'Be an Angel': Derry's Roma Downey on her new book and the importance of kindness

‘BE AN ANGEL: Devotions to Inspire and Encourage Love and Light Along the Way’ was published this week to coincide with Lent and Easter.

A 52-week devotional, readers will find quotes and reflections full of wisdom, affirmation, and encouragement from a variety of writers and thinkers, along with Scriptures and reflections on the importance of gratitude, kindness, friendship, faith, courage, and more.

Roma also shares personal stories from her own life that illustrate how she has been encouraged to aspire to live like an angel on earth, and how she has faced the challenges of everyday life with a strong faith in God and the importance of kindness and empathy towards others. Each week includes a gentle nudge to look for ways to “be an angel” to those you encounter every day.

Speaking to the Journal, Roma said she wanted to write the book after she was disturbed by how cruel people can be to each other on social media.

“I wanted to write a book on kindness. During the pandemic, when we were all shut in and disconnected from each other, I probably spent a bit more time on social media than I normally would. I do love an Instagram, I have to say and it was a great way to keep in touch with friends and family. It can be lovely, from that point of view, and I made a commitment to myself to use it intentionally and to make sure that I was posting positive things on there. Because, I think what disturbed me the most, was seeing how mean-spirited people can be to each other and the kind of verbal sniping going on.

“I was thinking back to when I was younger – and I know we can sometimes romanticise the past – but I really don’t think we were always this hateful to each other. There was a time we could agree, respectfully, to disagree and we’ve lost the art of that kind of graciousness and that was the sort of prompt, I felt.

"I wanted to throw my hat in the ring and write a book that was about encouraging each other, about being kind to each other and as my old Irish dad used to say: ‘If you’ve nothing nice to say, say nothing.’”

Roma, who herself played an angel in the world-famous show ‘Touched by an Angel,’ hopes people will find support and comfort in reading and learning about her own experiences.

"This is my third book. My first was a New York Times bestseller, which was so thrilling, as it was deeply personal.

"These are experiences and anecdotes from my life, the things I’ve learned along the way and I’m choosing to write about them, to say: ‘If there’s anything valuable from what I’ve learned, maybe it will be helpful to you. And, if it’s helpful to you, and you are encouraged by it, might I suggest that you be an angel for somebody else and do something that is a kindness – a kind of pay it forward. That was the intention behind it.”

The book, she added, was ‘about a year in the process,’ and she did most of her writing in the early mornings, inspired by the sunrise.

“I’m so grateful when the sun rises in the morning and brings new opportunities, to do better and get it right. The sunrise is filled with metaphor that speaks tenderly to me and I welcome the morning. I get up and write in the mornings and that’s usually when I do my morning prayers.

“I like to set the day with intentionality and ask God, with his blessing, to get through another day. I like to start the day with gratitude, remembering things I’m grateful for and the book is littered with moments like that too.

" It’s not complicated philosophy, as Paddy Downey used to say, the glass is either half full or half empty, it’s all just a matter of perception, isn’t it? And I choose to say it’s half full.”

Roma added that Lent and the Easter season is a good time to release the book ‘that focuses on God’s grace and his blessings and reminds us to be kind’.

It is dedicated to her late co-star and close friend Della Reese – ‘the wisest person I ever knew’, as well as her late parents, Patrick and Maureen. The love of her parents and the pain she felt at their loss weaves through the book and she also speaks of those moments of difficulty and fear in her life.

Roma says she has been very much influenced throughout her life by what her parents taught her, the type of people they were and how they lived their life.

She added that she does not know how she would have survived the loss of her parents and brother and other major difficulties in her life without her faith in God, which has been a ‘rock in her life’.

However, she believes that a person does not need to believe in order to draw inspiration from her book.

"For ten years over here, I played an angel on TV and they were such happy days. At its height, ‘Touched by an Angel’ played to an audience of over 25 million people a week and that’s a lot of people tuning in for a message of hope. Kindness is a universal language. I have a deep faith in God and I know not everyone does. But I think this book has values for everybody. I don’t think you have to believe to come away with good reminders from ‘Be an Angel.’

Roma is delighted that, as the world gets smaller, people across Derry will be able to see the book on its release, whereas in years previously ‘it took a while for these things to cross the Atlantic.’ This also applies to her next new project, the movie ‘On A Wing and a Prayer,’ which will be released on Amazon Prime just before Easter.

Based on a true story, Roma, who produced the film, which she says, ‘plays like a thriller and is taut with tension and amazing performances’, is very excited for its release.

With the release of the book and imminent release of the film, which also looks at divine miracles, Roma said she is now in the ‘harvesting season’.

"You look at your life as seasons. There’s the planting season and you’re out there farming and then there's the harvest. I’m currently in the harvesting season. There are other things I’m developing this year, but this quarter is about releasing the book and the film. There are good days ahead.”