Speaking Their Peace : Personal Stories from the Frontlines of War and Peace

Wars dehumanize. This book humanizes. To those who have been silenced by the trauma of conflict, gagged by fear and conformity, and muted by the world’s indifference, this book gives a voice. And it is an unforgettable voice: powerfully, intimately human, heart-wrenching and heart-warming in equal measure, singing a song of horror and of hope.

Packed with 100 unforgettable interviews from eleven conflict zones across the globe, Speaking Their Peace lets “ordinary” people tell their own extraordinary stories of life during wartime and their efforts to build a better, more peaceful life for themselves, their families, and their societies.

Speaking Their Peace will change the way you think about how people cope with war and the transition from war to peace.

The book lets us hear from a remarkable variety of people: Women whose husbands and children were grabbed from their hands and slaughtered— women who tell us they are trying to hide the sadness for the sake of the children that remain. Ex-soldiers, some celebrating the righteous cause for which they fought, others wondering what happened to the social justice for which their comrades died. Former child soldiers, terrifying even to their own families, describing how they are working to reconcile victims and victimizers. Students, traumatized when friends were raped and murdered, explaining how today they are using their education to fight for women’s rights.