Loyal to the Sky

Book excerpt: “In this brightly detailed blend of personal memoir and political reportage, Handler recounts her life of activism . . . [an] absorbing call to action.” —Booklist Born in apartheid South Africa, Marisa Handler emigrated to Southern California at the age of twelve. Her gradual realization that injustice existed even in this more open, democratic society spurred a lifelong commitment to activism that would take her around the world and back again. Handler shares intimate details of her life as a global justice activist to offer a revealing perspective on what drives the movement. Tracing her own evolution as an activist, her story crisscrosses the globe, examining current sociopolitical issues from apartheid and racism to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, corporate globalization, and the wars of the Bush administration. Along the way, Handler paints compelling portraits of the people she’s encountered, shares gritty details of the sometimes-harrowing events that have changed and shaped her, and describes how she came to advocate a spiritually based, nonviolent activism as the best means for building the kind of world we wish to see. “[Handler’s] wisdom transcends her youthfulness; she writes with grace and insight, and she never stumbles over her own self-importance.” —San Francisco Chronicle “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.” —Medea Benjamin, Cofounder, Global Exchange and CODEPINK “Handler has put her values into action with tenacious creativity. She ably conveys the histories of places many people couldn’t find on a map in a lively, moving and funny voice.” —Publishers Weekly