Half the Sky

In terms of my own personal heartbreak this week, this has been both just what I didn't need and just what I needed. These stories make my own heartbreak seem small and insignificant, by comparison, and yet the willingness and ability to heal and to endure is far past admirable and well into amazing. Kristof's reportage does not shy away from the brutality enforced on women across the globe, but it is only so as to enhance the strength and courage of the women who turn their tragedy into triumph, for themselves as well as others. The stories are horrifying, but to turn away is nothing short of sinful. These things are happening, and Kristof gives us hope that we might make them stop. First, we must raise our awareness, then our voices, and ultimately change our lives however we can in order to change the world in which we live. Half the Sky is a must read.