A nossa convidada de hoje é Karen Henson Jones, autora de A
Vida é Um Milagre .
É fundadora do Malibu Beach Yoga, na Califórnia, e assistente do monge
budista, é formada pela Universidade de Cornell e
pela London Business School.*
A Karen enviou-nos um mail, depois de ter lido a nossa opinião aqui no blogue ao seu livro e eu, claro, convidei-a a participar na nossa rubrica!! Escolher um livro apenas foi difícil e então a escolha recaiu sobre dois dos livros mais importantes para Karen.
Thank you so much for
asking me to contribute to your amazing blog. I am truly honored! OK, your
question was: What is the book that marked you for life? That is like asking:
what is your favorite flavor of gelato! However, I have accepted your challenge
and have managed to narrow it down to two books. Both are about perseverance.
My first selection is The Fifth Mountain by Paulo Coelho. This is such a
well-loved and well-worn book of
mine, that I always like to have nearby, just
because. I can encapsulate the story here, but you really have to read the book
for yourself to feel its true power.
It’s about thus guy,
who is led through outrageous trial and tribulation. Everything he knows and
loves is taken away from him. He is exiled, he loses his love. But all the time
he is being guided, even though these awful things keep on happening to him. It’s
so similar to life: we know we have an angel, we know we are being guided, so
how come at times we find ourselves alone amidst the rubble?
For me, this book was
about finding the meaning in the destruction and finding meaning in helping the
people that are placed in your path by God. It teaches us that when God calls
on us to rebuild our own lives from scratch, we learn how to do it, and are
then called to help society rebuild and transform on a larger scale. One of the
most magical books I have ever read because it teaches and liberates you in an
underground way. Trust me!
My second selection is The Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela. A South African
friend recommended it to me, and because I like political biographies and
autobiographies, I was up for the 600 + page challenge.
First, it was obvious
that this book was written be Nelson himself, and not a ghostwriter. It had so
many personal details, and the tone was so specific, that you actually feel as
though you are having a long lunch with Mandela as he recounts his stories.
The book starts with
his childhood in an African village where he lived free and happy. As he gets
older, his eyes are opened to the racism and the demented oppression of blacks
in their own country and he becomes a freedom fighter. It’s not only a retelling
of a fascinating history, but you also have a front seat of Nelson’s personal
struggles as he sacrifices so much of his personal and family life to fight.
Many people know that
he spent 27 years in jail. You would think that part would be boring, but it
wasn’t. You learn all about the inner universe of the jail – Nelson even had
his own garden that would feed the entire prison once a week. Because his
prison was on an island, the prisoners would also collect seafood and make
stew. One of the most touching details was when Nelson was preparing to exit
jail he was sent to live in a halfway house where he could receive visitors,
and he wanted to make sure that he had just the right wine to serve. When
Nelson was finally released, my fist was literally in the air.
This book will really
motivate you to do something with your life, to start to observe the oppression
still present in the world today, and want to do something about it. If one man
cannot accomplish so much while sitting in a jail, what is possible for you?
Karen Henson Jones
