Heroes of Change by Philip Molebash

In a growing loneliness epidemic, ordinary kindness can still bloom.

There is no easier time to be lonely. Still grappling with the aftermath of a global pandemic, society has undergone a paradigm shift that has proven difficult to reverse. Activities that once invited camaraderie and friendship are now performed largely alone, reshaped by convenience, caution, and habit.

As the world changes, people are left asking where the community centers have gone, why no one hosts gatherings anymore, and, most simply, where everyone went. Adults report higher numbers of isolation and inability to retain social circles. Apathy and division have become so commonplace that authenticity and kindness are shocking to witness.

But what if it didn’t have to be? We could live in a world where gang rehabilitation is a successful community model, where children on buses take care of one another, and where collaborative spaces truly focus on inclusion and listening. I’d say most people would welcome it without hesitation. The difficulty, however, is being the one to initiate such ideas. Heroes of Change shows how individuals, those powerful and those in ordinary jobs, can and do begin that work.

Phillip Molebash, author of Heroes of Change, is a teacher and it shows. This is by no means a mash-up of truisms with inspirational quotes sprinkled in; it’s a sincere celebration of what genuine kindness looks like, not kindness offered for repayment or attention, but kindness practiced for the sole purpose of shaping a better world than the one you once understood to exist. He teaches the reader not how to be kind but rather the impact it can have. Through his model—Awakening, Calling, Leaping, Emerging, Becoming—he also teaches the process in becoming a hero; not just a potential future but a destination.

Molebash’s journalistic style and the careful yet heartfelt way he renders each person he interviews is the shining crux of this book. He interviews CEOs, actors, executive directors of national programs, bus drivers, and pastors. It may seem like a ragtag, breakfast club ensemble, but Molebash’s gift is not just how they all fit together but how their nobility transcends their profession. He portrays them openly and honestly, talking not just about their great acts but the difficulty in getting there.

Dave Bolotsky went without salary for six years to grow his company and, at one point, lived with his parents. Talia Milgrom-Elliott stepped away from an impressive job at a firm to undertake a massive project to the betterment of school children. Curtis Jenkins used his honeymoon money to buy presents for the children that took his bus to school. Through these real stories and details, Molebash constructs a beautiful, human-centered narrative that shows heroic effort in action.

Heroes of Change is a meaningful book for you to experience—not just read—if you’re hoping to restore your faith in the kindness of others.