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There are currently 21 member reviews
for A Simple Act of Gratitude
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Vicki H. (Greenwood Village, CO)
Ode to the Thank You Note
Though at an ebb-tide moment in life, attorney John Kralik commits to focusing on things for which he can be thankful. The result is“365 Thank Yous: The Year a Simple Act of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life”, a book that encourages “pass it on” acts of kindness. This is a book you can digest in small bites – each short chapter recounts how a particular thank-you note resonated through the author’s life (and often, the recipient’s).
Though I am already an adequate thank-you writer, the book has inspired me to stock up on cards and reinvigorate my own Daily Gratitude campaign, and I suspect it will spark everyone who reads it to do the same. It’s a 200-page paean to the thank you note … a celebration of the way gratitude transforms us.
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Kimberly A. (Hannibal, MO)
The Nudge
Experiencing the downward spiral of both his personal and professional life, author John Kralik finds it difficult to appreciate all that he does have. He even admits that he often misspells the word "grateful," possibly because he uses it too infrequently. Trying to climb out of the doldrums of his life, he commits to writing a thank you note each day for a year. As a self-betterment plan, the book's focus, being more appreciative and humble, is an admirable one. Indeed, this author, by his own judgment, becomes a better person and experienced an up-swing in his life because of the notes. It is truly heart-warming to read of his renewed and strengthened relationships and his career successes. Even though the book lacks, in my opinion, a "Wow" effect, it may be the nudge needed to write--not email--more thank you notes for kind and thoughtful acts as well as gifts. It was a quick, pleasant, and action-provoking book.
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Claudia S. (Elmhurst, IL)
Inspiring
I enjoyed "365 Thank Yous." The author, John Kralik, is an attorney at a low point in his life. He makes a goal for himself to write 365 thank you notes within the next year. Gradually, he finds himself focusing on the good things in his life instead of the bad. It's somewhat like the idea of a gratitude journal that he is sharing with the other people in his life. I was raised to always send a nice "thank you" after each birthday and holiday and I am doing the same with my children. But as adults, most of us, myself included, lose touch with this idea. I'm going to start again. Thanking people seems to be a simple act but as John Kralik realizes, it goes a long way.
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Cynthia S. (Rensselaer, NY)
365 Thank Yous
John Kralik's 365 Thank yous reminds the reader that gratitude just takes a little time to tell someone who has touched your life "Thank You".
What a simple gesture! Imagine a book group. church group or simply a group of friends sharing events that sometime seem mundane with a heartfelt appreciation.
Kralik in sharing his year of struggles made me realize that feeling gratitude for the simple everyday interactions can put a positive spin on life.
Thank you Bookbrowse for providing this forum.
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Toni, Librarian in WV
Simple Acts
Author Kralik is fifty-three, forty pounds overweight, and his professional and personal relationships are bordering on disaster. He turns his life around by focusing on what is good in his life instead of wallowing in the negative. Kralik’s writing is choppy and unorganized but his sincerity is clearly visible and he reveals a certain sweetness that makes the reader happy for his emerging success. If you are looking for motivation to send those thank you notes you’ve been avoiding, read this for inspiration. They might change your life.
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Rhonda M. (Concord, OH)
Just average for an inspirational book
There are so many books out there that are similar to this one that it did not move me as others have. The writer did find a way to uplift his spirit and it did make me think about all the things I should be grateful for and do not thank people for. But emotionally I never really felt his sadness or frustration. He didn't have the ability to touch inside of me. In spite of that I do think it was a good book for those that like this kind of book and it will make you take a moment and think about your life. But a lot of it seemed coincidental.
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David L. (Taft, CA)
Thank Goodness There's Only 365 Days in a Year
A remarkable concept, this “thank you” for every day of a year; an idea which summons up hopes for a new civility, extended kindnesses, and a much better world. These were my hopes anyway, and while they are not quite dashed, they are severely wounded. Mr. Kralik, the author, is an attorney who, at the onset, begs the reader to have sympathy for him because he is being sued in a system he admits being, “a plain example of how legal proceedings can become the circle of hatred, in which each vicious legal move is countered by an even more malevolent one, until everyone is out of money.” Immediately my hackles are raised, and I am in an alert mode. Suspicion runs rampant across my thoughts, but I am willing to continue. I should have quit while still able to suspend my belief, for it is only a page later where he reveals, “…too often I was still just the vehicle whereby clients conveyed hatred, sought retribution, and inflicted pain on their fellow men and women.” A few sentences farther, “To me, the work was too often best done when I got in touch with my inner evil core.” The die has been cast for me.
This book is one man’s attempt to secure indulgences and buy his way out of purgatory. His is a long and ponderous chain, and he continues to add links as he admits that he has received so much more back from those he sent notes to. The promises I found in the title are fully undermined by the end of the book where he writes, “I still don’t believe I changed…” Neither do I.
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