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Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks
If gratitude is good, why is it so hard to do? In Grateful, Diana Butler Bass untangles our conflicting understandings of gratitude and sets the table for a renewed practice of giving thanks.
We know that gratitude is good, but many of us find it hard to sustain a meaningful life of gratefulness. Four out of five Americans report feeling gratitude on a regular basis, but those private feelings seem disconnected from larger concerns of our public lives. In Grateful, cultural observer and theologian Diana Butler Bass takes on this “gratitude gap” and offers up surprising, relevant, and powerful insights to practice gratitude.
Bass, author of the award-winning Grounded and ten other books on spirituality and culture, explores the transformative, subversive power of gratitude for our personal lives and in communities. Using her trademark blend of historical research, spiritual insights, and timely cultural observation, she shows how we can overcome this gap and make change in our own lives and in the world.
With honest stories and heartrending examples from history and her own life, Bass reclaims gratitude as a path to greater connection with god, with others, with the world, and even with our own souls. It’s time to embrace a more radical practice of gratitude—the virtue that heals us and helps us thrive.
We know that gratitude is good, but many of us find it hard to sustain a meaningful life of gratefulness. Four out of five Americans report feeling gratitude on a regular basis, but those private feelings seem disconnected from larger concerns of our public lives. In Grateful, cultural observer and theologian Diana Butler Bass takes on this “gratitude gap” and offers up surprising, relevant, and powerful insights to practice gratitude.
Bass, author of the award-winning Grounded and ten other books on spirituality and culture, explores the transformative, subversive power of gratitude for our personal lives and in communities. Using her trademark blend of historical research, spiritual insights, and timely cultural observation, she shows how we can overcome this gap and make change in our own lives and in the world.
With honest stories and heartrending examples from history and her own life, Bass reclaims gratitude as a path to greater connection with god, with others, with the world, and even with our own souls. It’s time to embrace a more radical practice of gratitude—the virtue that heals us and helps us thrive.
224 pages, Hardcover
Published April 3, 2018
495 people are currently reading
1809 people want to read
About the author
Diana Butler Bass
33 books252 followersDiana Butler Bass is an author, speaker, and independent scholar specializing in American religion and culture. She holds a PhD in religious studies from Duke University and is the author of seven books, including the bestselling Christianity for the Rest of Us, released by HarperOne in 2006. It was named as one of the best religion books of the year by Publishers Weekly and Christian Century, won the Book of the Year Award from the Academy of Parish Clergy, and was featured in a cover story in USA Today. Her much-anticipated next book, A People's History of Christianity, will be released in March 2009 from HarperOne. She is currently Senior Fellow at the Cathedral College of the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Bass regularly consults with religious organizations, leads conferences for religious leaders, and teaches and preaches in a variety of venues.
Bass blogs at Progressive Revival on Beliefnet and Sojourners' God's Politics. She regularly comments on religion, politics, and culture in the media including USA Today, Time, Newsweek, The Washington Post, CNN, FOX, PBS, and NPR. From 1995 to 2000, she wrote a weekly column on American religion for the New York Times syndicate. She has written widely in the religious press, including Sojourners, Christian Century, Clergy Journal, and Congregations.
From 2002 to 2006, she was the Project Director of a national Lilly Endowment funded study of mainline Protestant vitality—a project featured in Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times. Bass also serves on the board of directors of the Beatitudes Society.
She has taught at Westmont College, the University of California at Santa Barbara, Macalester College, Rhodes College, and the Virginia Theological Seminary. She has taught church history, American religious history, history of Christian thought, religion and politics, and congregational studies.
Bass and her husband, Richard, live with their family in Alexandria, Virginia. She is a member of the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in downtown Washington, D.C.
Bass blogs at Progressive Revival on Beliefnet and Sojourners' God's Politics. She regularly comments on religion, politics, and culture in the media including USA Today, Time, Newsweek, The Washington Post, CNN, FOX, PBS, and NPR. From 1995 to 2000, she wrote a weekly column on American religion for the New York Times syndicate. She has written widely in the religious press, including Sojourners, Christian Century, Clergy Journal, and Congregations.
From 2002 to 2006, she was the Project Director of a national Lilly Endowment funded study of mainline Protestant vitality—a project featured in Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times. Bass also serves on the board of directors of the Beatitudes Society.
She has taught at Westmont College, the University of California at Santa Barbara, Macalester College, Rhodes College, and the Virginia Theological Seminary. She has taught church history, American religious history, history of Christian thought, religion and politics, and congregational studies.
Bass and her husband, Richard, live with their family in Alexandria, Virginia. She is a member of the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in downtown Washington, D.C.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 174 reviews
May 12, 2018
I love a lot of her ideas but about half way thru she started sounding more like she wrote this book to deal with her sorrow over Trump winning the election.
June 5, 2018
This is just not the book for me. I didn't check out the author before starting, just was interested in the title. While I am sure the author would agree that gratitude need not be based on christian theology, there was too much emphasis for me. I read 1/2 and looked ahead to see essays on prayers and gave up.
July 12, 2018
Content Warning for this book: it contains elements of white feminism--and transphobia--e.g pussy hats at the Women's March.
The thing I found most compelling about this book is its argument that gratitude is a communal, ethical, and political concept. It's a complex idea and I somehow wish Butler Bass had expanded on it a little more just help flesh it out in a concrete way.
