--- product_id: 1094029 title: "Congratulations, by the way: Some Thoughts on Kindness" price: "₹ 2072" currency: INR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.in/products/1094029-congratulations-by-the-way-some-thoughts-on-kindness store_origin: IN region: India --- # Congratulations, by the way: Some Thoughts on Kindness **Price:** ₹ 2072 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Congratulations, by the way: Some Thoughts on Kindness - **How much does it cost?** ₹ 2072 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.in](https://www.desertcart.in/products/1094029-congratulations-by-the-way-some-thoughts-on-kindness) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • This inspiring meditation on kindness from the author of Lincoln in the Bardo is based on his popular commencement address. Three months after George Saunders gave a graduation address at Syracuse University, a transcript of that speech was posted on the website of The New York Times, where its simple, uplifting message struck a deep chord. Within days, it had been shared more than one million times. Why? Because Saunders’s words tap into a desire in all of us to lead kinder, more fulfilling lives. Powerful, funny, and wise, Congratulations, by the way is an inspiring message from one of today’s most influential and original writers. Praise for Congratulations, by the way “As slender as a psalm, and as heavy.” — The New York Times “The graduating college senior in your life probably just wants money. But if you want to impart some heartfelt, plainspoken wisdom in addition to a check, you can't do much better than [ Congratulations, by the way ].” — Entertainment Weekly “The loving selflessness that [George Saunders] advises and the interconnectedness that he recognizes couldn’t be purer or simpler—or more challenging.” — Kirkus Reviews “Warm and tender.” — Publishers Weekly Review: must read - Luminous! Simple and to the point. A short essay to make you a better person. A good lesson for graduates. Review: Simple, powerful life advice for everyone - This speech-turned-book is short, but that's the point: it's easy to revisit as often as you need to remind yourself of its key points. It's accessible and powerful, and this is the second copy I've bought after I gave away the first. Would highly recommend it for younger kids too, so they get the lesson early in life. Great book. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #64,116 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #50 in Philosophy & Social Aspects of Education #247 in Philosophy of Ethics & Morality #1,750 in Personal Transformation Self-Help | | Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,147 Reviews | ## Images ![Congratulations, by the way: Some Thoughts on Kindness - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71-Fob0InOL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ must read *by S***Z on January 27, 2026* Luminous! Simple and to the point. A short essay to make you a better person. A good lesson for graduates. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Simple, powerful life advice for everyone *by B***S on September 7, 2025* This speech-turned-book is short, but that's the point: it's easy to revisit as often as you need to remind yourself of its key points. It's accessible and powerful, and this is the second copy I've bought after I gave away the first. Would highly recommend it for younger kids too, so they get the lesson early in life. Great book. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Simple Kindness *by D***S on September 25, 2014* This is a bound and published edition of Saunders' commencement speech at Syracuse University in 2013. You could certainly complain that it's not really a "book", that it was originally published in the New York Times, and that it is very brief. But it's worth reading. What advice do you give to graduating students? Often it's about how to succeed in the world -- e.g., find something you love to do and do it. And there have been memorable commencement speeches of that type. Some go beyond that, e.g., the speech that Steve Jobs gave to graduating Stanford students in 2005. Saunders gives a very simple message -- be kind. He asks himself what he regrets in his own life, from the vantage point of decades that the students he is talking to haven't experienced yet. And the thing that he identifies is his indifference toward a girl in his school when he was young. He wasn't mean to her, but he ignored her when she needed kindness. I can certainly think of the missed opportunities in my life when I wasn't kind to someone -- it would have taken so little. My life won't be any the less for having missed that last jump shot in the final seconds of a basketball game. It will be less for having turned away from someone who I could have helped have a better life. Few of us can say that we've kept the right balance of self-interest and kindness. I've read criticisms of Saunders' speech, that he ignores the material difficulties facing students who graduate from college today, with poor employment opportunities and often carrying heavy college loan debts on into their distant futures. I would imagine those things weigh more heavily on their minds than whether or not they are kind persons. But Saunders' message is one from a vantage point he knows is decidedly not that of his audience but one he feels they could profit from -- it is better to decide what matters in your life before you are looking back on it. I'd give the book 5 stars for content, but I'm giving it 4 as a "product" -- the speech itself is (and should be) available for free in a number of places, including video. I bought the book because . . . well, I buy George Saunders' books. I do like the idea that others have mentioned, of giving the book as a gift. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.in/products/1094029-congratulations-by-the-way-some-thoughts-on-kindness](https://www.desertcart.in/products/1094029-congratulations-by-the-way-some-thoughts-on-kindness) --- *Product available on Desertcart India* *Store origin: IN* *Last updated: 2026-07-05*