Danielle Steel’s ‘Expect A Miracle’ Reminds Us that Hope and Inspiration Are Never Far from Reach [REVIEW]

Hope. That is the one recurring theme throughout everything prolific author Danielle Steel has ever written. As her protagonists face everything from the Holocaust to abuse, cancer, heartbreak, and more, they never give up, no matter how shattered life may seem to leave them. Time and again, they persevere, until they discover just how strong and resourceful they truly are. But where does Steel find her inspiration? The answer is found in her newest book, Expect A Miracle.

Steel has always had a penchant for the power of words. She loves art with words in them, like the Love sculpture created by Robert Indiana. But she has also found inspiration in quotes.

When she was just a young girl, her grandmother gave her an empty book filled with blank pages inside. Initially, she didn’t know what to put in it. But eventually she started to write down quotes from other people wherever she found them.

Since then, she has never stopped accumulating all these wonderful sayings. They surround her desk, motivating her when she writes. She frames them. Sometimes she evens posts them above her writing space. Some make her laugh. Others fuel her dreams. And some have even given her the courage to keep on going. Now, she’s compiled more than 100 of her favorites in Expect a Miracle, a gift sized gem of a book, and is sending it out into the universe with the hope it will inspire us too.

When I received my edition on publication day, it found me still caught in the midst of the pandemic. Even on the best of days (or as good as they get anymore), this is a book that is wonderful to keep within reach. Just open it to a random page and inside you’ll find something to meditate on. Sometimes it might be silly, others it may be profound. But in the end it will put a smile on your face and may just be the impetus you need to remind you that there is still something out there worth hoping for, a light to keep your eye on even on the darkest day. Here are a few of my favorite passages found here.

At the end of this book, Steel has even provided us with blank pages of our own to record our own favorite quotes. Who knows, perhaps this will change the way you read, looking for passages that give you that “Aha! moment” that Oprah always talks about, that make you giggle, or that simply warm your heart.

Perfect to give as a gift or to keep as a keepsake, Expect a Miracle is the little book that has taken a lifetime for Steel to put together. It is great to keep in your desk, or maybe even in your nightstand, always there for when you need a little inspiration yourself. And if you’ve enjoyed Steel’s novels as long as I have, you may get a glimpse behind the curtain and find yourself piecing together which of her stories were inspired by select passages. It’s a little game I found myself playing as I mulled over each quote anyway. Regardless, I hope you love it and that it reminds you that with a little faith, miracles are always there, waiting to surprise us all.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Danielle Steel has been hailed as one of the world’s most popular authors, with almost a billion copies of her novels sold. Her many international bestsellers include, most recently, Moral Compass, Spy, Child’s Play, The Dark Side, and dozens of other highly acclaimed novels.

She is also the author of His Bright Light, the story of her son Nick Traina’s life and death; A Gift of Hope, a memoir of her work with the homeless; Pure Joy, about the dogs she and her family have loved; and the children’s books Pretty Minnie in Paris and Pretty Minnie in Hollywood.

For more information, visit DanielleSteel.com, like her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

EXPECT A MIRACLE
By Danielle Steel
144 pp. Clarkson Potter. $16.

Purchase Expect a Miracle direct from Jathan & Heather Books, or from one of these other fine online retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Half Price Books, Hudson Booksellers, IndieBound, Powell’s, Target, or Walmart.