Unbowed : A Memoir, by Wangari Maathai
~3 copies at the Austin Public Library, and I've got one checked out. You can always put one on hold and they'll notify you when it's available or let me know that you're waiting for my copy. : >
This month's book follows the life of a remarkable woman from Kenya. If you haven't found inspiration yet this year, this might be the book that does it. Check out the reviews on Amazon.
On a personal note, my sister's in Wa, Ghana this month with a church mission. Sadly, I didn't know where Ghana was in relation to Kenya before this week. And for that matter, I had to look up Kenya, too. So I think this book should be good for me on an educational as well as inspirational level.
Place: Chateau Dev'reaux
Time: 7:30-9:30 (discussion starts no earlier than 8 : )
btw, the upcoming book list is still flexible, so feel free to contact me with your ideas for books. We've already made a couple of adjustments. Check out the list on Google docs.
~3 copies at the Austin Public Library, and I've got one checked out. You can always put one on hold and they'll notify you when it's available or let me know that you're waiting for my copy. : >
This month's book follows the life of a remarkable woman from Kenya. If you haven't found inspiration yet this year, this might be the book that does it. Check out the reviews on Amazon.
On a personal note, my sister's in Wa, Ghana this month with a church mission. Sadly, I didn't know where Ghana was in relation to Kenya before this week. And for that matter, I had to look up Kenya, too. So I think this book should be good for me on an educational as well as inspirational level.
Place: Chateau Dev'reaux
Time: 7:30-9:30 (discussion starts no earlier than 8 : )
btw, the upcoming book list is still flexible, so feel free to contact me with your ideas for books. We've already made a couple of adjustments. Check out the list on Google docs.
1 comment:
The main theme between Three Cups of Tea and Unbowed were similar: Fixing a broken system that was doing wrong to its people. In one case, the people were neglected and forgotten. In the other, the people were exploited or trampled. Both protagonists in the books were headstrong, to say the least, and accomplished some amazing good on a large-scale level. But their ego also separated them at times from even those closest to them.
While reading Maathai's memoirs, I was really amazed at how often things when awry in her efforts. But she had an embedded sense of purpose that kept her pushing forward undauntedly. She only mentions crying and giving into a night of ponderous thinking once - when her husband left her. Otherwise, she just keeps pressing forward, because there is plenty of work to do. This woman's first 40 years of life make mine look pretty anemic by comparison. I'm not sure if I am inspired by her story or feel like giving up altogether!
Maathai's no-frill style of writing is easy to read and makes me put more clout in her stories of Kenya the way the country used to be before civil strife and deforestation changed the landscape. I don't feel like she's trying to push an agenda on me, but maybe that's because I'm not the establishment she's trying to set straight. I don't usually like biographies, but I'm glad I put the time into reading this one.
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