Demonstrates how one woman's commitment to freedom, self-determination, and human rights can have a profound impact on people all over the globe. In this book, the author describes her Catholic roots, her first step on a long road to standing up to bullies with the defense of her deaf brother Stephen.
"Jody Williams is a grassroots activist at her heart, committed to empowering all individuals to believe in their ability and their right to contribute to a better world. A forceful leader in advancing the recognition of the key role of 'citizen diplomacy' in confronting and resolving our common challenges in today's fast changing world. Whether she's speaking or writing, she is clear, concise and eloquent when advancing her views of global activism."-Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
"Jody Williams is an activist's activist-she speaks to and for ordinary people, inspiring and empowering them to speak for themselves. Her eloquence also reaches and moves those in the halls of power around the world. Her written word is as clear and convincing as the words she speaks. What she says and what she does have long been demonstrating that global change is not a utopian dream but feasible reality."-Mia Farrow, actor and activist
"Jody Williams is a bold, informed, challenging and provocative voice. Her writing is shaped by a sharp political eye, heart, humor and irreverence. Her place in the dialogue around building peace and justice cannot be disputed. She is, quite simply, explosive."-Eve Ensler, author, actor, activist
"Jody Williams is a powerful woman. When she speaks, she carries the room. When she writes, she is equally as clear and captivating. What might be the best thing about her-whether she's speaking or writing-is that she shares her power. She is tireless in her work for a better world for us all. She engages through humor and humility and makes anyone who comes in contact with her believe that they too can change the world."-Pat Mitchell, CEO, the Paley Center; former CEO, PBS
"To hear Jody Williams speak at a rally of thousands is to be electrified by the vision, wit and strength of a woman who can seem superhuman. To read Jody Williams on the page is to gain entry into the mind of the complicated, all-too-human-woman whose self-doubts and vulnerability make her one of us. Williams writes with a novelist's gift for careful observation, and a humorist's knack for scathing self-examination. Her bawdy, kick-boxing prose leaves no doubt that as a writer-activist, Williams has a voice of her own."-Audrey Wells, screenwriter, director, activist
"Williams' incredibly honest first-person account of family, love, trauma, horror, and the balance of tedium and reward while working for human security is a wonderful testament to the power of one for the benefit of many. Also a poet, her writing is simple, rich with critical information, and profound - seemingly representative of the author herself: down-to-earth and straight to business, but containing an incomparably contagious spark. She's funny, too. You simply cannot finish reading this book without feeling the stir to help, whatever your cause may be."
