I broke my ankle on my birthday in March, and the last two months have been filled with resting, healing and dealing with the emotional fallout of being back on the couch just as I was starting to feel good after the health challenges of 2022. Oof.

0/10 do not recommend broken bones. Especially your driving leg.

But I’m on the mend, seeing slow improvements every day and I’m back with a roundup of some of the good news I found over the last few months.

I don’t know about you, but the news filtering into my awareness is more heartbreaking every day, and finding the bright spots feels essential.

I hope there is something here that cheers you, gives you hope, or makes you smile.

I read about this “friendship bench” in Zimbabwe years ago and am delighted at how it has grown.

International Garden Photographer of the Year. oh. my. (sighs in delight)

Tiny homes for unhoused kids who’ve aged out of the foster care system. What an amazing org!

Stem cells grown from patient cells. Science is so cool.

A response to dream crushers.

This traveling vintage bus is a cafe and a fundraiser. I love it when people follow their passions and become agents of goodness.

These folks are turning used disposable chopsticks into the most incredible things. They’re on my “dream purchases” list.

It’s horrifying to realize how many mass shootings have occurred since this article was written in April. It’s not an easy read but it does offer hope. Pushing for reasonable gun control often feels like an impossibility and it helped me to read that some things are changing. We can’t give up. (Skip down to the 12th paragraph that starts “Still, to believe that nothing can be done…” if you already know the terrible statistics and don’t want to read them again.)

And finally, a list of young people fighting for climate change to be inspired by. (Thanks to bestselling author & writing coach Jen Louden for this link.)

If you have a favorite happy news – or personal – story to share, please add it in the comments!