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Reason for Hope — A Spiritual Journey,
by Jane Goodall

Reason for Hope cover

Available now in Paperback, Hardcover, eBook and Audio

MaryAnn Shank, the author

Recommended by MaryAnn Shank, author of Sor Juana, My Beloved and The Mystical Land of Myrrh

Why I love this book:

Her life, her dreams, her destiny to be part of the wild … all of this enchants me. And that Jane Goodall finds Hope in a world that sometimes feels hopeless is absolutely astounding.

I love that she speaks honestly. She speaks of her sadness, her failures, as well as her successes. When we reach a point in the narrative where a joy emerges, we are joyful with her, for we know that it is not a given. No, her joys are often hard-fought victories, and sometimes serendipitous moments that surprise even her.

I closed this book sadly, wanting more, for she had granted me hope too.

A Snippet

How can I choose but one short paragraph in this amazing story? My copy of REASON FOR HOPE is ear-marked and yellow-underlined and noted all over. Here is a tiny sample:

As David Greybeard (an elder of the ape clan) and I sat there, I noticed a ripe red fruit from an oil nut palm lying on the ground. I held it toward him on the palm of my hand. David glanced at me and reached to take the nut. He dropped it, but gently held my hand. I needed no words to understand his message of reassurance: he didn’t want the nut, but he understood my motivation, he knew I meant well. To this day I remember the soft pressure of his fingers. We had communicated in a language much more ancient than our two worlds.

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Talk a Little, Talk a Lot

There are so many ideas to talk about in REASON FOR HOPE. Here are but a few:

Jane Goodall has four reasons for hope. Which do you think is the most important? Would you add any others?
Jane Goodall suggests that there are two ways of looking at life: (1) It is a “tale told by an idiot,” as Macbeth suggests, an “evolutionary goof,” or (2) There is something afoot in the universe, a plan, a purpose to it all. Which do you believe? Is there a third option?
Jane Goodall has been criticized for working too closely with her chimps, both physically and emotionally. Do you agree?
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Or choose one of these topics:

Africa Alcoholism Anthology Art Atlanta Bicentennial Birds Book Banning Book clubs Brooklyn Chronic illness Early 1900s Ecology Family Relationships Faraway Places Historical Mystery Japanese Internment Jazz Legends Magic Medieval Mexico Midlife Native Americans Peace Corps Poetry Prostitution Scotland Siblings True Crime Women Sleuths Writers/Poets

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