Sometimes we are given the chance to change someone’s life forever. When that happens, you should take the chance, and this is what a Pennsylvania woman did. She shared a TikTok video of an author at a Barnes and Noble branch whom people passed by without buying from. Millions of TikTok users sympathized with the author which made them completely change his life. He went from not being able to sell one book to becoming a bestseller author just because of one TikTok video.
The Pennsylvania woman was at a Barnes and Noble branch with her young daughter when she saw the lonely author. The author, Jonathan Stanley, was sitting with a stack of his books, waiting for people to come so that he could sign them. Unfortunately, people passed by him like he wasn’t there. With every new person passing by, the woman’s heart broke a little. She wrote on the video of Stanley:
“This sweet man is sitting at B&N with a stack of his books he wrote and my heart is breaking everytime someone passes him.”
She wasn’t the only one to sympathize with Stanley. Her video quickly went viral as people from all over the world felt bad for the author. So far, this video has over 70 million views. This was enough to change Stanley’s life forever. The woman didn’t stop at sharing the first video, but she posted a follow-up. In the update, she showed how she and her young daughter walked up to the author and got the book which he signed. The lady described the author as being “so sweet.”
People on TikTok had different reactions to the entire situation. Many sympathized with Stanley. One person wrote, “This is an empaths [sic] worst nightmare.” Another wrote with crying emojis, “not him checking the phone to act busy.” Despite the waves of support Stanley received, a lot of people still found something to be pessimistic about. One wrote, “Sympathy marketing has got to stop.” Another added, “How do we know he’s sweet?” One also expressed, “so sick of this petty marketing on TikTok.”
Even though there were negative comments, this didn’t stop Stanley from being grateful for the Pennsylvania woman and her daughter. All this support led to the author posting a video himself about what happened where he expressed his gratitude. He first shared how the woman’s daughter, Ella, told him how she wanted to be an author and that she was already creating her own books. He then described how he received love, encouragement, and support from the TikTok Community.
The Pennsylvania woman’s video was popular enough to make Stanley’s book become a bestseller on Amazon in all categories. His book talks about how we should bring humanity back into the workplace. While this topic might not be interesting to everyone, people still helped change his life. “You changed my life,” Stanley said as he got emotional at the end of the video.
People and the Pennsylvania Woman Commenting
In the comments, the Pennsylvania woman made sure to leave a comment for Stanley. “So happy our paths crossed at just the right time. We wish you nothing but the best.” Stanley wrote in reply, “Your simple act of kindness changed my life—and its ripple effect is spreading goodness in the world, reminding us all of the incredible power of compassion.”
People’s love toward Stanley continued in the comments along with the one shared by the Pennsylvania woman. One wrote, “We made the right person famous.” Another TikTok user wrote, “Crying for Jonathan, I met him 3s [seconds] ago.” A third person pointed out, “The fact the book is about kindness and humanity and you have been met with just that.” Even the official TikTok page for LinkedIn left a comment saying:
“Jonathan – “bring humanity back to the workplace” beautiful message! Looking forward to seeing your book and your message make positive changes.”
Both the Pennsylvania woman and Stanley were reunited once more as they had a segment on the PA Live station. The now-famous author made sure to once again thank the helpful woman and her daughter. The gratitude he keeps showing time and time again shows you the kind of person he is. This is why some people actually deserve the chance to become popular.
