An excerpt from God Never Blinks:
“It took me 40 years to find and hold onto happiness. I always felt that at the moment I was born, God must have blinked. He missed the occasion and never knew I had arrived. My parents had 11 children. While I love them and my five brothers and five sisters deeply, some days I felt lost in the litter. As Kathy pointed out, I seemed to be the runt of that litter. I ended up confused by the nuns at 6, a lost soul who drank too much at 16, an unwed mother at 21, a college graduate at 30, a single mother for 18 years, and finally, a wife at 40, married to a man who treated me like a queen.
Then I got cancer at 41. It took a year to fight it, then a year to recover from the fight.
When I turned 45, I lay in bed reflecting on all life had taught me. My soul sprang a leak and ideas flowed out. My pen simply caught them and set the words on paper. I typed them up and turned them into a newspaper column of the 45 lessons life taught me.
When I hit 50, I added five more lessons and the paper ran the column again. Then something amazing happened. People across the country began to forward the column. Ministers, nurses and social workers requested reprints to run in newsletters, church bulletins and small town newspapers. People of all religions and those of none at all could relate. While some of the lessons speak of God, people found in them universal truths. I’ve heard from agnostics and atheists who carry the list of lessons in their wallets and keep it tacked to their work cubicles and stuck under refrigerator magnets. The lessons are posted on blogs and websites by people all over the world. Every week since the column ran, people have emailed from Australia to Zanesville, Ohio, asking for copies. That column is the most popular one I’ve written in my 24 years as a journalist.
Some of these essays originally appeared in The Plain Dealer or the Beacon Journal. Some of them are originals.
These lessons are life’s gifts to me, and mine to you.”
Advance praise for God Never Blinks:
“Regina Brett’s book, God Never Blinks, provides practical insights that can change the world.”
- Deepak Chopra, author of The Ultimate Happiness Prescription
“Regina Brett is a gifted observer of the experiences that shape who we are, and her lessons unfold with buoyancy, humor and a courageous honesty. She has given us a beautifully written roadmap for life.”
– Jeffrey Zaslow, co-author of The Last Lecture
“I intend to give my eighty-two-year-old dad a copy of God Never Blinks. I will also buy one for a sixteen-year-old friend. This wise, compassionate, and honest book is a blueprint for living a happy, fulfilling life. Its lessons are timeless – and timely.”
– Thrity Umrigar, author of The Space Between Us
“I’ve long admired Regina Brett's writing, not least because she's a terrific storyteller–smart, funny, and thoughtful, with real insight into the complexities and nuances of our everyday lives.”
– Dan Chaon, author of Await Your Reply
“I love this book! It is powerful, poignant, funny, and magical. Read it and Regina Brett’s magic will touch your heart.”
– Joe Eszterhas, author of Crossbearer and Hollywood Animal
“How can one be so lucky as to live in the city where the morning cup of coffee comes with the joy and power of Regina Brett? Her writing routinely entertains as it stimulates change. Many beg her to share her columns in a more permanent form. Here she fulfills both dreams. While you'll almost certainly enjoy the pearls and stories, you'll probably change as well.”
– Dr. Michael Roizen, chief wellness officer of the Cleveland Clinic and co-author of YOU: The Owner’s Manual with Dr. Mehmet Oz
