This year has shaped up like no other. At press time, almost 250,000 Americans had died from the coronavirus, others have lost jobs and income, homes have been destroyed by fire and floods, and political divides have caused rifts among loved ones. During this holiday season, we can be forgiven for thinking, "What do we have to be thankful for?"

We posed that question to our readers and were humbled by their responses. In all the darkness and despite their own serious health conditions, they have found plenty of light—in family, friends, food, independence, and successfully managing chronic disorders. Here, we share three readers' stories.

Allen Sauner, a 60-year-old in Vandalia, OH, counts his cats and guitar among his blessings. He's also grateful that he's managing his rare sleep condition better. Diagnosed with non-24-hour sleep-wake disorder, Sauner is unable to synchronize his biological clock with a 24-hour day. As a result, he has a debilitating sleep schedule, sometimes staying awake for more than 36 hours.

In 2015, he moved in with his parents and slowly started to reclaim his life. "I was able to take on work that my father used to do, like mowing overgrown parts of the lawn." Sauner also renewed his interest in music. "I started tinkering with my guitar again." His music gives him a sense of accomplishment, and his cats are something to care for.

Gratitude is always front and center for 55-year-old Margaret Cecce Doyle, who lives in Atlanta. She keeps a gratitude journal to remind her of all the good in her life—her amazing wife of five years, her two adult sons, her steady weight loss, and the good control she maintains over her epilepsy, depression, and anxiety. She also feels lucky that no one in her family has contracted COVID-19.

"My wife is a social worker, and every day she counsels families, many of which include COVID-19 patients at the end of their lives," she says. "We're grateful that we haven't gotten sick." That gratitude motivates Doyle and her family to give back. "At Thanksgiving, we don't sit down to a big feast. We take food to the homeless."

Every year on October 1, Aaron Grossman celebrates what he calls his second birthday. It's the day in 1999 that he was hit by a car and sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI). He and his family and friends go to a nice restaurant and "reflect on our lives," he says. Before the accident, Grossman, who is now 43, was a teacher. Today he lives with his father and stepmother and before the pandemic worked part-time as a cashier at a local store.

Grossman's list of things he's thankful for is long, starting with living in "paradise"—Boca Raton, FL. "My father and stepmother love me with all their hearts. I have great friends who care about me." He loves the neuropsychologist he sees once a week and the support group he started for TBI survivors in South Florida.

Mostly, he says, he's grateful to be alive.