Gobodo-Madikizela, Pumla. A human being died that night: A South African story of forgiveness. (Houghton Mifflin, 2003).
An acutely nuanced and original study of a state-sanctioned mass murderer. Not since Dead Man Walking have we seen so provocative a first-person encounter with the human face of evil.Eugene de Kock, the commanding officer of state-sanctioned apartheid death squads, is currently serving 212 years in jail for crimes against humanity. Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, who grew up in a black township in South Africa, served as a psychologist on that country's great national experiment in healing, the Truth and Reconcilation Commission. As this book opens, in an act of inescapable, multilayered symbolism and extraordinary psychological courage, Gobodo-Madikizela enters Pretoria's maximum security prison to meet the man called "Prime Evil." What follows is a journey into what it means to be human.
Gobodo-Madikizela's experience with and deep empathy for victims of murderous violence, including those killed by de Kock and their families and friends, become clear in arresting scenes set during the TRC hearings, in which both perpetrators and their victims are given voice. The author's profound understanding of the language and memory of violence, and of the searingly complex issues surrounding apology and forgiveness after mass atrocity, will leave a mark on scholarship as well as on our emotional lives. Gobodo-Madikizela's journey with de Kock, during which she allows us to witness the extraordinary awakening of his remorse, brings us to one of the great questions of our time: What does it mean when we discover that the incarnation of evil is as frighteningly human as we are?
Miller, Karin. Global Values - a new paradigm for a new world (Our New Evolution LLC, 2015).
Insightful and thought provoking, Karin Miller’s work provides a brand new, values-based framework aimed at transforming lives across the globe.
Recognizing that the world is in crisis, Miller addresses the things we fear most—war, terrorism, economic instability, poverty, crime, unemployment, and environmental concerns—and takes a more holistic approach to healing not only the planet, but who we are as a people.
Pinpointing key problems in our social structure, such as individualism and isolationism, Miller deftly crafts a set of values that become essential, common ground principles that serve for people of all different religions, cultures, and political viewpoints.
These Global Values—unity, community, life, freedom, connection, sustainability, creativity, empowerment, choice, and integrity—can work to create and sustain healthy lives, communities, and countries.
Read the introduction to Karin Miller's book here.
Mehta, Sunita. Women for Afghan women: Shattering myths and claiming the future. (Palgrave macmillan, 2002.)
Women for Afghan Women: Shattering Myths and Claiming the Future is a collaborative attempt to write history, to bring greater awareness to the issues of Afghanistan and Afghan women, and to promote the agency of Afghan women in issues that impact their lives. The book includes a variety of female voices, highlighting a unifying desire to come together as women and share, network, and strategize for change. This desire is focused on Afghan women but is also about global sisterhood and about the importance of feminist activism on an international level. "Women for Afghan Women," a group comprised of both Afghan and non-Afghan women, was formed in April 2001 and is committed to the struggle for Afghan women's human rights.
Merkel, Jim. Radical simplicity: Small footprints on a finite earth. New Society Publishers, 2003.
Imagine you are first in line at a potluck buffet. The spread includes not just food and water, but all the materials needed for shelter, clothing, healthcare, and education. How do you know how much to take? How much is enough to leave for your neighbors behind you—not just the six billion people, but the wildlife, and the as-yet-unborn?
In the face of looming ecological disaster, many people feel the need to change their own lifestyles as a tangible way of transforming our unsustainable culture.Radical Simplicity is the first book that guides the reader to a personal sustainability goal, then offers a process to monitor progress to a lifestyle that is equitable amongst all people, species, and generations. It employs three tools to help readers begin their customized journey to simplicity:
It builds on steps from Your Money or Your Life so readers can design their own personal economics to save money, get free of debt, and align their work with their values.
It uses refined tools from Our Ecological Footprint so readers can measure how much nature is needed to supply all they consume and absorb their waste.
Combining lyrical narrative, compassionate advocacy, and absorbing science,Radical Simplicity is a practical, personal answer to twenty-first century challenges that will appeal as much to Cultural Creatives and students as to spiritual seekers, policy makers, and sustainability professionals.
Pilgrim, Peace. Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in Her Own Words. (Santa Fe: Ocean Tree Books, 1992)
Peace Pilgrim walked and spoke continuously across America from 1953 until her death in 1981. "Walking until given shelter and fasting until given food," she carried a simple yet powerfully enduring message of peace. A few of her friends later gathered her writings and talks into this first-person account of her experiences and beliefs. Peace Pilgrim has become a spiritual classic, with over half a million copies in print in nine languages. Includes news clippings, questions and answers, photographs, index.