It was interesting reading this book because it did contain some racial analysis, and it also contained elements that relate to racial analysis but that she did not overtly connect to racism and white supremacy. For example, rampant individualism is a symptom of white supremacy, and one of this book's aims is to combat rampant individualism, but the author doesn't always put that argument in racial terms--however, she does acknowledge that native peoples and the Black community have often relied on and invented more communal ways of existing [than white culture does]. So that's one example of making the racial connection in a more overt way. She also talks a lot about power and privilege, but again, doesn't always overtly connect power and privilege to race (but sometimes she does).
Overall, I found the book intriguing and illuminating, and often lays the groundwork for ideas about power and privilege, though it doesn't always clearly make the connection between those things and racial dynamics in the US, which I think is a shortcoming.
The thing I found most compelling about this book is its argument that gratitude is a communal, ethical, and political concept. It's a complex idea and I somehow wish Butler Bass had expanded on it a little more just help flesh it out in a concrete way.
It was interesting reading this book because it did contain some racial analysis, and it also contained elements that relate to racial analysis but that she did not overtly connect to racism and white supremacy. For example, rampant individualism is a symptom of white supremacy, and one of this book's aims is to combat rampant individualism, but the author doesn't always put that argument in racial terms--however, she does acknowledge that native peoples and the Black community have often relied on and invented more communal ways of existing [than white culture does]. So that's one example of making the racial connection in a more overt way. She also talks a lot about power and privilege, but again, doesn't always overtly connect power and privilege to race (but sometimes she does).
Overall, I found the book intriguing and illuminating, and often lays the groundwork for ideas about power and privilege, though it doesn't always clearly make the connection between those things and racial dynamics in the US, which I think is a shortcoming.
November 20, 2022
I LOVED this book! I read it as part of writing my Thanksgiving sermon -- a book by a trusted author from among tons of books on gratitude. It was helpful for the sermon, but more than that -- it was one of those books that as I read -- something shifted within me -- not something big -- but a click -- as if the book turned my internal kaleidoscope, and a new and beautiful pattern emerged -- one I hadn't seen before. Butler Bass's approach is straightforward. She contends that gratitude is both an emotion (a complex of emotions, to be precise) and an action/ethos (a way of living). And, gratitude is both personal and communal. She structures her book along those vectors -- gratitude as personal experience; personal practice/ethos; community experience; community practice/ethos. Along the way, she describes the science that finds connections between gratitude and well-being; she engages Scripture; and she offers some accessible practices.
Here's one of my favorite quotes:
"There is, however, an alternative structure of gratefulness, one that holds out the possibility of spiritual and ethical transformation—that of gift and response. In this mode, gifts exist before benefactors. The universe is a gift. Life is a gift. Air, light, soil, and water are gifts. Friendship, love, sex, and family are gifts. We live on a gifted planet. Everything we need is here, with us. We freely respond to these gifts by choosing a life of mutual care."
Here's one of my favorite quotes:
"There is, however, an alternative structure of gratefulness, one that holds out the possibility of spiritual and ethical transformation—that of gift and response. In this mode, gifts exist before benefactors. The universe is a gift. Life is a gift. Air, light, soil, and water are gifts. Friendship, love, sex, and family are gifts. We live on a gifted planet. Everything we need is here, with us. We freely respond to these gifts by choosing a life of mutual care."
March 20, 2019
Though I totally understand the interest and need to expand her audience, I missed the authoritative voice of a church historian that I’ve come to value in Bass’ work. Her faith is certainly reflected in this text but it all felt a bit tentative perhaps because I feel as much an ingrate as she claims to have been. It felt too broad to me and I wanted the focus I’ve appreciated in her previous works.
June 18, 2021
This book gave me goosebumps. And I mean that in a very positive way.
So much of what author Diana Butler Bass writes is filled with such a bold, no-holds-barred understanding of the human condition that her words resonated so deeply, I got goosebumps.
Being grateful is more than writing a thank-you note, although that's always a good thing to do. Being grateful is a way of life that you embrace not only spiritually and emotionally, but also physically. This is a how-to guide to the myriad ways we can give thanks—from saying thank you to grandparents for birthday checks to praying thanks to God for our very existence. Best of all, it's filled with practical and effective techniques on how to become more grateful.
While gratitude may be a spiritual technique, it is much more than that. When done right, it becomes a habit and one that is so ingrained that it actually shapes who you are as a human being. Bass says, "Feeling grateful empowers the soul." Most important, gratitude is not about material goods. Instead, it's an emotional response to the surprises that life holds, as well as a disposition that you can actually choose and cultivate even when life feels scary, sad, or threatening. Yes, gratitude is a feeling, but even more so, it's an action.
This is a very personal book as Bass shares stories from her own life, some of which are deeply private and so were probably difficult to put out there is so public a way. But the stories all serve to show how—even under the most difficult of circumstances—she still managed to develop the habit of gratitude.
The superpower of this book is that it is essentially a non-preachy blueprint for developing and perfecting your own sense of gratitude. And in this sense, it can be life-changing in a myriad of positive ways.
So much of what author Diana Butler Bass writes is filled with such a bold, no-holds-barred understanding of the human condition that her words resonated so deeply, I got goosebumps.
Being grateful is more than writing a thank-you note, although that's always a good thing to do. Being grateful is a way of life that you embrace not only spiritually and emotionally, but also physically. This is a how-to guide to the myriad ways we can give thanks—from saying thank you to grandparents for birthday checks to praying thanks to God for our very existence. Best of all, it's filled with practical and effective techniques on how to become more grateful.
While gratitude may be a spiritual technique, it is much more than that. When done right, it becomes a habit and one that is so ingrained that it actually shapes who you are as a human being. Bass says, "Feeling grateful empowers the soul." Most important, gratitude is not about material goods. Instead, it's an emotional response to the surprises that life holds, as well as a disposition that you can actually choose and cultivate even when life feels scary, sad, or threatening. Yes, gratitude is a feeling, but even more so, it's an action.
