alisonvwhite7's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
ajaggers324's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Hate crime, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Violence, Gaslighting, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexism, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Torture, Confinement, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Islamophobia, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Sexual assault
Minor: Antisemitism, Infertility, Genocide, War, Pregnancy, Cancer, Terminal illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Suicide attempt, Homophobia, and Bullying
noshelfcontrol's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
msemeniuk's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
aidahdefilippo's review against another edition
5.0
It feels corny and exaggerated to say that one book changed my outlook on life. And somehow, Valarie Kaur did it.
Kaur uses a mix of the traditional storytelling of memoirists and, even more interesting, an unmasked map of the philosophy that has guided her life's work. Reading her book as more than an autobiography is essential - instead, read it as a call to action with Kaur's life as the evidence to back it up.
I couldn't say I agree with everything she writes, or even that I could implement in my own life that parts that I do agree with. But to look at the world and its many, many people with ecstatic wonder is worth trying. To look in the faces of people you hate, don't understand, or simply haven't met yet and "see no stranger" is worth trying.
Kaur doesn't delve into the fact that there are, in fact, pure monsters out there - monsters who wield unimaginable, destructive amounts of power. But she does encourage people to consider that the world is not full of monsters. It's a compelling and inspiring argument that I, myself, needed to hear.
It's easy to endorse this kind of empathy for your opponents, and then fall into complacency. Kaur doesn't suggest that we should accept hateful viewpoints or try to coexist with them. Instead, it's a strategy for survival, for anyone who wants to make change. It's a roadmap for how to bring people into a movement - not to meaninglessly "reach across the aisle", but to turn an opponent into an accomplice.
Kaur uses a mix of the traditional storytelling of memoirists and, even more interesting, an unmasked map of the philosophy that has guided her life's work. Reading her book as more than an autobiography is essential - instead, read it as a call to action with Kaur's life as the evidence to back it up.
I couldn't say I agree with everything she writes, or even that I could implement in my own life that parts that I do agree with. But to look at the world and its many, many people with ecstatic wonder is worth trying. To look in the faces of people you hate, don't understand, or simply haven't met yet and "see no stranger" is worth trying.
Kaur doesn't delve into the fact that there are, in fact, pure monsters out there - monsters who wield unimaginable, destructive amounts of power. But she does encourage people to consider that the world is not full of monsters. It's a compelling and inspiring argument that I, myself, needed to hear.
It's easy to endorse this kind of empathy for your opponents, and then fall into complacency. Kaur doesn't suggest that we should accept hateful viewpoints or try to coexist with them. Instead, it's a strategy for survival, for anyone who wants to make change. It's a roadmap for how to bring people into a movement - not to meaninglessly "reach across the aisle", but to turn an opponent into an accomplice.
rafritz1's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
emilybriano's review against another edition
5.0
Fantastic and challenging. A must read for everyone, especially if you are unfamiliar with the Sikh faith. Kaur recites Shabads throughout and at the end of the audiobook so listen to it if you can
heidi_'s review against another edition
5.0
Breathtakingly beautiful message. Valarie's lifetime of loving others through word and deed, even in the midst of righteous anger and deep hate, answered questions I had yet to articulate. Idealists, rejoice! This memoir refreshes, inspires and provides a path forward.
I most appreciated how she seamlessly blends the personal, the political and the spiritual under one aspirational life orientation: the practice of revolutionary love. She calls on us all to wonder, to grieve, to fight, to rage, to listen, to reimagine, to breathe, to push, and to transition for a more humane world. Within these chapters, she weaves her own narrative with lessons on activism and collective liberation, healing from trauma, reimagining power structures and taking the necessary time to care for ourselves within community.
"Joy returns us to everything good and beautiful and worth fighting for. It gives us energy for the long labor. Letting in joy, therefore, is the tenth practice of revolutionary love, the core practice that sustains all others. Joy is the gift of love: It makes the labor an end in itself."
Through her stories, we are given a comprehensive guidebook for embracing the frequently painful, yet deeply meaningful labor of love, as it manifests in all spheres of life. No stone is left unturned in her quest to show care and concern for the earth and its inhabitants.
Words cannot express my admiration for this woman and her life of service. May we all follow in her footsteps to challenge oppressive systems, redesign in ways that promote human flourishing, and savor the moments between. Thank you, Valarie.
"If you choose to see no stranger, then you must love people, even when they do not love you. You must wonder about them even when they refuse to wonder about you. You must even protect them when they are in harm's way... you must keep the borders of your heart porous in order to love well."
I most appreciated how she seamlessly blends the personal, the political and the spiritual under one aspirational life orientation: the practice of revolutionary love. She calls on us all to wonder, to grieve, to fight, to rage, to listen, to reimagine, to breathe, to push, and to transition for a more humane world. Within these chapters, she weaves her own narrative with lessons on activism and collective liberation, healing from trauma, reimagining power structures and taking the necessary time to care for ourselves within community.
"Joy returns us to everything good and beautiful and worth fighting for. It gives us energy for the long labor. Letting in joy, therefore, is the tenth practice of revolutionary love, the core practice that sustains all others. Joy is the gift of love: It makes the labor an end in itself."
Through her stories, we are given a comprehensive guidebook for embracing the frequently painful, yet deeply meaningful labor of love, as it manifests in all spheres of life. No stone is left unturned in her quest to show care and concern for the earth and its inhabitants.
Words cannot express my admiration for this woman and her life of service. May we all follow in her footsteps to challenge oppressive systems, redesign in ways that promote human flourishing, and savor the moments between. Thank you, Valarie.
"If you choose to see no stranger, then you must love people, even when they do not love you. You must wonder about them even when they refuse to wonder about you. You must even protect them when they are in harm's way... you must keep the borders of your heart porous in order to love well."
maggiemusing's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5