When Action Follows Heart: 365 Ways to Share Kindness

by Susan Spencer

"Kindness is exactly what we need in our fractured world right now—it provides the simplest path to healing."

A single act of kindness, whether to a friend or a stranger, can become a spool of generosity that unwinds and touches the lives of so many. . .

From Woman’s Day Editor-in-Chief Susan Spencer comes a heartwarming book featuring 365 kindness-focused actions. With beautifully whimsical illustrations by artist Jutta Kuss, this book shows how small acts can make a big difference.

When Action Follows Heart was inspired by the Kindness Project, a monthly column in the magazine that highlights good deeds and everyday kindnesses from Woman’s Day readers from all over. The idea behind it is to showcase readers’ kind acts toward others.

Whether it’s bringing a box of doughnuts to a fire station, yielding a parking space to the other person vying for it, collecting blankets for the homeless, or even sharing a smile—these acts are sure to make your world a little brighter.

Full of practical advice; uplifting stories; and inspirational quotations, this book is a must-have for anyone looking to bring positivity and joy into their lives—and the lives of others.

Genres: Nonfiction, Inspirational, Self Help

384 pages, Hardcover

First published April 17, 2018

Reviews

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

“We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.”
― Marian Wright Edelman

An inspiring book of simple, small ways to be generous and share kindness with others. Perform any one of these and you’ll not only brighten your own day, but someone else’s too!

“Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.”
― Diana, Princess of Wales

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet little ideas to put a smile on someone's face 365 days a year! This book would make a lovely gift.

[Karenclifford61 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hmm, with 1-3 sentences for each action, this book amounts to ~700 lines of common sense with a dose of bragging by some. I read this book because one suggestion was from my mom (March 18) and I figured others would be equally altruistic. Instead, many appeared to be sentence fillers that were most likely never pursued (or even worse...a bit insulting) such as:

-weed a neighbor's front or backyard (weed yours first!)
-bring extra bags to the supermarket to share with others (ick...how about recycling or donating to the thrift store instead)
-save boxes from packages and give to a friend moving (unless you are a hoarder your donation would go much farther if you helped them pack instead)
-hold the door for a person with a walker or wheelchair (you gotta be kidding me!?!)
-when you go on a trip, bring home a souvenir for someone special (...so they can regift it? ...support consumerism?)
-buy a bouquet of flowers for yourself (And here I thought this was to be a book of suggestions to make OTHERS feel good?)
-tape a gas card to a gas pump (might wanna make sure there are still some funds on the card and that you remember to bring scotch tape with you. Wait...where does one even get a gas card???)
-hold the elevator door for the person dashing in behind you (versus hitting the CLOSE DOOR button ASAP)

Considering some of the suggestions were quotes from dead people, it appears it was a difficult stretch to come up with 365 valid ideas. Thankfully this book wasn't written with a leap year in mind!

[Stephanie Mouton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the idea of daily acts of kindness. Even if this is your natural disposition, sometimes it's nice to have different ways to be of service to others. This book is filled with great ideas! Some of them seem like no-brainers to me, but others were truly above and beyond what I would consider a daily act of kindness. "When Action Follows Heart" can provide you with a quick "do good" act, or wonderful ways for your family can give back, or ideas on how to establish a long-standing kindness habit.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic little book of suggestions of little acts of kindness for each day of the year.

[Patti · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ok. A few things are sweet. Some are over the top. And others seemed obvious. As in doesn’t everyone do this?

[Mary Lou · Rating 2 out of 5]

Have times changed so much? Most of these "ideas" used to be common sense and expected of everyone as common decency. Maybe sense and decency aren't so common anymore. One shouldn't have to be told (by anyone but their parents) to hold the door for people, give up a seat on the bus for an elderly rider, or offer to pick up a few things from the store for a sick friend. There were very few new or novel ideas, and many of the acts of kindness listed involved buying things for people. Okay... giving the guy in line next to you a dollar or two when he realizes he's come up short is a kindness, but most of the suggestions are charity, which is not the same, and as another reviewer pointed out, are sometimes not welcome and occasionally even offensive and/or intrusive. (I'm reminded of a kind-hearted busybody at the library where I work taking it upon herself to tell a comfortably-dressed man where he could get a hot meal. He thanked her politely before telling her he was not homeless. Or the well-meaning person who congratulates a woman on her pregnancy, only to see her mortified face as she mumbles that she's not pregnant. Sometimes the greatest kindness is to mind your own business!)

If you still feel compelled to read this, I recommend getting it from a library, or (sorry book shops) reading it in the aisle of the store. It won't take that long, and you'll have gotten your money's worth.

[Erin (bookwitchenergy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the ideas in here are better than others, but I'm a fan of the fact that there are way more examples of how to DO things to spread kindness than inspirational quotes (though there are a few of those, as well)! It's also a good reminder of things that we could be doing that we may have forgotten about--that I've forgotten about. It gave me ideas, and inspired me to make moves again, and I'm grateful for that. The pandemic stopped everything, including any kind of sharing and community involvement we could do, you know? This is a great refresher on how to get involved again, even if it's not on a regular basis. Make kindness the new black, friends. ❤️

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ways to show kindness were more so focused on money, and particular events/places to do it rather than showcasing opportunities to share kindness in an everyday environment. This really limited their audience - which shouldn't be the case at all - if you really want to spread kindness to begin with. -In all honesty, the inside of a Dove candy wrapper and I could have been more helpful than this book.

[Gail DiVico · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a wonderful keepsake book with 365 days of ways to share kindness. I looked up all the birthdays of my friends and family, and it truly is a one-of-a-kind book. This is a library book, but I am planning on purchasing it for my own library. I highly recommend this one to everyone. Kudos to the author!

[Treva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read a copy and bought four additional copies to give as gifts for officers that were being installed in a volunteer organization I belong to that provides school supplies, dental supplies, and holiday toys to children in need.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love all of the ideas! Now to actually do some.

[Miriam Schoenig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute little book to have around.

[Gabriella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good reminder to slow down and be kind

[✧･ﾟ:* ꧁ Isa Dias ꧂ *:･ﾟ✧ · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely book. If you need something to bright your day, this book is it. Short book, full of caring and kindness. Its a good reminder book,that take the focus from us, to Others. Loved it.