This is a very personal book as Bass shares stories from her own life, some of which are deeply private and so were probably difficult to put out there is so public a way. But the stories all serve to show how—even under the most difficult of circumstances—she still managed to develop the habit of gratitude.
The superpower of this book is that it is essentially a non-preachy blueprint for developing and perfecting your own sense of gratitude. And in this sense, it can be life-changing in a myriad of positive ways.
June 25, 2023
In a time when everyone is quick to judge and criticize it is good to read a book that reminds us that we have much to be grateful for. The book expounds on gratefulness beyond the personal experience. It helps you understand the impact of gratefulness within your sphere of influence. She also explores gratefulness within the structure of a society. The impact of quid pro quo on a society, and how that trickles down and impacts personal interactions.
It seems ending the day focusing on all the things you are thankful for improves a person's quality of sleep and lowers their stress. Being grateful is good for our health!
It seems ending the day focusing on all the things you are thankful for improves a person's quality of sleep and lowers their stress. Being grateful is good for our health!
November 29, 2022
Thought provoking book about gratefulness. Good thanksgiving seasonal read
January 2, 2020
This book started as a four star read but by the last third it had been tainted by the author's Trump Derangement Syndrome.
In talking about public or group gratitude she wrote:
An inauguration is not intended to be a partisan rally. It is intended to be a festival of thanksgiving for democracy and the nonviolent transfer of power. It is meant to celebrate a process and a people and give thanks for a land.
In the VERY NEXT chapter she writes:
My daughter and I had planned to celebrate Hillary Clinton's becoming America's first female president. Instead, because of sad and unexpected election result, we stayed home on Inauguration Day.
But the next day she is in a march wearing a pussy hat. And when it came time to write this book it was during President Trump's first hundred days and she was oh, so sad and finding it difficult to be grateful. An editor should have stepped in before the book was published.
Just a side note: Voting for somebody because they are female is messed up. Would it not be better to vote for the best person?
In talking about public or group gratitude she wrote:
An inauguration is not intended to be a partisan rally. It is intended to be a festival of thanksgiving for democracy and the nonviolent transfer of power. It is meant to celebrate a process and a people and give thanks for a land.
In the VERY NEXT chapter she writes:
My daughter and I had planned to celebrate Hillary Clinton's becoming America's first female president. Instead, because of sad and unexpected election result, we stayed home on Inauguration Day.
But the next day she is in a march wearing a pussy hat. And when it came time to write this book it was during President Trump's first hundred days and she was oh, so sad and finding it difficult to be grateful. An editor should have stepped in before the book was published.
Just a side note: Voting for somebody because they are female is messed up. Would it not be better to vote for the best person?
January 5, 2021
There are moments when expectations create standards that are difficult to attain. Such may be the case for me with this book.
Gratitude is a central concept for me. Indeed, my worldview is constructed around a belief in the bounty of God’s goodness that inspires me to live gratefully. For this reason, I was disappointed in the main focus of this work which reduces the art of thanksgiving to a choice between perpetuating the oppressive reciprocity of benefactors and beneficiaries or embracing an alternative perspective that resembles a form of political Utopianism.
I applaud the writer for her candor and extensive research. The effort is noble though disappointingly flat. For me, gratitude transcends mere socio-political constructs. It finds its fullest expression in the God who creates a world, endures grief over her spiritual apostasy only to then suffer a crucifixion out of a love for we the spiritually destitute. Such awareness evokes the worship and heart-felt thanks that lies at the core of biblical gratitude.
Gratitude is a central concept for me. Indeed, my worldview is constructed around a belief in the bounty of God’s goodness that inspires me to live gratefully. For this reason, I was disappointed in the main focus of this work which reduces the art of thanksgiving to a choice between perpetuating the oppressive reciprocity of benefactors and beneficiaries or embracing an alternative perspective that resembles a form of political Utopianism.
I applaud the writer for her candor and extensive research. The effort is noble though disappointingly flat. For me, gratitude transcends mere socio-political constructs. It finds its fullest expression in the God who creates a world, endures grief over her spiritual apostasy only to then suffer a crucifixion out of a love for we the spiritually destitute. Such awareness evokes the worship and heart-felt thanks that lies at the core of biblical gratitude.
June 26, 2018
Succinctly written and timely. A tremendous contribution by the wonderful Diana Butler Bass. It will change you.
December 22, 2021
While the other two books that I have read by Diana Butler Bass centered on issues in Christianity, this book focuses on a societal ideal. Diana Butler Bass, as a liberal American Christian, wrote this book at a very trying time for her with the election of Donald Trump to the White House. This book explores the idea of gratitude from personal and communal viewpoints and looks at it as an emotion and an ethical stand. I found the ideas were wide ranging, but also deep. I think people from any religious persuasion would find something worthwhile in it, but I think political conservatives might have a hard time with it.
December 4, 2020
I was given this book, and probably would not have thought to read it. I know all about gratitude, I thought to myself. But I had lots to learn. The book is a great combination of food for thought, suggestions of practices, and some good stories. So grateful for the book, for the author and for our mutual friends who is the heart of gratitude.
April 4, 2022
I am grateful this book is done because I really struggled with it. I read a lot so I am picky about what I choose. This was chosen for a book club that I run (picked by someone else). If I had the option, I would have put it down shortly after starting. I honestly did not really grow at all in my understanding on gratitude from this book. I'm sure the author had good intentions but I feel like she rambled and never really got the point.
