Forgotten Girls: Stories of Hope and Courage

I'm glad I didn't put down this book without letting it affect me. I loved the stories in this book. And hated the realities that they showed me. I know women around the world face the harshness of starvation, displacement, illiteracy, sexual exploitation, and abuse to a greater degree than men do. Knowing that and reading stories of it are two different things. Knowledge doesn't always move me much; that knowledge with skin on in a story does. At the end of each section, authors Kay Marshall Strom and Michele Rickett include a list of action steps that could make a difference. Some are simple, including specific prayer needs and ideas for blog posts. Some are more elaborate. It's nice to have difference-making ideas after reading about awful circumstances. One moving passage: "Do our brothers and sister in the West know what's happening to us? Do they know we are being forced from our villages? That we are being raped and killed?" Yes, we say, they know. The plight of the Sudanese is reported in newspapers and shown on television, and it saddens and horrifies us. "If everyone knows," they say, "where are God's people who have freedom? Why don't they help us?" That's why Sudan is the hardest place. Yet we go anyway, because the more God's people know, the more they care. That made me think of a line from one of my favorite movies, Hotel Rwanda, about what the reaction will be of Westerners to footage of African genocide. When Don Cheadle's character assumes that people will help if they see footage of genocide, Joaquin Phoenix's character replies that he thinks people will see the footage, and say "'Oh, my God, that's horrible.' And then they'll go on eating their dinners." After reading this book, I don't think I'll just go back to what I was like before I knew these stories. They are hard, but they are moving and worth knowing - and sharing. (Many thanks to InterVarsity Press for providing this book for my review. They didn't ask for a positive review, just an honest one.)

This is a powerful book! It is not the easiest read because of the horrible abuse heaped on so many women and girls around the world, but it is one that needs to be read. One of the best parts of this book is the encouragement to be a part of the solution by taking specific steps to make a difference in the lives of millions of marginalized women and girls around the world. Great book to give to other women and girls in your life.