HUMANKIND: Changing the World One Small Act At a Time
Brad Aronson
Brad Aronson
LifeTree Media; April 14, 2020
Paperback;256 pages
ISBN: 9781928055631
Paperback;256 pages
ISBN: 9781928055631
Brad Aronson’s debut book HUMANKIND: Changing the World One Small Act at a Time highlights ways we can provide support, help people near and far, and simply have an impact, regardless of your age or circumstance.
Aronson was featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer and People magazine and Forbes published a glowing review of his book.
In HUMANKIND, Brad gives readers substantial ways they can make a difference, such as changing the way you approach offering help (i.e. switching “Let me know if you need anything” to “Can I do X for you?”), providing people with a wide variety of vetted organizations to support, offering gifts and mentoring, writing letters, helping people celebrate, and more. Brad also urges readers to never discount the impact that a simple act can have, like a text or call to check in on someone.
Brad was motivated to turn his blogs on kindness into a book after seeing a pattern: people loved sharing ideas for how to give back. Some of the most popular and shared posts on Brad’s site include 103 Random Acts of Kindness, and Random Acts of Kindness for Kids. One of the stories featured in the book is that of Jack Andraka, the teen who invented a more sensitive, cheaper cancer test. This story was shared over 21,000 times through Brad’s site alone.
Throughout the powerful stories of acts of kindness in the book, Brad shares his own story of how his life changed in an instant when his wife, Mia, was diagnosed with leukemia. Following her diagnosis, Brad spent most of the next two-and-a-half years either by her side as she received treatment, or trying to shield their five-year-old son Jack from the worst of Mia’s illness. Amid the stress and despair of waiting for the treatment to take effect, Brad and Mia were met by an outpouring of kindness from loved ones and their community. HumanKind is a testament to the importance of reaching out with what we have to help others.
I received a copy of this book from Lisha Samuel, Wunderkind PR
Review: HUMANKIND: Changing the World One Small Act At a Time by Brad Aronson
I have had this book for a while and get it out from time to time. I thought of it recently while watching the movie While You Were Sleeping. The movie had many great lines. One that always stuck with me was when Lucy points out to Peter how heroic he is for giving up his seat on the train so someone else would have a place to sit.
Frequent acts of kindness likely happen to us all.
I will share one I experienced on a cold winter's day - similar to today. There were 6 or more inches of snow on the ground and I got off work expecting to have to trudge through the snow and spend time outside scraping off the windshield and windows of my car. Instead, I found a path had been shoveled and my car had already been cleaned.
Aronson's book begins by letting us know that the simplest acts can change a life and it offers great and endearing ideas we can utilize to help other people
Some stories highlighted in HUMANKIND include:
A community that rallied behind a child in need of a therapy dog.
A gap in bone marrow transplant donors of Jewish heritage inspired someone in need to lead a movement to help others find matches and save countless lives through volunteers.
The ripple effects that kindness can have, with future individuals and generations being inspired by the success and thoughtfulness of others, creating their own nonprofits and charities.
A McDonald’s lunch for someone in need that turned into a lifelong mentorship and friendship
Dr. Wilson Goode, who created one of the most comprehensive homelessness programs in the country, learned the ‘act of giving’ at the age of twelve when his mother shared their supper with a homeless man who knocked on their door in North Carolina.
A number of stories from the author's own life, including small acts of thoughtfulness, like the time his wife hid a much-needed $20 in the glove compartment of his car, knowing that he may one day need it.
Thinking along the lines communicated in HUMANKIND: Changing the World One Small Act At a Time, I would advise everyone to keep a gratitude journal - a place to track the good things that happen in life.
About Brad Aronson:
Brad Aronson is a husband and a dad, and when he’s holding the parenting reins, he likes to go all out. For him, that means leading an egg drop competition from the third-floor window of his family’s home or coaching indoor games of baseball and hockey and then having to explain why something else is now in pieces. Luckily, his wife Mia is understanding. Much of this time is spent teaching entrepreneurship in Camden, N.J., and volunteering on the nonprofit boards of Big Brothers Big Sisters and Hopeworks.