November 30, 2023
We did a fall book study at church with this book. I loved the friendly way Diana Butler Bass writes. She is an excellent storyteller. I was a little nervous at first because of the political undertones, but frankly several years later I don’t think they are quite as intense. Her writing is excellent and very well organized. Highly recommend this book!
December 9, 2025
some good points early in the book then she changed direction and it became her political platform. very disappointing
December 5, 2018
This book was a real surprise. Not your run of the mill feel good/how to book, Grateful delves into meaty political and social issues and raises more issues than it resolves. The author offers many personal observations and questions that generated a surprisingly animated discussion in my interdenominational bookclub. It's not a book for those looking only for answers or affirmation of your own beliefs, but a good read for those in search of a challenge.
September 10, 2018
Learn to express gratitude. Period.
February 10, 2020
A mix of beautiful thoughts, decent theology, pretty common psychology and suspect politics (i.e. open leftism). A little bit disappointing, especially after Grounded, a true masterpiece for which I am really GRATEFUL.
December 3, 2020
Diana Butler Bass has always written in a way that resonates with me. Her wholistic approach to the fundamental underpinnings of gratitude provided great insight and thoughts to ponder. The portion of the book that resonated with me was towards the end in the explanation or interpretation of the Biblical story of Zacchaeus. Her thorough approach brought to light the vital role gratitude plays in life--as gift and grace.
January 18, 2023
I started this book in November while doing a gratitude practice. I wrote and sent thank you notes throughout the month to people in my life for whom I am grateful. I also participated in the author's month long gratitude focus, which included excerpts from the book. By the end of the month, I was distracted by other stuff (and other books). I just finished the book and really loved the end, where she focuses on communal gratitude and makes concrete suggestions for starting gratitude practices.
December 2, 2023
2023 notes: re-read over Thanksgiving weekend; Butler Bass narrates the audio and it's great (also, the book is perfect for chopping, stirring, and all the other solo prep I did for Thanksgiving).
2020 notes:
I think of myself as a grateful person. I journal about gratitude daily. I say "thank you" (in words and in writing). I get that gratitude is important for emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being. and still, this book had much to teach me.
Butler-Bass presents gratitude as operating in two arenas: "me" (personal) and "we" (community), and in two aspects of experience: emotions (feelings) and ethics (actions). The two arenas and two aspects combine to create four types of gratitude. I realized that for me, gratitude had been all about the "me" and the community part of emotions (mostly through church).
I'd never thought about community ethics as being based in gratitude. It's a game changer. Indeed
"in order to develop a mature sense of gratefulness, we need to strengthen all four dimensions and be aware of the connections between them, developing a way of life that attends to our feelings and actions in relation to gifts and does so personally and communally." (p. xxix)
And I'd certainly never thought about politics being tied to gratitude (at least not in a positive way). The section on "We:Ethics" is sub-titled "Community and Politics". I've been using gratitude to practice resilience. Butler-Bass presents it as a tool for resistance, too. The subtitle of the paperback edition is "The Subversive Practice of Giving Thanks" and it's so appropriate!
Our culture has been built on gratitude as quid pro quo. We are given (from someone "above" us who has power). and therefore we owe (money, loyalty, worse). It's all transactional. 2,000 years ago, Jesus resisted that model, and sadly, much of Christianity has not followed his path.
"Whereas Rome practiced gratitude as a hierarchy of political and economic obligation, of debt and duty, Jesus envisioned gratitude as hospitality of mutuality and relationship, of gift and response." (p. 159)
In the Epilogue, Butler-Bass shares that she started writing this book in the spring of 2016 and set it aside until after the election, anticipating a calmer mood, which of course never materialized. So, she says, "I came to write a gratitude book during the first one hundred days of the Trump presidency." She practiced gratitude through those days and the lessons she learned shaped this book.
"Gratitude is a defiance of sorts, the defiance of kindness in the face of anger, of connection in the face of division, an of hope in the face of fear. Gratefulness does not acquiesce to evil - it resists evil." (p. 185) Ultimately, it gives us a new story and empowers us.
As we approach another election, these lessons are giving me hope. All is not lost. and in everything, we can give thanks.
I've added it to my "must read" shelf and want to encourage everyone to read it. NOW!
2020 notes:
I think of myself as a grateful person. I journal about gratitude daily. I say "thank you" (in words and in writing). I get that gratitude is important for emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being. and still, this book had much to teach me.
Butler-Bass presents gratitude as operating in two arenas: "me" (personal) and "we" (community), and in two aspects of experience: emotions (feelings) and ethics (actions). The two arenas and two aspects combine to create four types of gratitude. I realized that for me, gratitude had been all about the "me" and the community part of emotions (mostly through church).
I'd never thought about community ethics as being based in gratitude. It's a game changer. Indeed
"in order to develop a mature sense of gratefulness, we need to strengthen all four dimensions and be aware of the connections between them, developing a way of life that attends to our feelings and actions in relation to gifts and does so personally and communally." (p. xxix)
And I'd certainly never thought about politics being tied to gratitude (at least not in a positive way). The section on "We:Ethics" is sub-titled "Community and Politics". I've been using gratitude to practice resilience. Butler-Bass presents it as a tool for resistance, too. The subtitle of the paperback edition is "The Subversive Practice of Giving Thanks" and it's so appropriate!
Our culture has been built on gratitude as quid pro quo. We are given (from someone "above" us who has power). and therefore we owe (money, loyalty, worse). It's all transactional. 2,000 years ago, Jesus resisted that model, and sadly, much of Christianity has not followed his path.
