[Book Review] Gmorning, Gnight: Little Pep Talks for Me & You by Lin-Manuel Miranda & Jonny Sun

Good morning. Do NOT get stuck in the comments section of life today. Make, do, create the things. Let others tussle it out. Vamos!

Before he inspired the world with Hamilton and was catapulted to international fame, Lin-Manuel Miranda was inspiring his Twitter followers with words of encouragement at the beginning and end of each day. He wrote these original sayings, aphorisms, and poetry for himself as much as for others. But as Miranda’s audience grew, these messages took on a life on their own. Now Miranda has gathered the best of his daily greetings into a beautiful collection illustrated by acclaimed artist (and fellow Twitter favorite) Jonny Sun. Full of comfort and motivation, Gmorning, Gnight! is a touchstone for anyone who needs a quick lift.

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I don't talk about it as much as I used to, but I am a huge fan of the Broadway play, Hamilton. I got into it a few years ago and I listened to it non-stop (ha!) for about a year. Although I listen to it maybe once a month now versus every single day it always brings me happiness. I kind of have a giant crush on Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of Hamilton. I think I just love how warm and welcoming he is and I am completely in awe at how talented he is at writing. So when I heard that he was compiling a book of all his good morning/night affirmations with illustrations but Jonny Sun, another amazingly warm sunshine person, I was on board. However, I kept putting off preordering it, and the next thing I know it's already out and I plan on buying it the next time I have some extra cash. Lucky for me I have the best friend ever, and Erica Robyn Reads surprised me by gifting it to me for my birthday! Which I am so grateful for, because I absolutely loved everything about this book of affirmations. 

"Good morning. 

Words fail us, often, but when we put 'em together the right way they can pull boulders out of us. 

Keep working with 'em." 

Lin has such a way with words. I don't typically love picking up self help books or any sort of book of affirmations, but this reads almost more like poetry at times. The way so many of the good morning/goodnight poems connect seamlessly was done so cleverly. But I don't expect anything else from someone like Lin. I tabbed at least half of the pages and it was extremely hard to only pick a handful to put in this review. And even then, as you can see, I used two of them to quote because I felt like I had already used enough photos. 

I love Jonny Sun's illustrations so much. I like that they were simplistic and super cute. I definitely need to pick up his book Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too. I hear it's pure and heartwarming and I am dying to read it. I think his illustrations in Gmorning, Gnight were perfectly paired with Lin's words and often made the collection seem more completed especially the pages where both of the pages side by side were connected in some way either by a border or continuing sketch. I though it was perfectly done. 

This isn't something I talk about often in my reviews, but I want to point out how perfect the book's size is. It's too big to go into my pockets (women's pockets freaking suck) but it's small enough to carry around. I know it may seem silly (but maybe not I mean we're all book lovers here right?) but I often like putting one book in my purse or bag that I am reading and often I'll also have a book that brings me comfort. Especially if I am going somewhere that I know I'll have anxiety. It's like having a security blanket or something like that. I have a list of books that are so comforting to me and Gmorning, Gnight is definitely going on that list. There's something about Lin's words that makes it feel like I am hearing it straight from him. Lin's words (and his voice) are so warm and comforting so I am not shocked by this but I am just happy it traveled even through text in a book. 

Overall, I cannot recommend this book of affirmations any higher. I let myself go through it in a little less than a week. You can easily speed through this book in a half and hour to an hour, but I really liked reading a handful in intervals each day for a handful of days. With someone with few mental illnesses and October surprisingly being a rocky month for me, it has been nice to open the book to little sunshine messages a few times each day. 

"Good night. 

Tomorrow we take pen to pad, move mountains.

Get some rest." 

 Thanks for reading!