Ashley Judd is best known as the acclaimed actress in films such
as De Lovely and Double Jeopardy, but these days she
is more likely to be found wading through an African refugee camp
or Asian brothel than on a film set. For most of the past decade
Judd has been visiting human rights hotspots around the world to
spread the word of hope, health, and gender equality on behalf of
one of the leading public health nonprofits, PSI/YouthAIDS. Her
work has put her in the company of Bono, Bill Clinton, and other
world leaders in the battle against disease and poverty and in
advocating grassroots programs to improve the lives of women and
children.
Memories of her own painful childhood inspired Judd to reach out to
those in desperate need, especially abused and abandoned girls. She
writes movingly of friends such as Kausar, an AIDS sufferer in the
slums of Mumbai who becomes an activist and peer-educator, and
heroes such as Dr. Rene, who lends his heart and soul to keep the
sex workers of Madagascar from contracting and spreading HIV.
Judd also describes her own personal spiritual journey of discovery
that takes place during the interludes between her trips overseas.
Through being of service to others, she unlocks the door to her own
unsettled past, including an abusive childhood, and later on, her
issues with co-dependency and depression. Through the act of
bearing witness to others, Judd finds her own path to
healing. Her recovery becomes integral to her ability to
continue her humanitarian work. It reaffirms what her faith teaches
her: “When I change myself I help change the whole world.”
Judd recorded her experiences both abroad and at home in more than
five hundred pages of journal entries, which she has woven into a
highly personal and powerful memoir about change, hope, and human
transformation.
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