"Whereas Rome practiced gratitude as a hierarchy of political and economic obligation, of debt and duty, Jesus envisioned gratitude as hospitality of mutuality and relationship, of gift and response." (p. 159)
In the Epilogue, Butler-Bass shares that she started writing this book in the spring of 2016 and set it aside until after the election, anticipating a calmer mood, which of course never materialized. So, she says, "I came to write a gratitude book during the first one hundred days of the Trump presidency." She practiced gratitude through those days and the lessons she learned shaped this book.
"Gratitude is a defiance of sorts, the defiance of kindness in the face of anger, of connection in the face of division, an of hope in the face of fear. Gratefulness does not acquiesce to evil - it resists evil." (p. 185) Ultimately, it gives us a new story and empowers us.
As we approach another election, these lessons are giving me hope. All is not lost. and in everything, we can give thanks.
I've added it to my "must read" shelf and want to encourage everyone to read it. NOW!
November 5, 2020
It’s a gift to read a book that tells a tale of a similar curiosity and passion as the one you’re attending. In a speaking engagement, Diana spoke about this book as one exploring Paul the Apostle’s fruit of the Spirit — love, peace, patience, joy and so on. “Gratitude is a practical way of speaking about joy,” she said, and then articulated the idea and practices of gratitude in an insightful and organized way that was both felt and was rooted in ethical, communal practices. The book gives a very helpful way into gratitude with compelling, often personal illustrations. Diana has read a good deal about the study of gratitude (and joy) that is gaining a following and connections with scientific studies of the brain. She is theologically grounded and imaginative, seeing how faith connects with life in all of its personal, social, political and cultural ways of daily living.
I especially appreciated her postlude about how writing this book came at a difficult time — Diana and so many others of us anxious with a sense of dread about the Trump presidency. “Gratitude saved your life,” she quotes her husband about her. Distinguishing such gratitude from a magical positive thinking exercise, she doesn’t see gratitude to the exclusion of pain, suffering and the like. Yet, it’s simple narrative gives a way forward, gives resources for hope. As I finished this book, I was mindful of what Bass had written earlier about ours being a time of the latest Great Awakening. In other words, there is a spiritual transformation happening among us, reshaping our sense of the hopeful common life that is possible. Such Awakenings also find themselves countered by forces that would deny them. Bass speaks of this Awakening being in process fro several decades now, with an uncertain outcome. Gratitude and other fruitful practices are needed for sustaining this new Awakening.
Thanks for your latest offering, Diana. It’s an encouraging, thoughtful and fun needed read.
I especially appreciated her postlude about how writing this book came at a difficult time — Diana and so many others of us anxious with a sense of dread about the Trump presidency. “Gratitude saved your life,” she quotes her husband about her. Distinguishing such gratitude from a magical positive thinking exercise, she doesn’t see gratitude to the exclusion of pain, suffering and the like. Yet, it’s simple narrative gives a way forward, gives resources for hope. As I finished this book, I was mindful of what Bass had written earlier about ours being a time of the latest Great Awakening. In other words, there is a spiritual transformation happening among us, reshaping our sense of the hopeful common life that is possible. Such Awakenings also find themselves countered by forces that would deny them. Bass speaks of this Awakening being in process fro several decades now, with an uncertain outcome. Gratitude and other fruitful practices are needed for sustaining this new Awakening.
Thanks for your latest offering, Diana. It’s an encouraging, thoughtful and fun needed read.
November 24, 2018
Met the author briefly at a book fair....not much in here that hasn't been written about in other books, as this topic is quite popular now. I appreciated her personal story at the beginning about being such a stranger to gratitude, and not understanding the "how". I became disengaged in the later chapters as she got overly Jesusy for my tastes. My biggest takeaway was the reinforcement of the idea of tiny moments of gratitude throughout the day/week that end up strengthening ones bigger Muscle of Gratitude.
April 7, 2018
What are you grateful for? Are you even grateful? Many of us grew up learning that it is proper etiquette to say thank you for gifts, even gifts we really don't like (you know the sweater that a relative gave you that is really hideous!). We might not be very good at saying thank you, or sending thank you notes, but surely there is something to be thank for.
Diana Butler Bass is a gifted writer. She writes on matters religious and spiritual. I've read most of her books, and I've often found them to be thought-provoking and even inspirational. Even when I struggle with what she writes, I am drawn into her message. This is one of those books that I think will prove inspiring. In fact, it is a book for our times.
Diana began writing this book during the 2016 election season. She admits to have been soundly disappointed by Donald Trump's win and Hillary Clinton's loss. She admits struggling with being grateful at this moment in time, making this both a difficult book to write and a necessary one. She opens the book, however, by confessing that she has always struggled with gratitude. Her mother drilled into her the importance of writing thank you cards, but they were always difficult. She tried with her daughter with similar effect. Nonetheless, she may have struggled with it, but realized that there is something important about being grateful. It is, as she notes, a spiritual practice.
This is a book of spirituality. I use the word spirituality purposely. While Diana writes from a Christian perspective, she intends this book to have a wider audience than the Christian audience. That broadening of audience has been in the making for some time. We saw inklings in Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening, whee she described three ways of living the life of faith, one being Spiritual but not Religious. Then in Grounded: Finding God in the World. A Spiritual Revolution, she wrote from a more spiritual but not religious vantage point, which I will admit made me somewhat uncomfortable. I liked the book, and found it thought provoking, but I also struggled with it. While the vision here is more spiritual than religious, I found myself back in tune with her writing.
