Women Who Light the Dark

"Hope is not a noun but a verb. It is something that one does. Do nothing, and you will have no hope. Do something and you might make a peep hope in the world through which hope could sneak back into the world." This quote from Joe Volk, Executive Secretary of the Friends Committee on National Legislation, speaks so directly to Paola and to "Women Who Light the Dark." Paola and all these women are doing something to bring hope back into the world. Thanks to Joe and Paola for bringing hope back into the season. Give this book to others and share the hope.

If they can do it, we can do it. If women in desperate straits can Light the Dark, so can we. That's Paola Gianturco's message to me in her most recent photo essay book on bright, brave, colorful women. Paola's own creativity and courage show in her exuberant, emotion-laden pictures and accurate, persuasive writing. All of her books are beacons of hope and achievement. Having or giving this book affirms our own values and indeed Lights the Dark, since all of Paola's royalties will go to the Global Fund for Women.

The photos are riveting, and the text is compelling, but what's really special about this book is the women it features. Their courage and imaginations will give readers hope -- and goosebumps.

This book is a gift to all of us who wonder how will we move beyond the darkness that seems so universally prevalent today. Paola has traveled to some of the darkest areas of our world, where women and girls are gravely endangered. She has found remarkable women, who have little, use their imaginations, creativity and will to alter the resigned lives of many. This is so much more than a 'coffee table' book with gorgeous photography. It is to be read and savored and see that there is real hope in these desperate degrading situations, to change the lives of many for the betterment of us all. It is a gift to give yourself, as well as your friends and family to start 2008 with hope and possibility for a more caring world.

I was lucky enough to hear Paola Gianturco speak about her new book, Women Who Light The Dark. She is just an amazing woman and it's so incredible and wonderful what she has chosen to do at this time of her life--she's in her sixties and she's trekking up mountains in Nepal to see a special graduation celebrating young women trained to be mountain guides, sitting in cement block class rooms with young women who have been raped in Zimbabwe (you know the story--men thinking they can be cured of AIDS by raping virgins as young as six--some of these men are these girls' fathers and brothers!) listening to their terrible stories and sharing in their joy at becoming educated and capable of taking care of themselves. Everywhere Ms. Gianturco goes she documents not only the abuses heaped on women but women's indomitable spirit--to not only survive and find a means of supporting themselves but their determination to make sure their children have a future and that includes education! It is truly inspiring to see what these women create out of nothing but imagination, hope and sheer indomitable will! The photographs in the book are beautiful and evocative, capturing the spirit, the hope, the beauty and vitality of women in almost every part of the world. The accompanying narrative is also fascinating as you follow Paola Gianturco on her incredible ventures around the world. To add to the pleasure of purchasing Women Who Light the Dark, Ms. Gianturco is contributing ALL of the royalties to the "Global Fund for Women." In short, there are many, many reasons to purchase a copy of this beautiful, uplifting book.