In the world of today, when in the news we are mostly fed troubling stories of crime, war and violence, my kudos to a remarkable young lady from Chicago, Shanaya Grant (pictured), for taking time from her busy life as management consultant for one of the Big-4 Accounting companies in Chicago to research and publish a book, Human Kind — True Stories to Restore Your Faith in Humanity. This comes as a breath of fresh air, a collection of about 50 true, inspirational short stories to "prove beyond all doubt that people are inherently good and that none of us is too small or too busy to make a difference.”
Grant was motivated when, approximately six years ago, after watching the horror of a mass shooting unfold on TV, she observed that the news media focused attention on the perpetrator of the crime, but ignored the many people who had risked their lives to save others at this same horrific occurrence. She resolved to write a book about ordinary people doing extraordinary things for mankind.
Strongly believing that the world is a beautiful place filled with good people, Grant spent countless hours researching over 170 references from news articles and studies, interviewing exceptional individuals and writing their stories. Her emphasis is that we have choices on how we live our lives, to count our blessings, to find ways to bring happiness to others. We are all capable of creating a positive impact on others in our daily lives; we just have to choose to do so.
It has been a passionate endeavor for Grant to show that there are many more good people than bad in this world and to shed some light on the goodness of humankind in a world that increasingly seems to focus on the negative.
As her own act of kindness — besides researching, writing, self-publishing and financing Human Kind single-handedly, she will be giving all the proceeds from the book to her favorite charity, St Jude’s Children’s Hospital.
If you, like me, are disgusted with the dispiriting news we constantly hear, I suggest you read this feel-good book which is available on Amazon for USD 14.95 (Rs 1,217).
ROSHAN RIVETNA
Chicago, Illinois, USA
roshanrivetna@gmail.com