Alice Walker is well known for her literary fiction (with a Pulitzer Prize for “The Color Purple”), many volumes of poetry, and powerful non-fiction collections. Her advocacy for the dispossessed has spaned the globe. This was a NYT bestseller.

This book consists of an Introduction and 14 essays on a wide diversity of topics. Her Introduction begins with the famous words from Charles Dickens: “It is the worst of times. It is the best of times.” She then expands on this. ”It is the worst of times because it feels as if the very Earth is being stolen from us, by us: the land and air poisoned, the water polluted, the animals disappeared, humans degraded and misguided. War is everywhere. It is the best of times because we have entered a period, if we can bring ourselves to pay attention, of great clarity as to cause and effect. A blessing when we consider how much suffering human beings have endured, in previous millennia, without a clue to its cause”…”We have only to open our eyes, and awaken to our predicament. We see that we are, alas, a huge part of the problem. However: We live in a time of golden enlightenment. This alone should make us shout for joy.”….”When you read this book you may not be surprised that many of its ‘meditations’ were delivered as talks.”

More than her progressive political convictions are revealed in these 14 essays (or ‘meditations’). Alice Walker is also very much inspired by her spiritual foundation. In these essays she reminds us that change must start from within our hearts, by reaching out to others with love and trust, the heart of justice and peace. To do less is to be misguided, to not pay attention to the goodness we have to offer. Speaking of doing less all too often leads us to make war instead. She says “It is criminal, and immoral, I believe, to send our children – and nineteen- and twenty-year olds are still our children – to fight and kill people they’ve never seen, never met, often never heard of. Like my brother, many of the young who are sent to maim and murder others like themselves may never even have glanced, on a map, at the places they are going.”…”An enlightened rage is building in the peoples of the world and it is antiwar. Never before have we seen war so clearly: its horror and stupidity and waste.” Her words are powerful, designed to wake people up and make them pay attention. Those I know who have read this book (which was discussed in my wife’s Book Club) are already awake and aware. My hope is that those not yet awake and aware will read this book – I give it a very high recommendation.