Maw Books » Nonfiction

It’s All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff by Peter Walsh

Natasha Maw — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 09:32:26 +0000

A few years back I went to a home show for one and one reason only: Peter Walsh. He was the guy they were marketing to get people in the door and boy, did he get me in the door. At that time I had already read his book It’s All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff and knew that he was one smart cookie. I loved his philosophy about the relationship that we have with our stuff. His short seminar that he gave that day was worth every penny. He was hilarious! I simply loved everything about him.

Earlier this year, I got the bug to get rid of stuff! And one when gets that urging, it should under no circumstances be ignored. Take advantage of it while you can. So I pulled out It’s All Too Much and read it again. And I loved it again. Peter Walsh just makes so much sense.

This isn’t a book about how to organize your sock drawer (although it might be mentioned) but rather it’s a book about our relationship with our stuff. And that by changing our relationship with our stuff then the process of decluttering and organizing our possessions comes much easier. We can take control of our stuff rather then the stuff controlling us.

When we have emotions tied to objects then it makes getting rid of those objects hard. But is it about the object itself or is it about the memory associated with that object? Which is more important? And if something is so important to us why are we treating it with such disrespect shoved and broken in the back of a closet or in a moldy basement? He says that one of the most common errors when attempting to organize and declutter is to start with “the stuff.” Clearing the clutter isn’t about “the stuff.”

Peter Walsh asks us what type of life do we want to live?

Imagine the life you want to live. I cannot think of a sentence that has had more impact on the lives of the people I have worked with. I’ll repeat it again: Imagine the life you want to live. Life is never perfect, but we all have unique visions of the lives we wish were ours. When clutter fills your home, not only does it block your space, but it also blocks your vision. . . . It’s a deceptively simple question and one that we seldom ask: “What is the life you want? “

And what I love about this book is that it is not overwhelming. Imagine trying to tackle decluttering our entire house at the same time. It makes me want to go back to bed. It makes me want to go watch an episode of Hoarders so I’ll feel good about my housekeeping abilities. But Peter Walsh has everything set up step by step so that we start out with small victories and then take on larger tasks.

Once you decide what kind of vision you want for you and your family, then it’s time to start tackling the surface clutter. He gives specific ways on how to do this and then moves through the house room by room: master bedroom, kids’ rooms, family and living rooms, home office, kitchen, dining room, bathroom, garage, basement and other storerooms. He then addresses how to stay on top of the clutter, daily, monthly and yearly maintenance and what happens if you relapse.

But what I love so much about this book is that I just didn’t read it, tell myself well, that sounds like good stuff and then just go on with life. I actually did change the way I viewed my house and the stuff in it. I actually started to apply the advice that he gave. And seriously, what a difference! I hardly give a second thought to throwing away or giving away stuff that simply doesn’t matter. I feel freer having less stuff to deal with.

But I’ll also be completely honest. I’m by no means perfect. I have a really hard time with the daily clutter. Keeping up with my dishes, the laundry, and picking up the toys. Do I get stressed when somebody knocks on my door? Sadly, I do. My house is often not clean enough to feel comfortable inviting somebody in. Always something to work on right?

I haven’t read any of Peter Walsh’s other books but I’m thinking that as I like his style, I definitely should. If you need an easy to read, step by step book to help you you tackle the clutter and live a richer life with less stuff, than It’s All Too Much is the book that will help you get there.

What about you? How do you deal with the clutter? Any other Peter Walsh fans out there?

Links of interest: Peter Walsh website, more book blogger reviews.
Genre: Non-Fiction, Organizational Self-Help
Publisher: Free Press. December 12, 2006
Hardcover, 240 pages. ISBN 0743292642
It’s All Too Much is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

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Maw Books has an affiliate relationship with several bookstores, including Indiebound, Powell’s, and Amazon . When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, Maw Books earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog. There is no cost to you.

Cult Insanity: A Memoir of Polygamy, Prophets, and Blood Atonement by Irene Spencer

Natasha Maw — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 10:00:10 +0000

Forgive me for using the book jacket description for Cult Insanity: A Memoir of Polygamy, Prophets, and Blood Atonement by Irene Spencer. I am so backlogged in the number of reviews I need to write and I’m finding that often it is the summary that slows me down. When I sat down to begin to write this one out I became so overwhelmed. So book jacket it is.

In Shattered Dreams, Irene Spencer told the devastating story of her arduous life in a polygamous fundamentalist Mormon sect [Church of the Firstborn of the Fullness of Times], sharing her husband with nine other women (and fifty-six children) in abject poverty and intense mental and emotional anguish. As harrowing as the story was, it was only just the beginning.

