During the last days of the year, I heard a WBEZ Worldview rebroadcast of an inspiring interview with the great Wangari Maathai. In her early death from ovarian cancer, the world lost one of our visionaries in terms of, not just woman's rights and environmental activism, but in the just & loving practice of humanity.
Since I am already thinking of what books to take on my annual AFOPADI site-visit in Guatemala for Earthways, I decided to get Maathai's memoir: Unbowed. Because I take very little luggage (and half is for my colleagues), I made the big leap last week and bought a Nook. If I take it off Wifi, apparently the battery will last a few weeks. Since I stay in a room with only a single solar bulb with minimal output, I got the cheapest & smallest nook (I don't bring down anything expensive in case it gets stolen, but more importantly: because I don't feel it appropriate in such impoverished communities) as well as the attachable light. You have no idea how exciting this is for me! As a life-long obsessive reader, it was always a challenge for me to figure out what book to take. And then if it turned out to be a lemon...
So I am looking forward to nights spent learning more about and being inspired by the Green Belt Movement. Because, of course, the challenges in Africa are similar to those in Guatemala. And many of those are similar to impoverished communities here in the States.
DO ANY OF YOU HAVE SUGGESTIONS ABOUT OTHER BOOKS I MIGHT ENJOY WHILE IN GUATEMALA?
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