Rating: 4 out of 5

Memoir or manifesto? A bit of both. I didn’t see Strictly when Susan Calman was on it so some of this was wasted on me and I didn’t watch her transformation during the series. But I do believe in kindness. It made me smile a lot and laugh a bit. And that’s always good.

Highlighted passages:

For the purposes of this book, kindness is a deliberate act which involves other people (that you may or may not know personally), and some form of action or thought bringing about a positive result

Joy is an acutely personal emotion

Be kind to others but above all be kind to you. You deserve it

We change and evolve, we are different things to different people, we’re individuals

We are, as humans, full of delightful contradictions

We are all so very strange and beautiful that I never fail to be amazed bu the thoughts and feelings that come out of our brains

I want this to be a wonderful world. I want it to continue to be a place where magnificent, odd, eccentric individuals flourish. I need it to be better for those who come after us. I’m going to do my absolute best, even if I fail along the ay

Small things. Tiny pockets of joy. Remembering kindness. Being nice. It’s simple but glorious to be happy.

Originally posted to my Goodreads account