Cult Insanity delves deeper into her story, focusing on the terrifying acts of Ervil LeBaron,, her brother-in-law and a self-proclaimed prophet who determined he had been called to set the house of God in order.

The older brother of Irene’s husband, Verlan, Ervil LeBaron had a zeal for living and teaching that was at first admired but soon took on a sinister tone. Ervil’s ambitions quickly turned lethal when he uncovered a doctrine concerning blood atonement – the act of redeeming a sinners soul by taking his or her life. Seeing himself as God’s Avenger, he used the role as a means to terrorize and destroy those who challenged him.

Irene quickly became enveloped in a dark cloud of fear and anguish. Survival for herself and her ever-growing family turned into a constant flight from one desert camp to another across the harsh badlands of Baja, California. Food was scarce and living conditions abhorrent. Irene didn’t see her husband for months, never knowing if Ervil would make good on his vow to kill him.

I previously read Irene Spencer’s first memoir, Shattered Dreams, My Life as a Polygamist, two years ago and called it one of the best books I’d read all year. While I would recommend that you read Shattered Dreams first, Cult Insanity can easily be read as a stand alone. Where Shattered Dreams focuses more on the intimate details of Irene’s feelings about living life as a polygamist, Cult Insanity dives deeper into the politics of the Church of the Firstborn of the Fullness of Times and the LaBaron family.

There are a lot of people to account for in Cult Insanity and Irene jumps around a lot in her telling, making the not linear account sometimes a bit difficult to keep track of. But the account that she gives is as the title aptly calls it, pure insanity. Just like Shattered Dreams, I couldn’t put this book down. Shattered Dreams felt a bit more personal to me and thus I liked it a bit more. Don’t get me wrong though, this book was just one bit as interesting and also just as appalling.

Even as I continue to read these types of memoirs, I never cease to be shocked with what kind of behavior goes on behind closed communities. If interested in polygamy and religious extremist groups and wanting to read a personal, firsthand experience about life among the LeBaron group then Cult Insanity is the book for you.

Links of interest: Irene Spencer website, Maw Books review of Shattered Dreams, My Life as a Polygamist, more book blogger reviews. Other polygamist memoirs I’ve reviewed: Stolen Innocence by Elissa Wall with Lisa Pulitzer, Escape by Carolyn Jessop,
Genre: Non-Fiction
Publisher: Center Street. August 12, 2009.
Hardcover, 352 pages. ISBN 0446538191
Copy source: Review copy sent from the publisher at my request.
Cult Insanity is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

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Seeds of Change by Jen Cullerton Johnson, Illustrated by Sonia Lynn Sadler

Natasha Maw — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 04:58:59 +0000

Seeds of Change by Jen Cullerton Johnson and illustrated by Sonia Lynn Sadler is the biography of Wangari Maathai who won the Novel Peace Prize in 2004 for her environmental activism which included founding The Green Belt Movement which teaches people to take care of the environment by planting trees, recycling, and seeking alternative energy sources. She was the first African woman and environmentalist to receive the award.

Her mother had taught her to revere and love the trees of Kenya. When few girls went to school, Wangari’s parents managed to send her where she excelled in science. She won a scholarship to attend college in Kansas where she learned that a woman could do anything she wanted to. She found her strength as a woman scientist. America had changed her.

When returning to her homeland she accepted a teaching job at the University of Nairobi in a profession were there were very few woman teachers and even less female scientists. But she also witnessed a change happening in Kenya. Trees and the land were being destroyed and so much that the people depended on was lost. Wangari had an idea that started as small as a seedling but that would effect much change in the environment of her country and that was to plant trees. “We might not change the big world but we change the landscape of the forest,” she said.

Seeds of Change is Wangari Maathai’s inspirational story. It is a story of planting more than thirty million trees in Kenya. It is also a story of overcoming and persvering through those who work against you. It is a story of woman’s rights. It is a story of giving back to the Earth when we take too much from it.

To quote the book, “She understood that persistence, patience, and commitment – to an idea as small as a seed but as tall as a tree that reaches for the sky – must be planted in every child’s heart. ‘Young people you are our hope and our future,’ she said.”

An excellent portrayal of Wangari Maathai. And a great reminder that even as an adult, I learn so much from picture books.