Potorti, David. September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows: Turning Tragedy into Hope for a Better World. (New York: RDV Books, 2003).
Opposition to George W. Bush’s war against Iraq is growing. No voices in the resistance are more powerful, more visible, or more credible than "September 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows," a nonprofit group of family members of September 11 victims dedicated to finding alter-natives to war as a response to personal and national tragedies. The Peaceful Tomorrows represent more than fifty people who lost loved ones in New York, Washington and Shanksville, PA, as well as more than two thousand supporters. They have spoken in twenty-five states and eight foreign countries, and have sent delegations to both Afghanistan and Iraq to meet with civilians who similarly lost loved ones due to terrorism and war. On February 15, 2003, members of Peaceful Tomorrows led the United for Peace march in New York City, which drew more than two hundred fifty thousand people.
This book will begin with an account by editor (and group member) David Potorti, covering the first year and a half of the Peaceful Tomorrows—how they came together to form the group, how they pursued their mission without an income, and how they connected with people in other countries. This introduction will be followed by -essays from group members on various topics, including forgiveness and keeping the faith (Andrew Rice/Myrna Bethke); the power of music (Kristina Olsen/Derrill Bodley); creating community (Barry Amundson); a military perspective (Ryan Amundson); a report from the delegations to Iraq (Kat Tinley, Terry Rockefeller), Afghanistan (Kelly Campbell, Rita Lasar), and Hiroshima/Nagasaki (Amundson, Lasar); and a commentary on the media’s -response to both the 9/11 disaster and the work of the Peaceful -Tomorrows (Potorti). The volume will also include guest essays from high-profile supporters of the Peaceful Tomorrows.
Rachlin, Nahid. Persian Girls (NY: Penguin, 2006).
For many years, heartache prevented Nahid Rachlin from turning her sharp novelist's eye inward: to tell the story of how her own life diverged from that of her closest confidante and beloved sister, Pari. Growing up in Iran, both refused to accept traditional Muslim mores, and dreamed of careers in literature and on the stage. Their lives changed abruptly when Pari was coerced by their father into marrying a wealthy and cruel suitor. Nahid narrowly avoided a similar fate, and instead negotiated with him to pursue her studies in America.
When Nahid received the unsettling and mysterious news that Pari had died after falling down a flight of stairs, she traveled back to Iran-now under the Islamic regime-to find out what happened to her truest friend, confront her past, and evaluate what the future holds for the heartbroken in a tale of crushing sorrow, sisterhood, and ultimately, hope.
Salbi, Zainab. The Other Side of War - Women’s Stories of Survival and Hope (Washington, DC: National Geographic, 2006).
Zainab Salbi's media profile soared with her first book, Between Two Worlds, a memoir of growing up in Saddam Hussein's inner circle. She has been a guest on "Oprah," has been interviewed by Katie Couric, Al Franken, and George Stephanopoulos, and has been profiled in the New York Times, The Washington Post, and People magazine. Her organization, Women for Women International, plays a vital role in helping to heal war-torn nations including Afghanistan, Bosnia, Rwanda, Congo, Sudan, and Colombia.
With stunning images by award-winning photographers Susan Meiselas, Lekha Singh, and Sylvia Plachy, Salbi presents a riveting collection of letters and first-person narratives by amazing women who survived war's devastation and now must find the strength to rebuild families and communities. Throbbing with pain and loss yet glowing with courage and hope, The Other Side of War explores six regions where Women for Women International has helped survivors of the world's most tumultuous countries learn new skills, open small businesses and forge bonds with sponsors.
Overviews by the author explain how each nation's history led to violent conflict; then, with searing eloquence, the women tell their stories—of horror, cruelty, and suffering but also of profound inspiration as they work toward renewal and toward the day their fierce determination is rewarded with productivity, prosperity, and lasting joy.
Sherif, Yasmine. The Case for Humanity: An Extraordinary Session (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, October 3, 2015)
Combining passionate prose and global United Nations and human rights experience, Yasmine Sherif inspires a new agenda for world politics and personal consciousness, and makes the case for humanity. With thinkers like Plato, Rumi & Robert F. Kennedy, amidst modern wars, A Case for Humanity: An Extraordinary Session weaves the words of great minds from the past with today’s political challenges in a groundbreaking call for a new global vision.
