A Literary Prescription for

Kindness

For the small, unglamorous decencies that quietly hold the whole world together.

Kindness is easy to underrate. It is quiet, unglamorous, and rarely makes the headlines, and yet it is very likely the thing that holds the whole world together, one small decency at a time. It costs almost nothing and changes almost everything, for the person who receives it and the person who gives it. In a hard, hurried age it is worth choosing on purpose. These books and poems are a celebration of kindness, and a gentle invitation to a little more of it.

Books Poetry Quotes & Prose

Books

Prescribed reading

Some of these make the wise, sometimes surprising case for kindness as a real strength, and some are novels full of the small decencies that quietly change lives. Non-fiction and fiction together, they share one heartening truth: that people are kinder than we fear, and that a single act of it can ripple far beyond what we ever see.

The Power of Kindness

Piero Ferrucci · 2006

Ferrucci, a psychotherapist, makes an eloquent case that kindness, far from being soft or naive, is a genuine strength that enriches health, relationships and happiness. Exploring warmth, honesty, patience and gratitude in turn, it is a warm, wise guide to a kinder way of living. A quietly nourishing book to read slowly and take to heart.

Humankind

Rutger Bregman · 2019

Bregman marshals history and science to argue, persuasively, that human beings are far kinder and more cooperative than we have been led to believe. It is a genuinely uplifting, myth-busting read that restores your faith in people. For anyone worn down by cynicism about human nature, it is a bracing, hopeful corrective.

On Kindness

Adam Phillips & Barbara Taylor · 2009

A thoughtful little book on why we became so suspicious of a natural human impulse, and what we lose by guarding against it. Elegant and quietly provocative, it makes the case for kindness as central to a good and connected life. A short, stimulating read for anyone curious about why being kind can feel oddly risky.

The Secret Life of Bees

Sue Monk Kidd · 2001

In 1960s South Carolina, a motherless girl is taken in by three beekeeping sisters whose kindness slowly heals her. Kidd’s warm, luminous novel is a hymn to the found families and unexpected tenderness that mend us. A comforting, big-hearted story about being cared for when you most need it.

Miss Benson’s Beetle

Rachel Joyce · 2020

Joyce’s joyful novel follows two very different women on an unlikely expedition, and the deep, transforming friendship that grows through countless small kindnesses. Funny, moving and full of heart, it is a celebration of the people who show up for us. A delight for anyone who believes kindness can change the course of a life.

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand

Helen Simonson · 2010

A retired English major and a Pakistani shopkeeper find unlikely love and friendship across the small prejudices of an English village. Simonson’s warm, witty novel is a quiet triumph of decency and open-heartedness over narrowness. A charming, humane read about the courage it sometimes takes simply to be kind.

Poems about kindness

For an open heart

from “Abou Ben Adhem”

Leigh Hunt, 1834

…‘What writest thou?’ The vision raised its head,
And with a look made of all sweet accord,
Answer’d, ‘The names of those who love the Lord.’
…‘I pray thee, then,
Write me as one that loves his fellow men.’

Hunt’s much-loved parable makes a quietly radical claim: that loving your fellow human beings is its own kind of holiness, worth more than any piety. Abou asks only to be counted among those who love others, and is blessed above all. A warm, humane poem that puts simple kindness at the very centre of a good life.

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from “Songs for the People”

Frances E. W. Harper, 1895

Let me make the songs for the people,
Songs for the old and young;
…Let me sing for little children,
Before their footsteps stray,
…Music to soothe all its sorrow,
Till war and crime shall cease.

Harper, a pioneering African-American poet and activist, dedicates her gift entirely to the service of others: to soothing sorrow, guiding the young, and easing a hurting world. It is kindness as a whole way of living and working. A stirring, generous poem from a remarkable voice that deserves to be far better known.

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from “Little Things”

Julia A. Carney, 1845

Little drops of water,
Little grains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean
And the pleasant land.
…Little deeds of kindness,
Little words of love,
Make our earth an Eden,
Like the heaven above.

Carney’s simple, singable verse holds a truth we forget: that it is the small kindnesses, the little deeds and words, that quietly build a better world, just as drops of water make an ocean. A gentle reminder that you need not do anything grand. The little things, done often, are the thing itself.

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Quotes & Prose

Quotes about kindness to keep

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.

Dalai Lama

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Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.

Mark Twain

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Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward.

Princess Diana

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A little kindness from person to person is better than a vast love for all humankind.

Richard Dehmel

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Kindness costs almost nothing and changes almost everything. It is the cheapest miracle there is.

Georgia Clare

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From Georgia

A kinder heart

A short talk on how helping others quietly heals us too, and an essay on the small daily habit that quietly makes us gentler and more grateful.

The Healing Power of Helping

A short talk by Georgia Clare

A short, warm reflection on how kindness and helping others transform not just their lives, but our own.

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How a Gratitude Journal Changed My Life

Personal essay by Georgia Clare · The Library

On the quiet practice of noticing the good, and how gratitude and kindness feed each other into a softer, more generous way of seeing.

Read the Essay →

Why One Small Thing Can Change Your Day

A short talk by Georgia Clare

A short, uplifting talk on how a single small shift, chosen on purpose, can quietly turn a whole day around.

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The Inner Peace Toolkit

Digital Self-Care Toolkit · Georgia Clare

2 guided meditations, an Inner Peace Journal, an affirmations eBook, 10 printable affirmation prints and 10 calming phone wallpapers — small daily practices to come back to whenever you need to slow down and reconnect with yourself.

Explore the Toolkit →

Questions people ask

Reading for Kindness

Where should I start?

Start with The Power of Kindness by Piero Ferrucci, a beautiful book that shows kindness not as weakness but as a quiet strength that enriches every part of a life. And if you would rather a story, The Secret Life of Bees is a tender novel about the healing power of being taken in and cared for. The poems below are small acts of kindness in themselves.

What can I read about kindness?

Books that restore your faith in it. Humankind makes the striking, evidence-based case that people are far kinder than we assume, and On Kindness explores why we became so wary of a natural human impulse. The novels here, from Miss Benson’s Beetle to Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, are full of small, life-changing decencies. Or begin with the poems and the lines to keep below.

Which quotes about kindness are worth keeping?

Quotes worth keeping include “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” (Aesop), “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” (Dalai Lama) and “Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward.” (Princess Diana). You will find these and more in the quotes section above.

Can reading really make me kinder?

It genuinely can. Reading is, in itself, one of the great schools of kindness: stepping inside another person’s experience is exactly what kindness requires. Story after story builds the empathy that makes decency almost automatic. And the wise books on kindness remind you that it is not naive but powerful, good for the giver as much as the receiver. These are pages to soften the heart, gently and for good.

Kindness

Prescribed reading

For an open heart

Quotes about kindness to keep

A kinder heart

Reading for Kindness

Where should I start?

What can I read about kindness?

Which quotes about kindness are worth keeping?

Can reading really make me kinder?

More prescriptions await.