Links of interest: Jen Cullerton Johnson website, Sonia Lynn Sadler website, The Green Belt Movement, Wangari Maathai biography on Nobel Prize site.
Genre: Non-fiction picture book. Approx ages 4-8.
Publisher: Lee and Low Books. June 30, 2010.
Hardcover, 40 pages. ISBN 160060367X
Copy source: Review copy sent from publisher.
Seeds of Change is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

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The Mistress’s Daughter by A.M. Homes

Natasha Maw — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 15:30:15 +0000

So in all honesty it’s been a while since I listened to The Mistress’s Daughter by A.M. Homes. I have discovered (and I suspected this would be true of me) that with two kids in the car it’s probably better for me to have read a book before listening to the audio. I’m just too distracted. I can’t pay attention. Plus, I got really impatient. I wanted to speed things up. Obviously, I can read faster than I can listen to a book and felt like it was taking way to long to get through the book. And again, being honest here, I don’t consider myself “well-listened” when it comes to audio books. Totally new territory for me. I’ve really only listened to the Harry Potter books, which I ADORED in audio. But I had read them previously. Thus enhancing my enjoyment I think. I had never read The Mistress’s Daughter but had it on my bookshelf and when going out of town and pursuing the library thought it would be perfect to listen to while in the car.

It took me weeks and weeks to listen to this very short memoir. I did not like the narrator at all and found myself wincing when I turned the audio back on. Annoyed. Very annoyed. That, of course, hampered my enjoyment. I really wish I had read this book in print instead of having listened to it. But even if I had read it, I suspect that I would have felt slightly annoyed with the book itself as well. I never really connected to A.M. Home’s story which is sad because it’s a memoir. I always hate when I don’t love a memoir because then it feels like I’m discounting the author’s story. It’s their life experience. And I don’t want to dismiss anybody’s life experience as being less than what it is. But it is what it is, and I never connected with her or her story.

In this memoir, author A.M. Homes recounts how she was given up for adoption before she was born. Her adoptive parents won’t tell her anything about her birth, her adoption, or her background. The Mistress’s Daughter is the story of how at the age of thirty, she reconnects with her birth parents and the road she travels in discovering how she is, who her family is and does that knowledge really change who she is? In her case, yes, the family narrative she discovers has a direct correlation with her sense of self.

All her life, she knew that there was some secrecy behind her birth. Her adoptive mother simply wouldn’t give her any answers. It was these answers that she would have to discover for herself. She becomes obsessed with genealogy work on both her biological and adoptive sides of the family. And when her birth mother dies, she hopes to figuratively find her mother in the box of personal effects that she left behind. And in doing so, she hopes to find herself as well.

I really wanted to love this book but found both her story and the narrator annoying enough that I couldn’t embrace it like I had hoped. I never understood the motives that drove the story. Sure, she explained the motives and I knew of them, but I just had a difficult time believing in them. I never felt convinced of the genuineness and truth of the story. And I HATE to say something like that particularly for a memoir because it is her truth. As for me, I simply kept shaking my head and saying, “Really? I just don’t get this.”

This one of those book reviews that I simply wonder if I would be singing a different tune had I not listened to the audio. Perhaps I would have been more apt to receive the story had I not been annoyed by the narrator every time I simply hit the play button. So, moral of the story? Skip the audio for this one and read the book. But even then, I was a bit leary. I’d be curious to hear what others think of it. As for me, The Mistress’s Daughter just didn’t do it for me.

Links of interest: A.M Homes website.
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
Publisher: Viking Adult. April 5, 2007
Hardcover, 240 pages. ISBN 0670038385
The Mistress’s Daughter is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

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A Child’s Journey Out of Autism: One Family’s Story of Living in Hope and Finding a Cure by Leeann Whiffen

Natasha Maw — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 15:15:02 +0000

Life couldn’t have been better for the Whiffen family when they welcomed newborn Clay into their lives. Mother Leeann was thrilled that he would grow up closely with his older brother. As any mother does, she has big hopes and dreams for her children and her family. But when Clay is two, he begins to regress, no longer speaks, and develops behavioral problems.

Autism.

It’s a word that Leeann refuses to even say. While she still has big hopes and dreams, they have suddenly shifted to something much more immediate. Each day Clay slips farther into his shell. This is something that she can not ignore or wait out. Through immediate and exhaustive treatment, Leeann fights as only a mother can fight. A fight to reclaim her son before it’s too late. The title of her moving memoir, A Child’s Journey Out of Autism: One Family’s Story of Living in Hope and Finding a Cure by Leeann Whiffen, is aptly named. For it is a fight that she wins. Clays diagnosis is completely removed.

