A Couple with a Cause

DAY 04 - your favorite book

About two months ago, I found new inspiration in a man named Nicholas Kristof.  His book Half the Sky (which he co-wrote with his wife, Sheryl WuDunn) is not only eye-opening on a global scale, but also the most realistic publication I have ever read in terms of soliciting people's genuine interest, concern, and charity for the developing world.  The book addresses serious women's and girls' issues like forced prostitution, maternal mortality, mass rape, poverty, and lack of education in various parts of the world (mostly within Asia and Africa), using a balance of individuals' true stories and reliable statistics to back up their claims.  Kristof and WuDunn have a true passion for eradicating these problems and making sure that 50% of the world's skills and knowledge and potential--found in women--are not wasted any longer.

The couple explains their cause in a way that makes it impossible not to want to fight for it and also provide people with the tools to begin doing so.  With Half the Sky came a movement for eliminating hardships faced by women and girls everywhere, including an extensive list of reliable charities--many of which were sources of strength for the women and girls in the stories in the book.  They are right when they say that these issues really don't receive as much attention as they should (they are too often pushed to the back burner in terms of US financial aid), and a bit of frustration with that reality is evident in the fervor of the writing.  I am so drawn in by that emotion.  The two don't give themselves too much credit, either.  It's not one of those look-at-what-good-people-we-are kind of books--they tell it like it is, and they do so because they genuinely want other people to get off their butt and help them make the world better.  It's pretty amazing.

Kristof's blog, which addresses all types of global issues, is pretty interesting sometimes.  More importantly, read the book!