Be the Change in the World — One Week at a Time

Introducing A Year of Compassion: 52 Weeks of Living Zero-Waste, Plant-Based, and Cruelty-Free!

Hope isn’t very popular these days.

In light of relentless natural disasters, escalating political violence, deepening divisions, and a fear that our future lies in the hands of those with opposing interests and values, many people are grappling with an overwhelming sense of despair, anxiety, and powerlessness.

While I understand these reactions, I don’t share them. Even in the face of such challenges, I still have hope.

No, I’m not a mythical creature. No, I’m not delusional. Yes, I’m paying attention.

I have hope because I dwell on what I can solve rather than on what I can’t.

I have hope because I focus on what I can control rather on that which is out of my control.

I have hope because I don’t do nothing just because I can’t do everything.

I have hope because there’s a lot to be hopeful about.

That’s not to say I’ve always known exactly what to do. When I first became aware of the critical challenges endangering our planet, our health, and the animals we share it with — a journey that consciously began 35 years ago — I immersed myself in every book, every article, every bit of content I could find offering ways to make a difference.

Reading books and articles with such titles as "101 Ways to Save Animals" and "500 Ways to Help the Planet," I voraciously devoured it all. With passion and resolve, I started making changes in the foods I ate, the products I bought, the companies I supported (or boycotted), and the organizations I donated to.

While I couldn’t possibly implement every suggestion, many of the changes stuck and became habits. But I also learned that not all actions have equal impact. There are hundreds of things we can do to live more compassionately—but quantity doesn’t always equal quality.

And so, over the last several decades, I’ve dedicated my life to helping people discern and decide what positive impacts they can make, culminating in my newest book, my eighth book, A Year of Compassion: 52 Weeks of Living Zero-Waste, Plant-Based, and Cruelty-Free, which officially launched on March 25, 2025. 😊

Compassion as the Root of Hope

Rooted in the ethic of compassion, my book’s prevailing theme is a testament to the fact that we are all connected, that there is good in this world, and that progress is happening all around us—a message most people aren’t hearing enough today.

The prevailing message most people hear—and often believe—is that everything is unraveling, the end of the world is nigh, and that our future is bleak. This constant narrative of doom leaves many feeling defeated, demoralized, and disempowered.

But here’s the thing: while it’s easy to feel paralyzed by all that’s wrong — especially if that’s the only message we’re exposing ourselves to day in and day out — despair doesn’t get us any closer to a solution. We don’t need more hopelessness—we need to reclaim our power and start manifesting the compassion we say we have so that we can create the compassionate world we say we want to live in.

Because what I know for sure is that the challenges we face in this world did not come about because we have so much compassion we don’t know what to do with it. Rather, the problems we face in this world came about because we’re not living according to our own values of compassion, kindness, and wellness.

It’s one thing to say we’re against violence, cruelty, environmental degradation, and perpetual ill health. Most people are. It’s quite another to manifest our values of compassion, kindness, and wellness in our daily actions (without waiting for someone else to come along to do it for us).

52 Weeks of Practical Inspiration

And that is why compassion is the foundation and frame for a book on sustainability, plant-based eating, and animal protection: because whether we care about preventing cruelty to animals, avoiding environmental disasters, or optimizing our health, compassion is the answer. But compassion isn’t simply a soft, fuzzy beacon of hope. It is the very catalyst for change. It demands action. It compels connection.

Compassion, by its very nature, is about seeing ourselves as connected to—not separate from—other people, other beings, and the world around us.

Like waves are to the ocean, we are intricately and inherently interconnected. When we recognize and internalize this interconnectedness, when compassion is the lens through which we see the world and our relationship to it, we are naturally compelled to act in ways that cause the least amount of harm — to anyone, including ourselves.

I wrote this book to inspire and empower readers to reclaim their sense of agency and to embolden them to take meaningful actions that create real, tangible change—not just feel-good gestures with little impact. (Spoiler alert: it’s not about the straws.) A Year of Compassion isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing better. It’s not about acting harder. It’s about acting smarter. Here are just a handful of chapter titles.

• Conduct a Personal Waste and Consumption Audit

• Be Prepared to Help: Finding Sick, Injured, or Lost Animals

• Adopt a Zero Waste Mindset: Food is Not Garbage

• Recycle. Don’t Wish-Cycle

• Provide a Wildlife Habitat

• Back to Basics: Retro Reusables for a Greener Tomorrow

• Skip the Middle Animal: The Nutrients We Need Are Plant-Based

• Declutter Your Fridge to Prevent Food Waste

• Take a 30-Day Vegan Challenge

• Humane Critter Control: Managing Uninvited Guests

• Choose Sustainable Transportation

• Bake Better without Eggs

• Provide Temporary Shelter: Foster Animals

• Stop Composting (in Your Fridge): Eat Leftovers

• Attend Animal-Free Circuses

• Reduce Non-Essential Plastic Packaging

• Embrace Imperfect Produce

By making small tweaks in our everyday lives, we create a ripple effect that changes the world — for the better. Let’s live compassionately, sustainably, and deliciously!

A Year of Compassion

I wrote this book as a practical guide to help readers cultivate compassion through daily practice, make positive changes in their daily lives, and create a ripple effect of kindness and wellness — for themselves, for the animals, and for our planet. We humans tend to do nothing when we think we have to do everything, so instead of overwhelming you with hundreds of ideas, I’ve prioritized the most impactful, measurable, and effective actions we can take.

But living compassionately is not only about doing. How we spend our time and money is contingent on how we think and what we believe, so some of what you’ll read in the book also has to do with shifting our perspective, changing our perceptions, orienting our mindset, and sharpening the lens through which we see the world. This will not only make behavioral changes more enjoyable and sustainable, it will also make them feel less arduous and more effortless.

Finally, aspiring to live compassionately and healthfully is about progress, not perfection. Be kind to yourself, and be flexible. We don’t need a few people doing it perfectly; we need a lot of people doing it imperfectly.

My hope is that you are attracted to this book because you want to make a positive difference in the world and in your life, but remember: in order to make a difference we may have to do something different. While you certainly don’t have to implement every suggestion in this book, don’t avoid doing something different just because it’s challenging. Take some risks, step out of your comfort zone, and expand your horizons.

Don’t do nothing because you can’t do everything. Do something. Anything.

May this book be your anything, and may it provide the scaffolding you need to build a life based on compassion, creating a ripple effect that can and will change the world for humankind and animalkind. And may it give you permission to hope—not because the world is perfect, but because you (and you and you and you) are willing to step up to create the compassionate world you imagine.

For the animals,

Sharing the Love!

👉 My first book in 5 years (since Covid destroyed the launch and life of The Joyful Vegan) I am so excited for you to read A Year of Compassion. Buy from your favorite independent bookstore, large retailer, or signed copies from me!

👉 I’d be SOOO grateful if you would leave a glowing review of the book on Amazon and Goodreads. Even if YOU don’t shop at Amazon, millions of people do! And even those who don’t shop there DO look for reviews on that platform. Thank you. 🙏

👉 Work with me 1:1 – Get personalized guidance to build healthier habits, cultivate self-compassion, and strengthen emotional resilience.

👉 Listen to Food for Thought – Inspiration for living compassionately, sustainably, and healthfully (18 years strong!)