“WINNER OF THE 2011 NOBEL PEACE PRIZE”
“In a time of death and terror, Leymah Gbowee brought Liberia's women together–and together they led a nation to peace.”
As a young woman, Leymah Gbowee was broken by the Liberian civil war, a brutal conflict that tore apart her life and claimed the lives of countless relatives and friends. Years of fighting destroyed her country–and shattered Gbowee's girlhood hopes and dreams. As a young mother trapped in a nightmare of domestic abuse, she found the courage to turn her bitterness into action, propelled by her realization that it is women who suffer most during conflicts–and that the power of women working together can create an unstoppable force. In 2003, the passionate and charismatic Gbowee helped organize and then led the Liberian Mass Action for Peace, a coalition of Christian and Muslim women who sat in public protest, confronting Liberia's ruthless president and rebel warlords, and even held a sex strike. With an army of women, Gbowee helped lead her nation to peace–in the process emerging as an international leader who changed history. “Mighty Be Our Powers” is the gripping chronicle of a journey from hopelessness to empowerment that will touch all who dream of a better world.
Author Biography
Leymah Gbowee is the winner of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize. She is also the “Newsweek” and “The Daily Beast”'s Africa columnist. As war ravaged Liberia, Leymah Gbowee realized it is women who bear the greatest burden in prolonged conflicts. She began organizing Christian and Muslim women to demonstrate together, founding Liberian Mass Action for Peace and launching protests and a sex strike. Gbowee's part in helping to oust Charles Taylor was featured in the documentary “Pray the Devil Back to Hell.” Gbowee is a single mother of six, including one adopted daughter, and is based in Accra, Ghana, where she is the cofounder and executive director of the Women Peace and Security Network-Africa.
Carol Mithers is a Los Angeles-based journalist and book author. Her work has appeared in a wide variety of national publications.
