To bear witness to hope—for life itself, for the good it contains, despite all the evil and suffering we encounter each day. This is the first task Franco Nembrini urges us to embrace in his many lectures and conversations, some of which appear in this book, rich with echoes of don Giussani's insights. Parents and teachers who have attended these gatherings will recognize themselves here.
A genuinely useful book for anyone thinking hard about the principles that should guide the adults in a community—whether family, school, parish, or society at large. Education, Nembrini argues, begins with answering a question that lives in every child and student, conscious or not: What is the true, deep meaning of life? Why is it necessary, worthwhile, to commit ourselves to the work of each day and continue doing so, day after day? The challenge is to resist the temptation to hand that task over to a culture that urges us to reach for the extraordinary—often something that doesn't exist, or has no real value.
Cristina Tersigni, 2014