This family’s story however is not as simple as the above description makes it seem. The research that Leeann conducts is overwhelming. The intensive, in-home therapy treatments are not covered by insurance and the $40,000 price tag is a financial strain. Add on top of that the added strain of relationships, friendships and simply on oneself, and the years of treatment are exhausting

In A Child’s Journey Out of Autism, Leeann shares her darkest moments, the lowest of lows, her guilt, worry, sadness, unbelief, and her highest of highs, her determination, strength, energy, and the happiness in reclaiming her son. She writes with such honesty and beauty. Such an important book to read regardless if you know somebody with autism or not. Every child is different and this is just one family’s journey of customized treatment and recovery but it’s a testament to a mother’s love for her child. It is a testament to empowered parents. It is a testament to the joy of a child. To reclaiming that which was once lost.

Watch this short trailer for the book featuring Clay himself and then watch for my author interview with Leeann Whiffen immediately following this post. Leeann lives locally to me and I’ve been fortunate to meet her on several occasions. Reading her book is like discovering a friend that you wish you always had and if it’s not to bold of myself to say, I feel fortunate to now call her one myself.

Links of interest: Leeann Whiffen website, blog and Twitter. More book blogger reviews. Did you know April is National Autism Awareness Month? Check out all my book reviews that address autism.
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
Publisher: Sourcebooks. March 1, 2009
Paperback, 336 pages. ISBN 1402218389
Source copy: Review copy
A Child’s Journey Out of Autism is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

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Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant by Daniel Tammet

Natasha Maw — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 16:36:01 +0000

Daniel Tammet, author of Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant was born on January 31, 1979 (just 29 days after myself) which happened to be a Wednesday. And Wednesday’s are always blue. In fact, to Daniel, every number and letter manifests a different color and feel. This ability is called synaesthesia, a condition which I was unaware of.

But this is not the only limit of Daniel’s abilities. He has savant syndrome, which many of us are aware of through Dustin Hoffman’s portrayal of Charlie Babbitt in the movie Rain Man. Not only can Daniel Tammet calculate huge sums of numbers in his head but he also can recite the number of Pi up to 22,500 decimal places, and learn languages in mere weeks (he’s fluent in about nine). Daniel Tammet also has Asperger’s, a very high functioning form of autism which unlike Charlie Babbit, allows him to communicate and interact well. This was a skill that he learned to improve with time and practice. It’s this capability that he’s able to give us a glimpse into one of the most rare conditions in the world.

This memoir is a fascinating glimpse into such an extraordinary mind. Our brains are incredible and Daniel has opened himself up to science for study so we may better understand what we, as humans, are capable of. Daniel takes us on a journey through his childhood, his home, family and school life, to embarking out on his own, finding love and creating his own successful business. While the book is certainly factual in nature, a testament to how Daniel processes his surroundings, it was incredibly introspective and honest. I love coming to learn and understand people who are unlike myself, and if you are the same, this is a memoir that you won’t want to miss.

The following video is a 50 minute film, titled The Boy With The Incredible Brain, which is a documentary that he talks about in length in the book. If you don’t read the book, I’d at least watch the film. But I’d recommend both!

Links of interest: Daniel Tammet’s website, more book blogger reviews. Did you know April is National Autism Awareness Month? Check out all my book reviews that address autism.
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
Publisher: Free Press. October 16, 2007
Paperback, 256 pages. ISBN 1416549013
Source copy: Own
Born on a Blue Day is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

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An Eye for Color: The Story of Josef Albers by Natasha Wing, Illustrated by Julia Breckenreid

Natasha Maw — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 23:05:53 +0000

I took a color theory class when I was in college and it’s one of the most memorable of all my coursework. I recently was cleaning out my basement and came across all my projects for the class. Basically, these projects involved a lot of cutting and pasting of colored squares as we experimented with how colors interacted with each other. Take two identical colored squares but place them on separate colors and the perceived hue will change. Colors are not always what they appear to be. There is enough to learn about color that we spent an entire semester doing so.

It’s for this reason that I was interested in taking a look at An Eye for Color: The Story of Josef Albers by Natasha Wing and illustrated by Julia Breckenreid. This picture book would have been so much fun to read the first day of my color theory class! As a young child, author Natasha Wing, was a neighbor to Josef Albers. When her mother framed the Christmas card he sent, she knew that he must be somebody important but it wasn’t until she was grown and moved away that she began to realize the significance of Josef Albers.

This short biography of the artist describes how it wasn’t until he was in his sixties that he chose the most geometrically perfect shape of a square and used it as his pallet to experiment with color. He proved that colors don’t stand alone. They interact with each other. When one changes a color, the entire mood of it can change. For twenty-seven years he painted thousands of squares and was the first person to be given a living artist one-man show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

The book is very simple to read and has a entertaining narrative with a lot of great color examples. At the end of the book there is an authors note detailing the authors childhood relationship with Albers. There is also an extended biography to learn more about Albers life and career as well as a glossary and selected bibliography. It’s these details that turn a book into a true teaching tool. A fantastic book for a glimpse into the awesome world of color and a man who dedicated his life in exploring it.

