ONE GOOD DEED: The Book

Erin McHugh had spent many years doing her share of community work, before the minutiae of daily life eventually kept her too busy for those higher impulses. Then one day she learned a distant relative was actually going to be canonized. Was this a sign to reevaluate her priorities? What followed next was Erin’s wish to recapture a sense of charity, and so she set out on her birthday to do one good deed every day for an entire year. Maybe she wouldn’t be saving orphans from burning buildings or raising enough money to erase the national debt, but she wanted to take one small, daily detour and make someone else’s life just a little bit better. ONE GOOD DEED is the inspiring, smart, and frequently funny chronicle of a year when Erin tried to reclaim the better part of herself, with the hope of inspiring others to do the same.

What people are saying about ONE GOOD DEED:

“Engaging, funny, wise, and winning. ONE GOOD DEED is a measure of humanity and of McHugh’s own striving towards it.” — Susan Orlean, author of Rin Tin Tin and The Orchid Thief

“This instructive, funny, utterly relevant book reminds us that the simple act of paying daily attention can make a profound difference—to the world around us, and to our very selves.” —Dani Shapiro, author of Devotion: A Memoir

“I was afraid when I read One Good Deed that it was going to make me feel guilty or lazy, but it didn’t. It made me feel there were little things I could do to improve the world. Erin McHugh is one wise, funny, smart woman, and her book is a blast to read!” —Julie Klam, author of You Had Me at Woof

“One Good Deed” is original, sweet-natured and often funny… Erin McHugh makes us ordinary mortals feel like real heels.” — Meg Wolitzer, author of The Uncoupling and The Ten-Year Nap

“I loved this book. It’s charming and high-spirited and then it sneaks up from behind and breaks/mends your heart!” — Susan Cheever, writer, teacher, and author of Louisa May Alcott: A Personal Biography

“Erin McHugh spent one year performing ONE GOOD DEED a day and recording her experiences. The result, this lovely, heartfelt book, shows humanity at its very best. Sometimes her good deeds are small and go unnoticed; other times, they’re quite important, and will bring a sting of tears to the reader’s eyes. Perhaps McHugh will start a trend. We could certainly do with more people like her in the world.” — Kaylie Jones, author of Lies My Mother Never Told Me: A Memoir

“In Erin McHugh’s inspiring book – so gently, so directly written from her gentle, direct heart – she tells us at one point to make someone feel visible. I felt more visible myself as I read it for she sees quite clearly what we all need – to be shown that showing kindness to others is showing kindness to ourselves. McHugh grew up in New Bedford, Massachusetts, an old whaling village whose proud motto from its whaling days was ‘Lucem Diffundo’ which means ‘We light the world.’ New Bedford native McHugh honors her roots with this book. She has put some light in the world with her words.” — Kevin Sessums, author Mississippi Sissy

“The best book in the world…because it makes us our best.” — Nichole Bernier, author of The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D.

$18.95 in hardcover. You can order it at your local independent bookstore, BN.com, and Amazon.com.