Stephanie Dowrick - Everyday Kindness: Shortcuts to a Happier and More Confident Life

Praise for Stephanie Dowrick and Everyday Kindness

A lilting genius of the inner worlds.

SARK, BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF SUCCULENTWILDWOMEN AND EATMANGOSNAKED

Through thoughtful observations and compelling stories, Dowrick models for the reader an effective way to consider the journey toward love of others and of self.

PUBLISHERSWEEKLY

[Dowricks] wisdom is contagious. If anyone can cause a happiness revolution, she can.

P AUL W ILSON, INTERNATIONAL BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF THELITTLEBOOK OFCALM

Once again, Stephanie Dowrick has drawn on her extensive experience... to deliver a book that will appeal to anyone looking to improve the quality of their life. This is insightful, stimulating reading which will leave readers feeling positive about themselves.

BOOKSELLER& PUBLISHER MAGAZINE (4-STAR REVIEW)

Courageous and original, [Dowrick] asks the most difficult questions with enormous heart and intelligence.

J OYCE R EISER K ORNBLATT, AUTHOR OF THEREASON FORWINGS

In Everyday Kindness, Stephanie Dowrick shows how a world of love and happiness is within our reach. Typical of Dowricks work, Everyday Kindness is a warm, inspiring and engaging exploration of what it means to be happy and how the smallest acts of kindness can make all the difference.... [It is] highly personable and enlightening, making this a book thats especially relevant for our overworked and over-stressed culture.

WELLBEING MAGAZINE

Stephanie Dowrick is unashamed to make a stand for wonder and the incredible gift of living. Like so many thinkers before her, she recognizes that until we respect ourselves and begin to reflect this respect in our behavior toward others, we are diminished as individuals and as a society.

W ALTER M ASON, AUTHOR OF DESTINATIONSAIGON

Dr. Stephanie Dowrick is making a calmer, happier and more rewarding life possible with this intimate, deeply reassuring book.

INSIGHT MAGAZINE

Stephanie Dowricks words are like a soothing balm that she applies to our scratches and cuts and sometimes terrible pain. In Everyday Kindness she brings together the wisdom, experience and learning she has gained from a rich and varied life.... This is a perfect book to dip into.

THESATURDAYAGE

This self-development book is helpful and wise. Stephanie Dowrick is renowned for her writing on relationships, spirituality, and how to foster a happy life.... This book is essentially a reflection on emotional intelligence and how to develop its gifts. Whether discussing parenting, friendship, love, housework, sex, diet, or alcohol, Dowrick provides the perceptive and practical advice you would welcome from a friend.

HERALDSUN

Also by Stephanie Dowrick

FICTION

Running Backwards Over Sand

Tasting Salt

NONFICTION

Intimacy and Solitude

The Intimacy & Solitude Self-Therapy Book

Forgiveness and Other Acts of Love

The Universal Heart

Free Thinking

Choosing Happiness

Creative Journal Writing

The Almost-Perfect Marriage

In the Company of Rilke

Seeking the Sacred

Everyday Kindness

Shortcuts to a Happier and More Confident Life

STEPHANIE DOWRICK

JEREMY P. TARCHER/PENGUIN

a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

New York

JEREMY P. TARCHER/PENGUIN

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephens Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

Originally published in Australia as Everyday Kindness by Allen & Unwin in 2011.

First American edition published by Jeremy P. Tarcher in 2012.

Copyright 2011 by Wise Angels Pty Ltd

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

Published simultaneously in Canada

Most Tarcher/Penguin books are available at special quantity discounts for bulk purchase for sales promotions, premiums, fund-raising, and educational needs. Special books or book excerpts also can be created to fit specific needs. For details, write Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Special Markets, 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Dowrick, Stephanie.

Everyday kindness : shortcuts to a happier and more confident life / Stephanie Dowrick. 1st American ed.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-101-60129-7

1. Kindness. 2. Conduct of life. 3. Happiness. 4. Self-esteem. I. Title.

BJ1533.K5D69 2012 2012017644

177'.7dc23

Neither the publisher nor the author is engaged in rendering professional advice or services to the individual reader. The ideas, procedures, and suggestions contained in this book are not intended as a substitute for consulting with your physician. All matters regarding your health require medical supervision. Neither the author nor the publisher shall be liable or responsible for any loss or damage allegedly arising from any information or suggestion in this book.

While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers and Internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors, or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

FOR MADELEINE

May the giving and receiving of kindness be your constant blessing.

Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. The third is to be kind.

Henry James

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.

His Holiness, the Dalai Lama

The little unremembered acts of kindness and love are the best parts of a persons life.