Table of Contents
Introduction 1
The Power of Hello 5 Howard White
The Art of Being a Neighbor 8 Eve Birch
A Kind and Generous Heart 11 Christine Little
Make It Do 14 Patricia Anderson
Grace Is a Gift 17 Laura Durham
The Sisterhood of Roller Derby 20 Erin Blakemore
Caring Makes Us Human 23 Troy Chapman
Satisfaction with a Job Well Done 26 Nancy Pieters Mayfield
The World Is Imperfect 29 Suzanne Cleary
Peace Can Happen 32 Christine Kingery
A Priceless Lesson in Humility 36 Felipe Morales
Finding Out What’s under Second Base 39 Lex Urban
Accomplishing Big Things in Small Pieces 42 William Wissemann
I Have to See the World 45 Veena Muthuraman
Deciding to Live 49 Kij Johnson
Walking in the Light 52 Paul Thorn
The Perfect Merge 55 Lori Vermeulen
Listening Is Powerful Medicine 58 Alicia M. Conill, M.D.
Semper Fidelis 61 Andrew Paradis
Our Vulnerability Is Our Strength 64 Colin Bates
Patriotic Ponderings 67 Joan Skiba
Opening the Door of Mercy 70 Karin Round
The True Value of Life 73 Sudie Bond Noland
An Invitation to Dialogue 76 Madhukar Rao
Homeless but Not Hopeless: A Man Finds His Soul 79 Les Gapay
The Power of Sleep 82 Anne Hoppus
Where Wildflowers Grow 85 Maureen Crane Wartski
I Could Be Wrong 88 Allan Barger
Everyone Is Included 91 Catherine Mcdowall
A Lesson I Hold Dear 95 Kara Gebhart Uhl
A Taste of Success 98 Geoffrey Canada
A Grace of Silence 102 Andrew Flewelling
Do Talk to Strangers 105 Sabrina Dubik
Finding Our Common Ground 108 Robin Mize
Bus Chick’s Manifesto 111 Carla Saulter
Right Now Matters 114 Samantha Jacobs
Seeing with the Heart 117 Stephanie Disney
Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace 120 Dani Weathers
The Triumph of Kindness 123 Josh Stein
Time to Walk the Dog 126 Betsy Buchalter Adler
Yankee Go Home 129 Rita Barrett
The Courage to Change the Things I Can 133 Mark Olmsted
To Hear Your Inner Voice 136 Christine Todd Whitman
Keep It Real 139 Rose Eiesland Foster
Important Strangers 142 Leslie Guttman
My Parents as Friends 146 Bhavani G. Murugesan
A Good Neighborhood 149 Jeff Nixa
Believing in People 152 Rebecca Klott
Becoming Friends 155 Larry Chaston
Just Say No 158 Jessica Paris
Courage Comes with Practice 161 Theresa Macphail
Adapting to the Possibilities of Life 164 Donald L. Rosenstein, M.D.
Why Are We Here? 167 Dale Long
A Drive to Achieve the Extraordinary 170 Juliet Frerking
Inviting the World to Dinner 173 Jim Haynes
Finding the Flexibility to Survive 176 Brighton Earley
The Act of Giving Thanks 179 Michelle Lee
Sally’s Monday 182 Patricia James
If You Don’t Do It, Who Will? 185 Jodi Webb
Here Comes (the Real) Santa Claus 188 Becky Sun
Appendix: How to Write Your Own
This I Believe Essay 191
Acknowledgments 193
