Inspiring
By nancyadair
#TheBookofHope A Survival Guide for Trying Times by #JaneGoodall and #DouglasAbrams
by theliteratequilter
In these dark times when we are faced with multiple threats of our own making, Jane Goodall offers us hope for the future, inspiration to change our lives, and assurance that every one of us can impact the world for good.
In a series of interviews, Douglas Abrams asked Goodall about the source of her hope. She offers four reasons to hope.
First, Goodall knows that humans have an intellect that can be used for "unfortunate ways" or for good. If enough people take individual action for the better, and bond together, we can implement changes for good. She often references Britain during WWII, the horror of Nazism and the boundless, hopeful courage of the British that made them resilient. She saw good victorious over evil.
Goodall has traveled the world and seen first hand the resilience of nature. She believes it is not too late to prevent a collapse of the world as we know it. Readers learn about species like the black robin that was brought back from the brink of extinction, and refers to other species that have rebounded, like the whooping crane and California condor, and how wolves reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park restored its ecosystem. Nature is resilient.
Young people across the world understand the world they are to inherit and are demanding and implementing change. Goodall's Roots and Shoots program supports children to identify and create programs that impact their world, planting gardens and trees, demanding school cafeterias disband Styrofoam, and even removing the image of a chimpanzee from a cereal box after learning that its 'smile' was one of fear. They are not responsible for doing all the work to correct our mistakes, but they lead us to awareness of the work to be done.
Goodall has faith in the indomitable human spirit, which with our ability to think and cooperate and adapt, has allowed us to be successful as a species. Her own husband, Derek was crippled during WWII and told he would never walk again. He never gave up, and learned to walk with a cane. She shares the unforgettable story of two Chinese men, one blind and one who lost his arms in an accident. They needed purpose in their lives and decided to restore their degraded land by planting trees. The sighted, armless man led the blind man who planted the trees. They have planted over ten thousand trees.
The stories of Goodall communicating with animals and humans, her loving acceptance, her spirituality and goodness, makes me understand that she is a saint, one who reflects God into our world. She believes in a spirit that embraces us all.
I dread the idea that if I had grandchildren they would have to contend with a world in crisis, with climate change and mass migrations and geopolitical turmoil and food and water insecurity. Can humanity give up our habits of indulgent waste, our alliance to business profit and wealth over protecting our home? Will we claim all living things our brothers and sisters and work to protect them?
We cannot survive without hope. Hope allows us to seek answers and implement growth through change.
I have read books warning about the future and encouraging change. This book is one that also offers encouragement that we CAN take on this huge responsibility and we CAN restore a balance to the world.
I received an ARC from Celadon Books in exchange for a fair and unbiased review
