Roma Downey Opens Up About Her Inspirational New Book

Roma Downey has a new book to help nourish the soul!

The actress starred as the kindhearted angel Monica for nine seasons of her hit series “Touched by an Angel” before going behind the camera to create faith-based content with her company Lightworkers Media. Now, she’s opening up to “Extra” Senior Executive Producer Lisa Gregorisch-Dempsey about her book “Unexpected Blessings: 90 Inspirations to Nourish Your Soul and Open Your Heart.”

Lisa asked, “With the world being so upside down and so dark right now, can we talk a little bit about faith and how it gives us hope instead of making us hopeless?”

Roma told her, “I think if we ever needed hope in our world, it’s at this time. This last few years that we’ve been through have been a time of confusion and distress for people. Certainly it was for me… and so this book ‘Unexpected Blessings’ was born out of this place to really focus on what the blessings were in my life… I use a beautiful inspirational quote, a piece of Scripture, a personal anecdote, and… a prayer for 90 days to open your heart and nurture your soul.”

She went on to share how viewers can begin to incorporate more compassion and gratitude in their lives.

“A very simple tool that someone shared with me many years ago, which was just to get out of bed every morning and when your first foot hits the floor to say ‘thank,’ and when your second foot hits the floor to say ‘you.’ And it sounds kind of corny, but believe me, if you walk all the way to the bathroom in the morning saying, ‘Thank you. Thank you.’ It just sets you up for a gratitude in your day.”

Lisa pointed out that despite experiencing the loss of her parents and brother, Roma has managed to rebound and come back stronger.

Downey shared, “I have experienced a great deal of loss. It’s extraordinary, really. And more recently my beloved Della Reese, who was my co-star on ‘Touched by an Angel.’”

Reflecting on their time on the show, she added, “I mean, talk about an unexpected blessing. When I went to that show, I was an actor looking for work. I ended up in a role that allowed me to combine my faith with my job.”