Customer Reviews

Ordinary Grace: An Examination of the Roots of Compassion, Altruism, and Empathy, and the Ordinary Individuals Who Help Others in Extraordinary Ways

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Kathleen Brehony's book makes reminds you each day about the truism; "if not me Who,if not now, When! The author makes a strong argument for Who really benefits most, the receiver or the giver. The Giver wins each time in Ordinary Grace.

Kathleen Brehony's Ordinary Grace just makes you feel good all over. I have sent copies along with letters to several friends who could have been in her book and it gave me an excuse to register how much I have been touched by THEIR ORDINARY GRACE!

This book is truly inspirational and reminds us of the true meaning of love and compassion. A must read which I have recommended to family and friends.

Ordinary Grace is the work of an amazing author whose insight and sensitivity create the inspirational message for all of us to be better people in our ordinary lives. Beyond that, the work inspires us to be better than we thought we ever could be beginning with tomorrow.......you must read it and tell everyone you know about it....believe me the world will be a better place!!

What a wonderful idea- to showcase people who give, whether a sandwich to a hungry person, or a kidney to a dying person. We learn why they gave, what inspired the particular act, what the circumstances were that led up to the act of giving, and how their lives were impacted subsequently. For some of us, to give is a habit, for others, a one-time occurrence, and for still others, a strange idea. For all of us, this book shows the potential transformation that awaits from a simple act of will and grace.

I just happened to find this book one day while browsing around in a bookstore and was intrigued by the title. Little did I realize what a gift I had stumbled on. I have cried and laughed and thoroughly enjoyed every story told by the author. I will definitely be sharing it with friends and family. What a necessary reminder that there are good deeds done everyday if we choose to notice them. This book is a perfect antidote to the evening news or front page of the newspaper and will surely put a smile on your face!

Ordinary Grace is the most hopeful book for the human condition that I have read in years. Kathleen Brehony is a gifted storyteller and brilliant social scientist who through her stories of the extraordinary compassion of ordinary people in caring for others she demonstrates that mankind is innately good. She takes us "up close and personal" in her interviews with these "ordinary" people and we find what we have often forgotten in ourselves, that goodness and expressing our goodness is a part of our basic nature. We naturally feel compassion for our fellow man and we long for opportunities to express it. Ordinary Grace shows us the way through numerous examples of the opportunities that others have found and the opportunities that are available to us each day in each moment. She says "Grace is always present; it surrounds us at every moment of everyday in profoundly moving experiences and in small, almost imperceptible ways". Brehony skillfully engages our minds and our hearts to guide us there. This book will hold your attention, bring you to tears, make you feel good about yourself and the world and will inspire you live in grace. I have given several copies as gifts and have recommended it to friends and clients. The unanimous feedback is "this is a book to pass on to others".