Meet Merisa Handler at U-dub Bookstore March 5

Written by: Christal Wood on Mar 1, 2007 9:13 PM EST

Hey Folks,

On Monday, March 5th, Merisa Handler will be in town to speak on her book
"Loyal To the Sky: Notes from an Activist" (Berrrett-Koehler Publishers).
Event begins at 7 p.m. at University Bookstore, 4326 University Way in
Seattle's University District.  She personallly got in touch with me through
a friend to let everybody know.  You should go!

"Loyal to the Sky" is a memoir of both personal and political growth. In
this personal and political narrative, Handler offers an intriguing portrait
of both her own evolution as a global justice activist and of this
burgeoning movement. As Handler shows, the global justice movement is
complex, both unapologetically radical and anti-hierarchical. Unlike their
radical predecessors, these activists aren't seeking power but instead a
return of power to where it belongs: the individual, within the
self-organizing community.

Marisa Handler was born in South Africa in the days of apartheid, but moved
to the U.S. at twelve. Here, she discovered that even in an open and free
society, injustices can exist and need to be confronted. So that's just what
she's done all over the United States, in India, Nepal, Ecuador, Peru, and
elsewhere.

As Marisa has discovered through her activism and her journalism, there is a
widespread fascination with this the anti-globalization movement. Who are
they? What's an affinity group? How do decisions ever get made by consensus?
What is participatory democracy? And what's with the puppets and costumes?

Merisa's personal portrait renders the global justice movement accessible
and human. She demystifies direct action—the strategy that employs means
lying beyond the approved channels of protest in a market-driven world—and
presents spiritually-based nonviolent activism as the means to building the
kind of world we wish to see.

In Merisa's words, "The way I see it, the more people that read this book,
the more people learn about the ways we are already changing the world, and
are reminded that every one of us has this ability."

For more information on Marisa Handler and her book:
http://www.marisahandler.com

Best wishes.  -cw

       *        *        *      *       *      *
REVIEWS:  What others have said about "Loyal to the Sky":

"[Marisa Handler] takes a brutally honest look at herself, the activist
community and the world. She writes with wit and beauty, preaches with passion and love. Loyal to the Sky
is an affirmation that mortal humans, with all our foibles, can be powerful
agents for change."
              --Medea Benjamin, Co-founder, Global Exchange and CODEPINK

"Insightful and charming, spiritually rich and emotionally honest, Handler's
writing shows that tikkun olam, the healing of the world, is not some
outdated fantasy but an ever-present possibility."
                   --Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of Tikkun and author of "The Left Hand of God: Taking Back our Country
from the Religious Right"

"[W]hat you will find in this book is a window deep into the world where our
only sustainable future
is being created.  ...My highest recommendation."
                --Michael Nagler, author of "The Search for a
Nonviolent Future" and founder, Peace & Conflict Studies Program,
UC, Berkeley

"When I finished this book I sighed and closed my eyes in gratitude, as if
I'd finally found clear cool water in the desert."
                            --Michael Chorost, author of "Rebuilt: How
Becoming Part Computer Made Me More Human"

"It's a gripping ride—joyous, poignant, honest and smart. This is a hopeful,
wise book."
                        — Christopher D. Cook, author of "Diet for a
Dead Planet: Big Business and the Coming Food Crisis"

"[Handler's] is a welcome contribution to a history in the making --
providing an eloquent glimpse into who we are and what we may yet become."
                           -- Antonia Juhasz, activist, policy-analyst and author of "The Bush Agenda: Invading the World, One Economy at a time."

Tags:
Location: Seattle, WA