Kindness: Books for Adults

There is some research that indicates winter is the most stressful season of the year: our environment gets colder and darker, and some research indicates that winter holidays can be major stressors due to finances, family, and more. 

To usher in fall's transition into winter, our November booklist has fiction and nonfiction titles all about kindness. That means a lot of things, such as: practicing kindness towards ourselves to promote self-care and wellbeing; practicing kindness towards others to strengthen empathy towards others; and practicing kindness toward our environment to better sustain our world.

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Elder, Hinemoa

Through 52 whatatauki - traditional Māori life lessons - Māori psychiatrist Dr. Hinemoa Elder shares the power of Aroha and explores how it could help us all every day...The 52 life lessons are arranged into 4 chapters that introduce the different, important facets of Aroha: Manaakitanga (kindness); Kaitiakitanga (love for our world); Whanaungatanga (empathy); and Tino rangatiratanga (what is right).

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Brammer, Mikki

After the beloved grandfather who raised her dies alone while she is traveling, Clover becomes a death doula in New York City, dedicating her life to ushering people peacefully through their end-of-life process. Clover spends so much time with the dying that she has no life of her own, until the final wishes of a feisty old woman send Clover on a trip across the country to uncover a forgotten love story--and perhaps, her own happy ending. 

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Saunders, George

Three months after George Saunders gave a graduation address at Syracuse University, a transcript of that speech was posted on the website of The New York Times, where its simple, uplifting message struck a deep chord. Within days, it had been shared more than one million times. Why? Because Saunders’s words tap into a desire in all of us to lead kinder, more fulfilling lives. Powerful, funny, and wise, Congratulations, by the way is an inspiring message from one of today’s most influential and original writers.

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Wong, Alice (Editor)

These twenty-five stunning original pieces-plus other modern classics on the subject, all carefully curated by acclaimed activist Alice Wong-include essays, photo essays, poetry, drama, and erotica: a full spectrum of the dreams, fantasies, and deeply personal realities of a wide range of beautiful bodies and minds. Disability Intimacy will free your thinking, invigorate your spirit, and delight your desires.

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Cook, Tanya

Fandom Acts of Kindness not only tells the stories of the good fans have done in the world but serves as a dungeon master's guide to how to be a hero yourself.

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Danta, Ron

From the stars of 'Life in the Doghouse' on Netflix and founders of one of the most recognizable rescue organizations in the world, Finding Our Forever Home is part memoir, part care-and-keeping-of-rescue-dogs, with a heartwarming, compassionate voice and a message of acceptance, kindness, and, of course, love.

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Hogan, Linda

Linda Hogan explores new and old ways of experiencing the vagaries of the body and existing in harmony with earth's living beings in A History of Kindness. Throughout this clear-eyed collection, Hogan tenderly excavates how history instructs the present, and envisions a future alive with hope for a healthy ans sustainable world that now wavers between loss and survival.

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Davis, KC

For anyone tired of staring at the same mess every day but struggling to find the time and willpower to fix it, popular therapist and Tiktok star KC Davis presents a revolutionary method of cleaning to end the stress-mess cycle.

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Hammond, Claudia

A deep-dive into kindness, the science behind it and how we can better build it into our lives, from the author of The Art of Rest. Using the latest research from psychology and neuroscience, and working in collaboration with the University of Sussex's world-leading Kindness Institute, Claudia Hammond takes us on a eye-opening tour of kindness: what constitutes kindness (it's not just one thing), effective strategies to build more of it into our lives and the benefits of being kind. 

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Price, Devon

Laziness Does Not Exist explores the psychological underpinnings of the "laziness lie," including its origins from the Puritans and how it has continued to proliferate as digital work tools have blurred the boundaries between work and life. Using in-depth research, Price explains that people today do far more work than nearly any other humans in history, yet most of us often still feel we are not doing enough.

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Grenz, Jennifer

Building on sacred stories and field observations, Dr. Jennifer Grenz shares her personal journey of joining her head (Western science) and her heart (Indigenous worldview) to find a truer path toward ecological healing. Eloquent, inspiring, and disruptive, Medicine Wheel for the Planet circles around an argument that we need more than a singular worldview to protect the planet and make the significant changes we are running out of time for.

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Crews, James (Editor)

James Crews' new collection, The Path to Kindness, offers 100 deeply felt and relatable poems from a diverse range of voices.

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Arikawa, Hiro

With simple yet descriptive prose, this novel gives voice to Nana the cat and his owner, Satoru, as they take to the road on a journey with no other purpose than to visit three of Satoru's longtime friends. Or so Nana is led to believe... With his crooked tail--a sign of good fortune--and adventurous spirit, Nana is the perfect companion for the man who took him in as a stray. And as they travel in a silver van across Japan, with its ever-changing scenery and seasons, they will learn the true meaning of courage and gratitude, of loyalty and love.

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Reynolds, Mary

Ultimately, We Are the Ark asks people to build a patchwork quilt of healed land and water that will wrap its way around the globe and to reform the world of gardening into a network of nature sanctuaries. In a matter of a few short years this will reach a critical mass that will shift the consciousness of the rest of our planet's humans, giving us a real shot at restoring the earth back to health and harmony.

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Strauss, Elissa

Journalist Elissa Strauss explores the powerful role caring for others plays in our individual and communal lives, weaving together research about care and stories from parents and caregivers, with a feminist bent.

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Polich, Judith Bluestone

Reveals how we can learn from the intelligent communities of trees and plants.

Summaries provided by DPL's catalog unless otherwise noted. Click on each title to view more information.