The first time I actually paid attention to the power of appreciation and got interested in some of the best books on gratitude was just 5 years ago when I almost died.
Now, don’t imagine some accident or misfortune happening to me. I was just 29 years old disappointed woman living in a foreign country and felt like a walking failure who didn’t want to… well, walk anymore. The details are personal, and I will leave them a secret. I was battling a deep depression and wasn’t seeing any chance of getting better, and that is something many people in similar situation experience.
At some point, I was ashamed to admit I had those thoughts, and most people in my life have no clue what I’ve been through.
Yet, I know.
And every time I think about that moment 5 years ago, the only things I remember are the gloomy grey day and the sharp turn on the road when I decided to hit my car in a lorry that was taking that turn.
The full story (and what stopped me from doing it) can be read on my other blog, where I share my tips on getting over depression and anxiety.
What you might be interested in is how gratitude could take a person out of deep depression and keep him away from it for good.
Because that is what happened.
Back then, 5 years ago, I decided that if I was going to live this life, I needed to have a pinch of curiosity for it. A short video by Gabrielle Bernstein convinced me I need a tiny notebook for gratitude, and these two things (curiosity for life and my gratitude journal) took me on a wonderful journey to self-discovery and living the life I truly enjoy.
What is Gratitude?
I guess it might be a trivial question nowadays as we all know what gratitude is. Yet, we still need an extra explanation.
Books will tell you that gratitude is the simple feeling of thankfulness and appreciation we have towards someone for doing something that made us feel good in any possible way.
I’ve also found out that gratitude is a feeling of powerful blissfulness, wholeness, and the simplest step towards a happy life. Gratitude is the appreciation for having “enough” and the knowledge that “more is coming” daily.
Gratitude is like fresh air after staying in a room with no windows for days or maybe years (who counts them). I might be a bit worried as to why I did not realize earlier that gratitude was what I needed to live a life of hope and happiness. Yet, everyone’s journey is different, and I accept that I discovered it when the time was right.
Maybe the time is right for you too.
If you are on the journey of discovering Gratitude…
If you are inspired by gratitude and its immense powers, all you need is a piece of paper and the willingness to step out of your comfort zone and write the first three things that come to mind when you type “I am grateful for…”
And if you’d like to take your journey a step or two further, you also want to get yourself a few books that will keep you motivated and focused on Gratitude.
In this post, I’ve put together my personal recommendations on the best books on Gratitude, and I also announce which one I recommend the most (it might surprise you). More about this later.
Let’s check what your next Gratitude read should be.
10 Best Books on Gratitude
Best Books On Gratitude
Thanks!: How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier by Dr. Robert Emmons
Dr. Emmons is one of the leading figures of the positive psychology movement, and his book Thanks! takes on a little more scientific and a little bit more religious journey through gratitude.
I know it sounds a little bit confusing how religion and science intertwine together in this book, yet this is a very good read to start with if curious about gratitude.
Packed with thorough psychology research and how gratitude affects us on a deeper level, Thanks! promises to enrich your knowledge and won't leave you emotionless.
The one thing that seems to be a put-off is the shrinking of the idea of gratitude and the things you can be grateful for. Yet, it is still a great read to start with.
Rating: 3/5
A Simple Act of Gratitude: How Learning to Say Thank You Changed My Life by John Kralik
If you love a good story with a happy ending that is a little bit predictable yet inspiring and encouraging - this would be your best book on gratitude.
John Kralik's personal story is just like that of many other normal people who go on downhill and cannot find their way back. In the middle of a second divorce, on the edge of a financial bankrupt, losing connections with his children and dumped by his girlfriend... It sounds like a script of a low-budget romantic story.
Yet, things are turning around when John decides to send one handwritten thank-you note a day. He reaches out to old clients, friends from the college, past loves, and a year later, his life looks like nothing before.
Nothing unpredictable, yet so inspiring, and the most important thing is that it isn't a fantasy. Yes, gratitude transforms one's life because it transforms one's soul.
Rating: 5/5
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Gratitude by Oliver Sacks
Four essays, four times expressing gratitude for life itself and four times emotionally exploring what we have - life, and what waits for us all - end of life.
Oliver Sacks was a neurologist, writer, lover of everything unordinary and had a way of showing a side of the world we usually choose to ignore.
