"In this book Desmond Tutu teaches us how to transform pain and suffering into hope and trust in the future. Anyone leading a state or a family will treasure his words." So writes Nelson Mandela—another great victor over racist apartheid—describing the message of this slim volume.
Nine letters from the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, addressed to "beloved children of God," urge us to fear neither evil nor the terrible conditions that afflict our world. His words, powerful and persuasive, filtered through his long and arduous struggle to give voice to the voiceless in his country, open us to a hope that is possible for everyone, regardless of race or social station, age or creed.
As Alex Zanotelli notes in the preface, Tutu's words mark him as one of the great prophets of our time. After reading what he has to say, you cannot remain unchanged. Something shakes you. His proposals call you toward transformation, toward the desire to become builders together of another world, a different world: where "people matter more than things, more than property; where human life is not merely respected but actively honored; where people feel safe and do not fear hunger, ignorance, or disease; where there is more courtesy, more care, more sharing, more joy; where there is peace and not war."
Where does Tutu draw his strength and his joy? From union with God. "If I do not spend a reasonable time in meditation each morning, I feel uneasy. If I did not have these moments of communion with God, I would be completely lost and without direction." Yet he offers us this consolation: "There are times when I cannot pray at all. All I can do is turn to God and say, 'I can offer you only my kneeling,' and I abandon myself to worship and adoration."
May those who read this book come to believe that a different world can begin with the transformation of each one of us.
M.B., 2004