I’m a big fan of Robin Roberts and her books.  

In case you missed it, you can click here to read my blog post about her book From the Heart: Eight Rules to Live By. 

And you can click here to read my blog post about her other book Everybody’s Got Something. 

Which means I went ahead and ordered her most recent book Brighter By the Day: Waking Up to New Hopes and Dreams without even having seen the book in person.

I was not disappointed. My copy is full of sticky notes and many passages are marked with my highlighter. This book is really such a gift. And while we’re at it, Robin Roberts is really such a gift. 

It’s the way Ms. Roberts writes, as if she’s sitting down giving you a pep talk. Here are just a few gems to share with you:

“Yet here’s what I believe: Optimism is a muscle that grows stronger with use.”

“I’d like to pass on to you the gem my parents once gave me: You already have everything you need to forge a new path for yourself. I know you’re fierce, because it takes chutzpah to consider a new course. And I’m betting that you’ve got hope that tomorrow can be better, ‘cause otherwise, you probably wouldn’t have picked up this little tome.” 

“Confidence isn’t the absence of fear; it’s the presence of mind to move through the trembling.” 

“During my dual showdowns with cancer, I brought my gratitude A game. I knew I had just two plays: I could allow the illness to destroy and define me, to permanently cripple my spirit. Or I could embrace the experience as a rebirth, as a butterfly struggling against the walls of its cocoon, and getting stronger as it does.” 

“People often see the glass as half-empty or half-full. I simply see the glass.” 

“Do you want it more than you fear it? It’s what I now ask myself whenever trepidation makes a house call.” 

“We may not ever fully comprehend why catastrophe has befallen us, and that’s okay. Our job isn’t to comprehend it. It’s to redeem it for good.”

“My village — not an absence of fear — got me through the most harrowing two ordeals of my life-time. That is why I know this: Strength, the real kind, isn’t about braving the behemoths on our own. It’s about being willing to receive — to embrace the help, hope, and healing others want to give us. Vulnerability is the gateway to fortitude. An ever-deepening intimacy with those we love is the enduring treasure.”

“When I’m dealing with a situation I think is all-important, I put it through a litmus test: In a year or two, will this matter? Often it won’t, even in a few months. That awareness changes my perspective and re-anchors me in the present.”

“That’s part of what it means to be brighter by the day: to be mindful of every breath we’re given. Don’t rob yourself of that treasure.”