A Year of Doing Good: One Woman, One New Year's Resolution, 365 Good Deeds

(Paperback)

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Description

How one woman tried to be a better person - and almost succeeded Fed up of New Year's resolutions involving diets and exercise abandoned on January 2nd, Judith is attempting to be good. For one whole year. Judith embarked on a mission to do one good deed every day. Some called it a social experiment. At times she called it madness. Juggling family, friends and a variety of neighbours in the small Northumberland village she calls home, she recounts the ups, downs, moments of doubt and sheer bloody hard work of doing good. From the small - babysitting a friend's child, clearing up her neighbour's dead mice and feeding her friendship cake Herman the German, to the slightly larger - trying to raise e10,000 for charity with her Jam Jar Army and teaching a severely handicapped child to write - she describes what she learns along the way- that no good deed is too small and that being good makes you happy. Well, most of the time.

Reviews

Banish January blues with A Year of Doing Good by Judith O'Reilly who resolved to do one good turn day. . . utterly uplifting -- Fanny Blake * Woman & Home *
A funny, uplifting and admirable book * Observer *
Fizzing with energy Judith's writing is open-hearted and funny. . . though not a guide to doing good, Judith's story may inspire you to do a little more for others this year * Express *
Glorious sincerity. . .the admiring accounts of others' lives, the detailing of the deeds gladly done or furiously resented, the unending chaos of family life - all are rendered honestly, colourfully and occasionally hilariously -- Lucy Mangan * Sunday Times *
A truly inspirational book with which to begin a New Year . . . witty and moving * National Library of Scotland *
A Year of Doing Good inspires the reader with the day-to-day journey of meaning, gratification and joy that comes from contributing to the lives of others in so many creative ways. For those who want to put "do unto others" in the centre of their lives and reap the unexpected benefits of happiness and health, this is the book for you. Elegantly written, the words jump off the page. -- Stephen G. Post, PhD, author of * The Hidden Gifts of Helping *

Author Bio

Judith O'Reilly is a writer and journalist. Her first book Wife in the North was based on her blog of the same name and was a bestseller. Her second book, a novel, is living in a drawer. Her third book is this one. She is married with three children, and for one year she tried to be good.