Unbowed

UNBOWED
By Wangari Maathai
Knopf, 2006

Category: Adult memoir

“Trees are living symbols of peace and hope. A tree has roots in the soil yet reaches to the sky. It tells us that in order to aspire we need to be grounded, and that no matter how high we go it is from our roots that we draw sustenance.”

These are the words of Wangari Maathai, who knows an awful lot about trees. She has, after all, nurtured the planting of thirty million in her native Kenya. UNBOWED is the story of those thirty million trees and how they changed many landscapes in Kenya—physical landscapes, economic landscapes, and political landscapes. It is the story of a passionate woman—perhaps one of the most courageous of our time—and her struggle to protect the environment, promote democracy and foster peace. It is a story of hope and of triumph.

Wangari Maathai was in Massachusetts last week to discuss her Green Belt Movement and I was able to meet her, briefly, while she signed my copy of UNBOWED. She is the sort of woman who makes one proud to be human. I am in awe of her conviction and her bravery, and I will treasure her book always.