Kindness

A moving story of hope, resilience and the life-changing power of kindness, from the founder of the global not-for-profit, Kindness Factory.

Kath Koschel has faced almost unimaginable hurdles. In her mid-twenties, she broke her back and was told she may never walk again. Shortly afterwards, she lost her beloved partner to suicide. Then, just as she was piecing her life back together, she was hit by a drunk driver while cycling and forced to relearn to walk a second time.

In the midst of these harrowing experiences, Kath created the Kindness Factory on social media to share her small acts of kindness, hoping to inspire a groundswell of people to join her. Her idea blew up: millions of acts have since been logged, giving birth to the 'Kindness Curriculum' - a blueprint for happiness, resilience and connection which has now launched in schools across three countries.

In 2016 she put her beliefs to the ultimate test, leaving home with nothing but a change of clothes, her phone and a toothbrush - no food, money or water. Her goal? To see how long she could survive on the kindness of strangers. Her journey took her to every state in Australia, where she met with people from all walks of life to share her kindness manifesto.

Part stirring memoir and part empowering call to action, Kindness is a timely reminder that there is always light to be found, if only we look hard enough.

About the Author

A former professional cricketer and Iron Man competitor, Kath Koschel has defied all medical prognoses by teaching herself to walk on three separate occasions. Despite facing other serious personal, mental and physical setbacks, her resilience has allowed her to not only overcome these challenges but also see the good in the world when most others couldn't.

On November 2015, Kath founded the Kindness Factory, a global not-for-profit organisation and movement that inspires ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Over four million acts of kindness (and counting) have since been logged. To date, she has raised close to half a million dollars for various charity organisations, and she was the recipient of the 2016 Pride of Australia Medal for showing courage in the face of extreme adversity. In January 2017, Kath was awarded the Young Australian Medal and in 2018 she was the National Australia Day Ambassador.