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THE SMALL THINGS: A Day in the Life of Br. James E. Small, S.J.
From his cramped and cluttered workshop in Loyola Academy's labyrinthine basement, Br. Jim Small, S.J., changes peoples lives every single day. Br. Small is a carpenter and artist who has lived and worked at Loyola Academy--the largest Jesuit high school in the United States--for nearly fifty years. He's a maintenance man. He's a carpenter. He's an artist (he's generated over $1 million for the school through the sale of his art and framing services). Most importantly, he's an example for everyone he meets of how small acts of kindness, care, and compassion can change the world in ways both big and small.
In The Small Things, published in 2001 by print-on-demand publisher Xlibris, Kearney follows Br. Small through a day (it begins, like most of Br. Small's days, just before 4:00 am) during which he struggles to complete a commissioned painting, repairs a broken desk, and jump starts the dead car battery of a junior at the school. The book, which doubles as a brief biography of Br. Small, also explores his early years in the Jesuits and his life prior to the Jesuits when he served in the United States Navy and for the Chicago Police Department.
 Kearney devotes much of the book to sharing Br. Small's thoughts and reflections on the simple but profoundly powerful life he's chosen to live. In the prologue to the book, Kearney says that Br. Small has been a powerful example for him and that he believes his life and his way of life can be of service to others as they seek ways to make meaning of and find peace in their lives.
Copies of the book are available at available
for sale on the web from the publisher, Xlibris, Amazon,
and Barnes
and Noble.
What they're saying About The Small Things
Br. Small “is not only amazing, he’s a saint.”
Katie Couric, NBC Today Show
“With a novelist’s eye for concrete details and significant incidents…George Kearney often sounds like the Boswell of the Journals—a young man of energetic idealism who is prompted by his friend’s words to scrutinize his own behavior.”
America Magazine
Br. Small is “a 75-year-old man who simply defies description… a true original.”
Mike Leonard, NBC Today Show
“This is a biography of a non-noteworthy; it is also the Gospel performed and lived out in a most engaging way. Brother Jim Small, the subject of the biography, is depicted in a most charming way. The simplicity of the author's style and the simplicity of the person written about will enchant the reader.”
John Haughey, S.J., author of Housing Heaven’s Fire: The Challenge of Holiness, Converting Nine to Five: Bringing Spirituality to Your Daily Work, and Virtue & Affluence: The Challenge of Wealth
“George Kearney is a talented young writer whose first book, The Small Things, is, like other small valuables, a gem. His subject, a Jesuit brother whose generous spirit and practical wisdom inspired Kearney when he was a high school boy, can now inspire countless others through the pages of this fine book.”
Fr. William J. Byron, S.J., author of Jesuit Saturdays and Answers from Within
Br. Small’s “is a life of humility, humor, faith, and unusual talent, which is why Kearney was inspired to write a book about him.”
Judy Valente, PBS’s Religion and Ethics Newsweekly
“…this remarkable book is unlike any published last year.”
Fr. John W. Donohue, SJ, America Magazine
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