We human beings seem to know that it's important to be grateful. She mentions a survey that suggests 78% of people have felt grateful about something in the past week. Yet, we're living in a time when people are anxious and angry and resentful. So, what gives? Maybe we're grateful on a personal level, but find it difficult on a larger level to be grateful. Nonetheless, Diana writes this book out of a belief that giving thanks can be transformative. It can be good for us, as individuals and as society. Having said that, she warns against "cheap gratitude," which is an "understanding of thanks [that] is polluted by our toxic dissatisfactions as we praise God for material possessions instead of the good gifts of nature and neighbor" (p. xx). This is not the kind of gratitude that she has in mind. While gratitude has often been understood "as a commodity of exchange," of debt and duty, with recipients being put into debt to their benefactors -- a quid pro quo form of relationship. That is not what she has in mind. Instead, this is a "gift and response" relationship. She writes that gifts precede benefactors, so the universe, life, air, friendship, love, these are all gifts. There are signs of abundance. From a Christian perspective, God is the giver of every gift, and we are recipients of these gifts that come freely to all. For that we break out in thanksgiving.
In this book, Diana looks at gratitude on two levels -- the individual (me) and the communal (we). Gratitude involves emotions, but it also involves ethics. While she breaks them down into personal and communal, they are interrelated. The way in which we emphasize me or we, emotion or ethics, will influence the way we experience gratitude.
The book is divided into four parts, each with two chapters. Part One is titled "Me: Emotion--Gifts and Thanks." As one might expect, she explores how we feel gratitude. She speaks here of the heart. She notes that we open our hearts "to the constant flow of receiving and responding that happens all around us all the time makes us more generous" (p. 27).
Part Two focuses again on "Me," but this time in terms of Ethics. Here she talks about developing habits of gratitude, about being intentional about gratitude. This was the kind of gratitude she was raised with, but struggled with -- the duty you might say of expressing personal gratitude. As difficult as it might be, it is important do develop intentional forms of gratitude. These are the two sides of the personal/individual. They are important and essential. But they are, by themselves, insufficient -- so we move on to the communal.
Part three focuses on We, but with a return to the emotional side -- The two chapters in this section explore the importance of joy and celebration. Gratitude is relational, social. "It is about being with one another, in life together" (p. 99). It is festive. Our religious festivals, are expressions of this principle. The Eucharist (Lord's Supper) is itself a sign of thankfulness. The word Eucharist comes from the Greek word for giving thanks. It is, she suggest a feast upon gratefulness. She bemoans the fact that the national celebration of Thanksgiving has in recent years become increasingly individualistic, which is unfortunate because it has the potential to bind us all together across religious/non-religious lines.
Finally, part four speaks of We in terms of Ethics. The subtitle is "Community and Politics." The book is written during the first year of Donald Trump's presidency. Many of us are profoundly disturbed by what is transpiring. It makes it difficult to be grateful on a large scale. There is great anxiety out there, and yet gratitude might have transformative benefits. She opens this section by telling the story of her participation in the Women's March that occurred the day of the presidential inauguration. Being part of this effort, gathering with thousands of women (and men), brought a sense of gratefulness, gratefulness for the community that gathered to resist forces that might affect our lives. In this section she turns to the intentionality of practice, and that includes political involvement.
IN the chapter on Circles of Gratitude, she describes the power of moving from quid pro quo to pro bono. That is, moving from "this for that" to "for good." This is a different form of reciprocity, one that is not debt producing, but debt relieving. She writes that "gratitude begins with a profound awareness of abundance and builds communities of well-being and generosity" (p. 165). She envisions here a politics that is committed to the common good, not just the good of the benefactors.
Yes, this is a book for our times. I will return to it again and again, especially as a preacher. I do recommend it heartily!
Diana Butler Bass is a gifted writer. She writes on matters religious and spiritual. I've read most of her books, and I've often found them to be thought-provoking and even inspirational. Even when I struggle with what she writes, I am drawn into her message. This is one of those books that I think will prove inspiring. In fact, it is a book for our times.
Diana began writing this book during the 2016 election season. She admits to have been soundly disappointed by Donald Trump's win and Hillary Clinton's loss. She admits struggling with being grateful at this moment in time, making this both a difficult book to write and a necessary one. She opens the book, however, by confessing that she has always struggled with gratitude. Her mother drilled into her the importance of writing thank you cards, but they were always difficult. She tried with her daughter with similar effect. Nonetheless, she may have struggled with it, but realized that there is something important about being grateful. It is, as she notes, a spiritual practice.
This is a book of spirituality. I use the word spirituality purposely. While Diana writes from a Christian perspective, she intends this book to have a wider audience than the Christian audience. That broadening of audience has been in the making for some time. We saw inklings in Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening, whee she described three ways of living the life of faith, one being Spiritual but not Religious. Then in Grounded: Finding God in the World. A Spiritual Revolution, she wrote from a more spiritual but not religious vantage point, which I will admit made me somewhat uncomfortable. I liked the book, and found it thought provoking, but I also struggled with it. While the vision here is more spiritual than religious, I found myself back in tune with her writing.
We human beings seem to know that it's important to be grateful. She mentions a survey that suggests 78% of people have felt grateful about something in the past week. Yet, we're living in a time when people are anxious and angry and resentful. So, what gives? Maybe we're grateful on a personal level, but find it difficult on a larger level to be grateful. Nonetheless, Diana writes this book out of a belief that giving thanks can be transformative. It can be good for us, as individuals and as society. Having said that, she warns against "cheap gratitude," which is an "understanding of thanks [that] is polluted by our toxic dissatisfactions as we praise God for material possessions instead of the good gifts of nature and neighbor" (p. xx). This is not the kind of gratitude that she has in mind. While gratitude has often been understood "as a commodity of exchange," of debt and duty, with recipients being put into debt to their benefactors -- a quid pro quo form of relationship. That is not what she has in mind. Instead, this is a "gift and response" relationship. She writes that gifts precede benefactors, so the universe, life, air, friendship, love, these are all gifts. There are signs of abundance. From a Christian perspective, God is the giver of every gift, and we are recipients of these gifts that come freely to all. For that we break out in thanksgiving.
