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

A Year of Living Kindly
270 Pages
ISBN ISBN: 978-1-63152-479

Most of us aspire to be kind. But being kind isn’t always easy. Our best intentions often fade when the realities of daily life intrude: traffic, telemarketers, crowded spaces, time constraints, and our own ineptness. 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.

A YEAR OF LIVING KINDLY explores what a kind life entails and provides suggestions for how each of us can strengthen our kindness muscle so living a life of kindness becomes ever easier and more natural.

In these pages you’ll see how a commitment to kindness will improve your life in countless ways, and ultimately can be world-changing. You’ll discover: • Why choosing kindness is good for you • Why extending and receiving kindness are often difficult • What the barriers are to kindness and how to overcome them • How to nurture and strengthen the skills of kindness • What to do when you’re faced with unkindness and incivility • How kindness is a strength that will bring you peace and happiness

Using stories, observation, humor, and summaries of expert research—Donna Cameron shares her experience committing to 365 days of practicing kindness. In 52 bite-sized chapters, you’ll learn not only the hows of kindness, but also the whys. This practical guide will shine a light on how we can create a better, safer, and more just world, and will help any reader make a life-changing commitment to kindness. Want to change your life and also change the world? It begins with choosing kindness.

Donna Cameron

About Donna Cameron (Seattle, Washington Author)

Donna Cameron

Donna Cameron, author of A YEAR OF LIVING KINDLY, 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 crankiness), but she knew that true kindness was a step above. Over the course of that year, she learned that living a kind life takes practice, patience, and understanding . . . not to mention a sense of humor. When Donna’s year of living kindly concluded, she saw that kindness is not something one commits to for a year and then moves on. It’s a lifelong path—not a destination, but a way of life. She learned that choosing kindness—even when it’s hard, especially when it’s hard—will not only change lives, but might just change the world.

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.