"Gmorning, Gnight! Little Pep Talks for Me & You" by Lin-Manuel Miranda

I didn't realize how much I needed this book until I read it.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, the genius behind Hamilton and In the Heights, has a pretty prolific following on Twitter. Each day he provides a tweet of encouragement in the morning and one in the evening. Sometimes they're humorous, sometimes they're inspirational, and sometimes they just hit you right where you need them to.

Gmorning, Gnight! Little Pep Talks for Me & You is a compilation of those tweets of encouragement, accompanied by terrific illustrations from Jonny Sun. And as Miranda notes in the introduction:

I don't have a book of quotations
Or wisdom I pull from the shelf;
Most often the greetings I wish you
Are the greetings I wish for myself.

So if I write "relax," then I'm nervous,
Or if I write "cheer up," then I'm blue,
I'm writing what I wish somebody would say,
Then switching the pronoun to you.

I so enjoyed this book, and flew through it pretty quickly. I found myself smiling, nodding my head, even feeling a little emotional at times, because Miranda was saying things that really resonated for me. Sun's illustrations are cute without being too precious, literal at times while abstract at others.

Here's one set of pep talks I loved:

Good morning.
Courage.
Even when the panic's at the back of your throat, courage.
Let's go.

Good night.
Courage.
Even when fear is at the foot of your bed, courage.
Let's go.

This book will make such a great gift, and although I've read it cover to cover (in a matter of less than an hour), I'm thinking of using it as a book of daily affirmations. There are certainly days I can use a little extra encouragement!

I hope this makes you feel as good as it made me. Thanks, Lin-Manuel and Jonny!