In this book, Diana looks at gratitude on two levels -- the individual (me) and the communal (we). Gratitude involves emotions, but it also involves ethics. While she breaks them down into personal and communal, they are interrelated. The way in which we emphasize me or we, emotion or ethics, will influence the way we experience gratitude.
The book is divided into four parts, each with two chapters. Part One is titled "Me: Emotion--Gifts and Thanks." As one might expect, she explores how we feel gratitude. She speaks here of the heart. She notes that we open our hearts "to the constant flow of receiving and responding that happens all around us all the time makes us more generous" (p. 27).
Part Two focuses again on "Me," but this time in terms of Ethics. Here she talks about developing habits of gratitude, about being intentional about gratitude. This was the kind of gratitude she was raised with, but struggled with -- the duty you might say of expressing personal gratitude. As difficult as it might be, it is important do develop intentional forms of gratitude. These are the two sides of the personal/individual. They are important and essential. But they are, by themselves, insufficient -- so we move on to the communal.
Part three focuses on We, but with a return to the emotional side -- The two chapters in this section explore the importance of joy and celebration. Gratitude is relational, social. "It is about being with one another, in life together" (p. 99). It is festive. Our religious festivals, are expressions of this principle. The Eucharist (Lord's Supper) is itself a sign of thankfulness. The word Eucharist comes from the Greek word for giving thanks. It is, she suggest a feast upon gratefulness. She bemoans the fact that the national celebration of Thanksgiving has in recent years become increasingly individualistic, which is unfortunate because it has the potential to bind us all together across religious/non-religious lines.
Finally, part four speaks of We in terms of Ethics. The subtitle is "Community and Politics." The book is written during the first year of Donald Trump's presidency. Many of us are profoundly disturbed by what is transpiring. It makes it difficult to be grateful on a large scale. There is great anxiety out there, and yet gratitude might have transformative benefits. She opens this section by telling the story of her participation in the Women's March that occurred the day of the presidential inauguration. Being part of this effort, gathering with thousands of women (and men), brought a sense of gratefulness, gratefulness for the community that gathered to resist forces that might affect our lives. In this section she turns to the intentionality of practice, and that includes political involvement.
IN the chapter on Circles of Gratitude, she describes the power of moving from quid pro quo to pro bono. That is, moving from "this for that" to "for good." This is a different form of reciprocity, one that is not debt producing, but debt relieving. She writes that "gratitude begins with a profound awareness of abundance and builds communities of well-being and generosity" (p. 165). She envisions here a politics that is committed to the common good, not just the good of the benefactors.
Yes, this is a book for our times. I will return to it again and again, especially as a preacher. I do recommend it heartily!
July 9, 2018
Book club read
Slow start, but gradually led to good discussion and broader perspectives of gratitude. I’d recommend this book to book clubs for that reason
Slow start, but gradually led to good discussion and broader perspectives of gratitude. I’d recommend this book to book clubs for that reason
August 27, 2019
I started this but just could not get into it. Perhaps I am a bit like the author a “reluctant grateful” and not ready to change as she was. Maybe another time.
August 1, 2023
May have to reread this one again
June 18, 2024
Didn’t like this book very much. One thing at the beginning Bass said was, she chose Christianity, not because it was the best religion but it was the one she was most familiar with. That isn’t a true Christian. Jesus is the only way and you can’t bring in other beliefs systems as if they are as good or better than what we have in Jesus. She did her best to do just that.
There wasn’t 3 wise men or kings. The Bible doesn’t say that. It says three gifts were brought, not by kings but by magi. It is assumed that 3 came bc 3 gifts were brought. There would have been a caravan of magi, from Persia, with much supplies.
I believe it was Phil. 4:6,7 that made her angry every time she went into her friend’s bathroom. Don’t get it. Here are other scriptures an out being thankful, 1Thess. 5:18; Ron. 8:28; Eph5:20, Jms. 1:17 where she left off the last two words. There are others but it seems that being thankful and being grateful are basically the same. The difference is a study in itself.
Zacchaeus was talked about by Bass. Just for clarification, this story was in the IT, not the NT. she totally gets the beatitudes wrong. Read them in Matt. 5:1-12. This is spiritual teaching, not about being poor or hungry. I need to correct the second line in this paragraph. Meant OT, not NT. Do not remember her speaking of the death , burial and resurrection of Jesus. Or salvation by faith in Hs blood or anything about eternal life or even The Holy Spirit.
There is always something to be grateful for and to be thankful for. Even in the worst of times. God is good, always. He is there always. He loves us so much. And I don’t remember Bass talking about love. Maybe I just forgot. There are other things but I am going to end this by saying that at the end of the book, she said a prayer that began with God, which could mean other than God the Father. And she didn’t pray in the name of Jesus.
I was so disappointed in this book. But one thing I agree with, we are better off spiritually, emotionally and physically when we are grateful and thankful. Sometimes they are choices bc we don’t feel those things all the time. The same is true of love and forgiveness.
One thing I didn’t mention is that the Bible says to pray for all men and says those in authority over us. There are no powers in government except for those that God allows.So pray for them, whoever they are. They are there by God’s will. So vote and accept what God does.