His beautiful essays from the last year of his life are combined in Gratitude - probably his most praised and respected book on gratitude. It is a quick read, but you will want to read it again and again.
Tenderly, Sacks expresses gratitude for having the privilege to be alive. This book is comforting, touching, a little bit saddening, yet brilliant.
Rating: 5/5
Chicken Soup for the Soul | Original Stories Plus 20 Bonus Stories for the Next 20 Years
Chicken Soup For The Soul is that inspirational book that will teach you how to be more human will give you hope and spark appreciation and deep gratitude for this world and its wonders.
For over 20 years on the market, this book is an absolute bestseller, and it's the one edition you cannot skip taking a look at. If you are searching for hope, for uplifting readings in the morning, excitement, and stories that bring tears into your eyes, this is the best book for you.
Even though it doesn't speak of gratitude directly, it will make you feel gratitude at all times.
Rating: 4/5
Thanku: Poems of Gratitude by Miranda Paul and Marlena Myles
This is a tribute to gratitude through poerty. Enjoying and being appreciative for the little things in life is something you will understand easily, one poem at a time.
Contributors in this book of poems include Kimberly Bleaser, Cunthia Leitich Smith, Janice Scully, Jane Yolen and many others.
Rating: 4/5
The Gratitude Project: How the Science of Thankfulness Can Rewire Our Brains for Resilience, Optimism, and the Greater Good
One of the things that give me the most joy lately is that gratitude isn't seen as just a "feeling" by people anymore.
In fact, it's a part of scienced-based researches, and more and more, it's seen as a tool and a path to a healthier and happier life.
The Gratitude Project is a little bit scientific, a little bit dry to read, but a great resource of inspiration and knowledge on how appreciation in life changes life.
Rating: 4/5
Mindfulness for Beginners: Reclaiming the Present Moment and Your Life(Book & CD)) by Jon Kabat-Zinn
He brought mindfulness to the mass and proved that we could improve clinical disorders such as depression and anxiety through it.
Jon Kabat-Zinn has been a practitioner of meditation, yoga, and mindfulness for over 30 years. His book is not on gratitude precisely, yet it gives you what you need o practice both mindfulness and gratitude every day.
I place this book in the list of best books on gratitude as it will get you to a level of comfort and mindful living, which drastically increases feelings of appreciation.
Ready to transform your life? Start with this book.
Rating: 5/5
Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy by Nancy Leigh DeMoss
Choosing Joy and Gratitude over ingratitude... Nancy DeMoss takes you on a journey through questioning the way you approach your days. Does "not being grateful" mean we unknowingly choose "ingratitude"?
I love the concept of this book as it states that indeed Gratitude is a choice, just as Joy and Happiness. And the only reason we decide (because we do) to unsee this is because we look in another direction.
Easy to read, calming and sweet.
Rating: 5/5
Just One Thing: Developing A Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time by Rick Hanson
52 practices to invite mindfulness and gratitude into your life. This little book helps you focus on what truly matters in a Buddha-style manner backed up by neuroscience and seasoned with simplicity.
Just One Thing is exactly what you'd expect - just one thing at a time, at a day, or a glance. Take the book, open it on any chapter and do your thing. Contemplate. Reflect. Follow. Question.
Rating: 4/5
Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson, 20th Anniversary Edition by Mitch Albom
I will be forever fond of this book, and I will take my time convincing you why you need it in your life.
Leafing through the pages of this brilliant artwork, you cannot feel anything else but appreciation, gratitude, serenity, and awe of life itself.
It is my top choice on this list of books on gratitude, even if it's not dedicated to gratitude. And yet, it is.
A dying professor, his busy student, and a swirl of laughs and tears are waiting for you from page one. If you have that one person that you never manage to get enough of, if you have that teacher, parent, guide, mentor, friend, someone who never failed to shower with wisdom and love, then you know this book is for you.
Laughing at the misfortunes, teaching his last lesson, Morrie will liveforever in your heart and will become your teacher as well.
Based on a true story, Tuesdays With Morrie is one book every human being has to touch.
Rating: 5/5
Which one is going to be the best book on Gratitude to you?
I hope you agree that whatever speaks to me might skip you and vice versa. Yet, these are some awesome book recommendations, and I am curious if you had a look through them and picked any.
Share in the comments below your thoughts on gratitude and its power in your life.
10 Best Books on Gratitude
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