On the Bright Side

Stories About Friendship, Love, and Being True to Yourself

By: Melanie Shankle, Jen Hatmaker - foreword

Narrated by: Melanie Shankle

Big Mama blog founder and New York Times best-selling author Melanie Shankle helps us sort through our questions about being true to ourselves in a world gone crazy and what matters the most in the end.

These days, so many voices tell us what to do, what to think, and what kind of parent or friend or spouse to be that it's easy to feel overwhelmed and defeated. Somewhere in the midst of online arguments and crazy politics and the ups and downs of life, we've lost sight of the gifts that are all around us: kindness, love, mercy, and joy.

In On the Bright Side, Melanie Shankle reminds us of the unchanging principles we can count on in a changing world. These are lessons that Melanie has learned along the way about how to find all the joy that life has to offer - and why encouragement is never something to keep to ourselves. Melanie invites us to lead with love in all areas of our lives, exploring topics such as:

• Finding your people
• Giving up on comparing and competing
• Aging (kind of) gracefully
• Believing in ever after
• Staying mostly sane while raising kids
• Thinking before speaking
• Making decisions
• And more!

This delightful memoir highlights the joys of life told in Melanie's down-to-earth, relatable, and totally enjoyable style. On the Bright Side is a how-to guide to knowing - and living - what matters most.

©2020 Melanie Shankle (P)2020 Zondervan

Please read and share with friends

I have loved all of Melanie’s book. She makes me laugh out loud while helping me to really see the bright side of life. I wish she was my best friend.

great inspirational book

I feel like this author and I would be friends. Great message and funny.

Light Hearted, funny and lots of wisdom

The author reads the book herself. She is hilarious, yet possesses a deep wisdom for women. I would say people with school-age children would love this book, but I am 59 and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A delightful gem!

This book was a gem! I loved Melanie Shankle’s voice and her hilarious stories that I can relate to so well (fellow enneagram 9 here), as well as her poignant words on so many topics from why she has one child to realities of motherhood and being a woman - with scripture interwoven throughout. Thank you for such a lovely and delightful book, Melanie.

Parents raising kids, read this book!

I pray this book starts a massive movement to look on the bright side of life!

Excellent

I love Melanies rhythm of humor and encouragement wrapped up in a whole lot of truth! Well done, girl. I enjoyed this so much.

Melanie is humble and poignant

And absolutely spot on. So many times listening I thought … did she hack my Facebook and steal my stories?! And not just because we share a daughter the same age and both are children of the ‘80s. Well done!!!

Awesome

This is a quick read and loved every word of it! Very relatable to everything going on in this world and life in general!
P.S. Gig’em!

So good!

I have read and loved all of Melanie’s books, this one included. This is a cheerful, heartfelt, nostalgic, feel good book...Melanie has a way of making the most simple things feel holy. I love her humor and sarcasm, and I love her sincerity about finding God in all the things. I’m sad I’m already finished with the book, and I look forward to her next one!

My favorite author

I am always sad when I finish listening to her books. She is so funny and full of wisdom. It’s like your best friend wrote a book and described what it was like to grow up in the 80s. She writes about navigating this thing called life with all the challenges that come with it in such a funny yet serious kind of way. I just can’t get enough of Melanie and can’t wait for her next book.