A Simple Act of Gratitude

“[A] profoundly honest and uplifting” memoir about a man who turned his life around by writing thank you notes to all who had showed him kindness (Jeffrey Zaslow, National Bestselling author of The Last Lecture)

At age fifty-three, John Kralik found his life at a frightening low: his law firm was failing; he was struggling through a painful divorce; he had grown distant from his children; he was forty pounds overweight; his girlfriend had just broken up with him; and his dream of becoming a judge—seemed to have slipped beyond his reach.

Inspired by a note his ex-girlfriend had sent to thank him for his Christmas gift, John imagined that he might find a way to feel grateful for what he did have in his life by writing thank-you notes. He set himself a goal of writing 365 thank-you notes in the coming year.

One by one, he began to handwrite thank yous—for gifts or kindnesses he'd received from loved ones and coworkers, from college friends and doctors and store clerks and handymen and neighbors—anyone who'd done him a good turn, however large or small. Immediately after he'd sent his very first notes, significant and surprising benefits began to come John's way—from financial gain to true friendship, from weight loss to inner peace. While John wrote his notes, the economy collapsed, the bank across the street from his office failed, but thank-you note by thank-you note, John's whole life turned around.

A Simple Act of Gratitude is a rare memoir: its touching, immediately accessible message—and benefits—come to readers from the plainspoken storytelling of an ordinary man. To read A Simple Act of Gratitude is to be changed.