Roma Downey’s ‘Box of Butterflies’ alights at a star-studded Beverly Hills book party

Clearly reality show super-producer Mark Burnett is a romantic. Explaining the title of her new book, “Box of Butterflies,” Roma Downey said her husband once gave her a white box as a Valentine’s Day gift, suggesting she open it gently in the garden.

“I did,” said the “Touched by an Angel” star, “and out flew a flock of beautiful butterflies.” Yet even more than beautiful, the gesture had meaningful personal significance — but more about that below.

The event

Kelly Noonan Gores and private equity investor Alec Gores opened their Beverly Hills home to celebrate what Downey called her “spiritual memoir,” which this week debuted on the New York Times bestseller list in the advice, how-to and miscellaneous category.

The crowd

Town and Country Editor in Chief Stellene Volandes, filmmaker Mike Medavoy and his wife, Irena Medavoy, and photographer John Russo co-hosted the event along with the Gores, welcoming, among others, Sylvester Stallone, restaurateur Gordon Ramsay, E! News host Jason Kennedy, actor Jack Huston, comedian Bill Bellamy and “Medical Medium” author Anthony William.

The scene

Accessorized with a butterfly pendant and three different diamond butterfly rings, Downey greeted guests arriving at the cocktail reception with warm hugs. There, beside a table piled with her books, one guest praised the Emmy-nominated actress and producer, not just for her book and appropriately themed jewelry, but also for the swarm of butterfly designs that could be found fluttering through her @romadowney Instagram account, alighting on shoes, clothes, tattoos and a seemingly endless list of other items.

The book

Subtitled “Discovering the Unexpected Blessings All Around Us,” and sprinkled throughout with quotes, poems, song lyrics and passages from the Bible, “Box of Butterflies” tells the story of Downey’s life, starting with her childhood in Northern Ireland — where she grew up during violent times known as “The Troubles” — up to the present.

“When I think back on the course of my career, I see I really have been a storyteller through performing and then as a producer,” she told us early in the evening. “Now I get to tell my own story — with all the triumphs and the tragedies, in the sunshine and the shadows — in the hopes that the book will be an encouragement to others.”

The butterfly

Recalling her mother’s unexpected death when Downey was age 10, she said: “My father took me out to the cemetery, where a little butterfly flew by. He said, ‘That could be your mother’s spirit right there,’ and it completely altered my life to think that a beautiful butterfly could represent my mom and that I wasn’t so alone. After that, the butterflies kept showing up … and they’ve always brought with them a feeling of comfort and encouragement when I’ve needed it most.”

Before the book party ended, Downey repeated the tale to the assembled group, promising that they would see butterflies from that moment on. “Everyone needs encouragement every now and then,” she said.