Just thought of this. She said whether we believe in the Big Bang or evolution— but didn’t say creation, tells me that she has no real understanding of of the scriptures, nor of the living and loving Father and Savior. Nor of the Holy Spirit. Hope she comes to Jesus, soon!! CathyR
There wasn’t 3 wise men or kings. The Bible doesn’t say that. It says three gifts were brought, not by kings but by magi. It is assumed that 3 came bc 3 gifts were brought. There would have been a caravan of magi, from Persia, with much supplies.
I believe it was Phil. 4:6,7 that made her angry every time she went into her friend’s bathroom. Don’t get it. Here are other scriptures an out being thankful, 1Thess. 5:18; Ron. 8:28; Eph5:20, Jms. 1:17 where she left off the last two words. There are others but it seems that being thankful and being grateful are basically the same. The difference is a study in itself.
Zacchaeus was talked about by Bass. Just for clarification, this story was in the IT, not the NT. she totally gets the beatitudes wrong. Read them in Matt. 5:1-12. This is spiritual teaching, not about being poor or hungry. I need to correct the second line in this paragraph. Meant OT, not NT. Do not remember her speaking of the death , burial and resurrection of Jesus. Or salvation by faith in Hs blood or anything about eternal life or even The Holy Spirit.
There is always something to be grateful for and to be thankful for. Even in the worst of times. God is good, always. He is there always. He loves us so much. And I don’t remember Bass talking about love. Maybe I just forgot. There are other things but I am going to end this by saying that at the end of the book, she said a prayer that began with God, which could mean other than God the Father. And she didn’t pray in the name of Jesus.
I was so disappointed in this book. But one thing I agree with, we are better off spiritually, emotionally and physically when we are grateful and thankful. Sometimes they are choices bc we don’t feel those things all the time. The same is true of love and forgiveness.
One thing I didn’t mention is that the Bible says to pray for all men and says those in authority over us. There are no powers in government except for those that God allows.So pray for them, whoever they are. They are there by God’s will. So vote and accept what God does.
Just thought of this. She said whether we believe in the Big Bang or evolution— but didn’t say creation, tells me that she has no real understanding of of the scriptures, nor of the living and loving Father and Savior. Nor of the Holy Spirit. Hope she comes to Jesus, soon!! CathyR
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 24, 2018
Diana Butler Bass confesses that, at one time, she was a "gratitude klutz." Her mother urged her to write thank you cards for birthday and holiday gifts. The author admits, "I was not good at it. I did not want to do it, and I did not know what to say." Although, she insists, "The concept of gratitude captivated me," Butler Bass did not initially succeed in implementing such initiatives as keeping a gratitude journal, creating a family ritual of giving thanks at bedtime, and conducting the "Thanksgiving dinner exercise in which no one eats until everyone at the table says something they are thankful for." This turned out to be more of "a turkey hostage situation than a spiritual exercise in grace."
Now that she has a broader perspective on the subject, Ms. Butler Bass shares her thoughts in "Grateful: the Transformative Power of Giving Thanks." In this inspiring work of non-fiction, the author explores the philosophical, spiritual, emotional, and social aspects of thankfulness. Obviously, we cannot compel anyone to appreciate his or her blessings, but we can encourage people to recognize that gratitude confers benefits on the individual, community, society, and nation as a whole. "Gratitude strengthens our character and moral resolve, giving each of us the possibility of living peaceably and justly,” Butler Bass believes.
Although the author is a practicing Christian, this book is not geared to those who adhere to a particular belief system. Anyone can benefit from learning more about the meaning of gratitude, its history, types of gratitude, and how we express thanks. Using pertinent and poignant anecdotes, Butler Bass shows the ways in which gratitude can enhance our existence. Why should we take the time to tell a neighbor how much we appreciate their kindness? Give thanks for the gifts of life, health, and family? Or express gratitude for a lovely tree blossoming in the spring, a multi-colored sunset, or a star-studded sky? Gratitude moves us to see the big picture instead of becoming bogged down in the minutiae of everyday life. When practiced collectively, gratitude connects people in a positive manner. Especially during today's turbulent times, it is useful to be reminded that being grateful--not just for material possessions, but also for the intangible blessings that enrich our lives immeasurably--can make our world a much more nurturing and hospitable place.
Now that she has a broader perspective on the subject, Ms. Butler Bass shares her thoughts in "Grateful: the Transformative Power of Giving Thanks." In this inspiring work of non-fiction, the author explores the philosophical, spiritual, emotional, and social aspects of thankfulness. Obviously, we cannot compel anyone to appreciate his or her blessings, but we can encourage people to recognize that gratitude confers benefits on the individual, community, society, and nation as a whole. "Gratitude strengthens our character and moral resolve, giving each of us the possibility of living peaceably and justly,” Butler Bass believes.
Although the author is a practicing Christian, this book is not geared to those who adhere to a particular belief system. Anyone can benefit from learning more about the meaning of gratitude, its history, types of gratitude, and how we express thanks. Using pertinent and poignant anecdotes, Butler Bass shows the ways in which gratitude can enhance our existence. Why should we take the time to tell a neighbor how much we appreciate their kindness? Give thanks for the gifts of life, health, and family? Or express gratitude for a lovely tree blossoming in the spring, a multi-colored sunset, or a star-studded sky? Gratitude moves us to see the big picture instead of becoming bogged down in the minutiae of everyday life. When practiced collectively, gratitude connects people in a positive manner. Especially during today's turbulent times, it is useful to be reminded that being grateful--not just for material possessions, but also for the intangible blessings that enrich our lives immeasurably--can make our world a much more nurturing and hospitable place.
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