincing case for doing the latter, noting its benefits to physical health, mental health, and even business success. She then works her way through the many obstacles to being kind, including fear, time constraints, impatience, and resentment. Other sections examine how to react to unkind interactions, how to be kinder to oneself, and dozens of other related concepts. To conclude each chapter, the author writes a powerful "Kindness in Action" paragraph with reflective questions and clear invitations to help readers truly apply the book's principles. As a longtime blogger, Cameron knows how to captivate an audience; her prose is, by turns, humorous, astute, logical, eloquent, and sincere. There are no distracting tangents, and there's no meaningless "fluff" to fill space. Cameron is also genuinely open about her own weaknesses; for example, she writes that when she first committed to the idea of being kinder, she "all-too-quickly resumed my cranky ways, stopping and starting kindness like a sputtering engine." Cameron's anecdotes are consistently memorable, and her analysis of them is often brilliant. Overall, this well-organized book is engaging enough to read quickly but profound enough to savor slowly.

A thorough, genuine, and highly effective self-help work.

Kirkus Reviews