Rachel Greco has been a newspaper journalist for more than two decades. She’s passionate about two things – covering issues that impact people in their daily lives and shining a light on the good that everyone is capable of. Her first book, “Random Acts of Kindness,”co-authored with best-selling author Dete Meserve, will be released in March of 2019.

What does being grateful mean to you?

“It means living a life filled with as much optimism as you can muster. It means reminding yourself to seek out the glass-half-full outlook for every situation that you can, but it also means you live in the moment as much as possible. It’s everyday moments that make our life, and a grateful person recognizes that.

Right now, in this moment what are 3 things you are grateful for?

“My family, my faith and my friends.”

Who is the first person that comes to mind when you hear, “Someone in my life that I’m grateful for and why?”

“My husband Tony. He’s is a constant and steady rock in my life.”

What is your morning routine like?

“I wake up pretty early, 5 a.m. most days and am working by 7:45 a.m. It is true what they say. The news doesn’t sleep.”

What inspired you to write Random Acts of Kindness and how did you meet your co-author Dete Meserve?

“I’ve always gravitated toward stories of kindness as a journalist. I seek them out and advocate for writing them. I believe they interest people just as much as any controversial or tragic story, and they have the ability to make people feel better about the world around them. They also inspire people to look for ways to be kind. Dete Meserve read a story I wrote about a single mother and her family who struggled with the aging van she drove. She is handicapped and needed a more reliable wheelchair-accessible vehicle. After I wrote about their needs a reader, a stranger who had never met her, decided to buy her one. My article captured the moment they met and he gave the van to her. Dete is an author herself. Several of her novels, like “Good Sam,” center around kind acts. She wanted to partner with a journalist to work on a book about real-life kindness, and asked me to write it with her. For me it was an opportunity to write more good, and I jumped at the chance. “Random Acts of Kindness” spotlights 25 true stories of everyday people doing good. It was released in March of 2019.

What were some of the obstacles you faced while in the pursuit of writing and publishing the book?

“The biggest challenge for me was balancing researching and writing the book with my full-time job as a journalist at a daily newspaper.”

If you could only share one of the stories from the book which one would it be?

One chapter spotlights a woman in Boston, Cathy O’Grady, who’s made random acts of kindness her life mission. She pays off layaway purchases at toy stores, leaves blankets for the less fortunate on park benches and donates money to families in need. She lives her life in service of others and it’s given her so much joy. You can hear it in her voice when she talks about doing good. It’s so inspiring.

While writing the book did you find any sites, apps, or bloggers you would recommend us checking out?

I would suggest following Lara Capuano’s blog at laracapuano.com/iquitwhenitscold. Her story is featured in “Random Acts of Kindness.” I would also suggest following our book’s “Random Acts of Kindness” book Facebook page at facebook.com/groups/RandomActsofKindnessBook/ and Dete Meserve’s author page at facebook.com/GoodSamBook/ . Both spotlight stories about everyday kindness.

Can you share with us anything you are working on now?

Right now I’m working on my first fiction novel.

In closing, what are some suggestions that you can give our readers that can help them incorporate gratitude into their daily lives?

Check out “Random Acts of Kindness” the book by clicking here:   Amazon books or  Barnes & Noble Booksellers.