Growing With Gratitude
Building Resilience, Happiness and Mental Wellbeing
Ash Manuel
Growing with Gratitude, by educator and wellbeing champion Ash Manuel, is a practical compass for embedding gratitude‑based resilience in school and organisational life. Manuel draws on two decades of experience to present five interwoven habits (gratitude, kindness, empathy, service and reflection) with clarity and conviction.
Manuel’s writing carries the tone of a trusted colleague sharing tested ideas: accessible, credible, and time‑wise. Classroom anecdotes such as short daily gratitude circles and simple service projects, ground the concepts in realism. He also provides usable templates, reflection prompts and quick tapestry-style activities that can slot into busy routines.
For school and organisational leaders, Manuel goes beyond student wellbeing by offering strategies to shape staff culture. Whether it’s gratitude rounds in team meetings or leadership frameworks centred on kindness and recognition, the book frames wellbeing as collective practice, not just a student initiative.
There are nods to positive psychology, linking gratitude practice to emotional resilience and academic growth, but theory stays in the background. Instead you get pragmatic tips: staff wellbeing challenges, gratitude-themed assemblies, student-led acts of service. Interwoven throughout are examples from a network of over 800 schools where these ideas have been trialled and refined globally.
This book invites conversation, not command. It gently nudges readers to think: what could our morning routine look like if we began with gratitude? How might student voice deepen if empathy and service became habitual?
It feels tuned to the kind of staffroom chat or podcast discussion that leads to practical change. Manuel’s voice is warm, grounded and optimistic. Instead of telling you what to do, Growing with Gratitude equips you to imagine how gratitude might grow quietly across classrooms, corridors and community.
Growing with Gratitude is meant to be read during planning time but you’ll want to use it all year long.
