Inspirational Stories
Reader’s Digest has the stories to lift your spirits and fill you with hope in your darkest moments. We’ve promised to be a source of joy, and these stories deliver. From everyday heros to reunited long-lost siblings, we’ve got the stories to inspire you.
The Birth of a Family
What’s a single white guy doing with three Mexican kids? Making a loving family — and showing how foster adoption
Jacob Rice: Shoe Giver of Tampa
Our hero: Jacob Rice, 15 Where he lives: Tampa, Florida How he helps: Getting shoes to kids in need Four
To Honor Those They Lost–9/11 Ten Years Later
A decade after the devastating attacks, family, friends, and colleagues of terror’s victims are finding peace through service Liz and
The Power of 1: Celebrating Inspirational People
The Power of 1 Project celebrates brave, compassionate, and committed hometown heroes who have given their time, invested their talent,...
Inspiring Children at the Urban Studio Café
Our hero: Claire Wolff, 25 Where she lives: St. Louis, Missouri Who she helps: Urban Studio Café At 21, Claire
Charlie Starbuck: Planting City Trees
• Our hero: Charlie Starbuck, 74 • Where he lives: San Francisco, California • How he helps: Planting city trees
Farmers’ Friend: Bill Gross
• Our hero: Bill Gross, 45 • Hometown: Seattle, Washington • How he helps: Aids needy farmers Bill Gross, an
California Teenager Grants Wishes to Terminally Ill Patients
Our hero: Caitlin Crommet, 17 Where she lives: Rancho Santa Margarita, California How she helps: Grants wishes to terminally ill
Charlie Starbuck: The Lou Gehrig of Tree Planting
Our hero: Charlie Starbuck, 74 Where he lives: San Francisco, California How he helps: Planting city trees Walk a block
Making Gardens for Breast Cancer Patients
Our hero: Roberta Dehman Hershon, 60 Where she lives: Dedham, Massachusetts How she helps: Making gardens for breast cancer patients
Digest Diet: Annette’s Weight-Loss Success Story
People told Annette when she hit menopause, she would stop losing weight, so she teamed up with her daughter Dana...
Ainsworth, NE: A Better Library and Pool
Learn how this small Nebraska town rallied its residents and earned a prize in the Reader's Digest We Hear You...
Crescent City, CA: Restoring a Devastated Harbor
In 2011, residents of more than 50% of the cities, towns and villages in the U.S. cast their votes in
5 Stories That Celebrate the Spirit of Giving
Ten-year-old Riley Christensen and her mother, Lynn, were huddled in front of the family computer, checking out models and prices...
Games for Heroes: Lifting the Spirits of Troops Overseas
We’re in this for the long haul,” says Peter. “We’ll ship games to our heroes until the last soldier comes...
Bob Haverstick: The Wish Master for the Greatest Generation
Making wishes come true for senior citizens and terminally ill adults around the country.
Albion, MI: Reviving a Theater and Hosting Youth Activities
In 2011, residents of more than 50% of the cities, towns and villages in the U.S. cast their votes in
Woman Who Lost Leg Finds Inspiration from Disabled Dolphin
On a recent morning in Clearwater, Florida, Maja Kazazic peered down into a 73,000-gallon aquarium. For two years, she’d been
The Heroes Rebuilding New Orleans
Three years after Hurricane Katrina, die-hard citizens like these seven are bringing the city back to life.
Hope for Deaf-Blind Triplets — Light in the Dark
How parents of triplets found hope in a dismal situation.
True Stories: Inspiring Words from Real Couples
The 1,001 men and women who participated in the Reader’s Digest Marriage in America Survey didn’t get paid to participate;
Michael Oher: Homeless Hero Becomes Academic Success
The New Kid When Sean Tuohy saw the new kid sitting in the high school gym, he saw a boy
RD on TV: Gracie’s Choice
An inspirational story about a teen hero found a way to keep three brothers from being separated.
Everyday Hero: Jeff May
The ninth-graders in Missy Dodds’s seventh-period study hall were restless that Monday afternoon, March 21, 2005. It was the last