Links of interest: Natasha Wing website, Julia Breckenreid website.
Genre: Picture book, approx ages 9-12.
Publisher: Henry Holt. September 1, 2009.
Hardcover, 40 pages. ISBN 0805080724
Source: Review copy
An Eye for Color is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

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Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story by Paula Yoo, Illustrated by Dom Lee

Natasha Maw — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 15:30:53 +0000

As an adult, I have found that I am introduced to much of history through picture books. Do you know the Sammy Lee story? Read Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story by Paula Yoo and illustrated by Dom Lee and you will. Son to Korean Immigrants, Sammy Lee, would watch children play in the public swimming pool on the hot summer days in 1932. But people of color, like himself, were only allowed to use the pool one day a week. During that single day, he began to learn how to dive.

But discrimination wasn’t just apparent at the swimming pool, he wasn’t even allowed to attend his own prom despite being class president. Over the next sixteen years, he dreams of becoming an Olympic diving champion. He works hard and relentlessly. And all the while, fulfilling his father’s dream to become a doctor.

At the age of twenty-eight he finally gets his chance to compete for Olympic gold. Despite the international venue, he still faces prejudice because he wasn’t white. This only added to his determination to win. Winning a bronze medal in one competition, he aims for gold in his strongest competition – the 10 meter platform. Training for sixteen years brings him to a moment that would last only sixteen seconds – from the time he begins the dive to finding out his score. A score which would bring a perfect score from one judge and thus earning him the title of being the first Asian American to win an Olympic Gold medal.

A very inspiring story that ends with his father’s words: “In America, you can achieve anything if you set your heart to it.”

A short video that features an interview with Sammy Lee:

There is so much going for this book. It is a story of immigration, prejudice and discrimination, dreams, determination, practice, perseverance, struggle, and triumph. But this is no story. This is life. And an inspiring one at that. This picture book and Sammy Lee’s story deserves to be in the classroom, the library, the home, and in a child’s hands.

Links of interest: Paula Yoo website. Dom Lee is also the illustrator of the following picture books which I’ve reviewed: Baseball Saved Us, Be Water, My Friend: The Early Years of Bruce Lee, and A Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story.
Genre: Non-fiction Picture book, approx ages 9-12.
Publisher: Lee and Low Books. April 1, 2005
Hardcover, 32 pages. ISBN 158430247X
Source: Review copy
Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

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The Year My Son and I Were Born: A Story of Down Syndrome, Motherhood, and Self-Discovery by Kathryn Lynard Soper

Natasha Maw — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 18:41:56 +0000

Ah, book blogs. You have got to love them. They add more and more to my reading list every year. I discovered The Year My Son and I Were Born: A Story of Down Syndrome, Motherhood, and Self-Discovery by Kathryn Lynard Soper when Melissa at Book Nut called the book amongst other things: remarkable, honest, brave, and beautiful. Add on top of that, the fact that Soper lives here in Salt Lake City, my home town, and that’s reason enough to get excited about it.

Kathryn Lynard Soper is the mother of six children and discovers at the birth of her seventh child that something has gone seemingly horribly wrong. Newborn Thomas was diagnosed with Down Syndrome. Gone were her expectations of what this child would be and in its place was fear, doubt, and anxiety.

Could I love such a son?

I rubbed my arms and legs with a rough washcloth, determined to scrub away not only blood and sweat and oil, but also doubt. Of course I could love Thomas. I already did. I loved him as I’d loved each of my new babies with a primal strength full and fierce . . .

Yet I knew the bond wouldn’t be enough, not for long. It was instinctual. Even animal. Thomas deserved human love, the delight and appreciation and tenderness one unique person feels for another. I’d never felt this for a person with Down syndrome or any other disability. I didn’t know if I could.

Goose bumps rose on my arms – the hot water was gone. And my time to indulge in weakness was gone. A child waited in a plastic box down the hall, and six more were waiting at home, waiting for security to surround them like a warm mantle, soft yet strong. Waiting for their mother.

The Year My Son and I Were Born follows the first year of Thomas’s life. The writing is raw, stark, and so completely honest. Soper holds nothing back. All of her emotions are laid out for everybody to see. There are highlights and extreme low lights and we, as readers, are privy to it all.

Read this book and watch the video. I dare you to not cry. I dare you. Because it just can’t be done. It can’t.

One of the very best and compelling memoirs I’ve ever read.

Links of interest: Kathryn Lynard Soper website, more book blogger reviews.
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
Publisher: GPP Life. March 3, 2009.
Hardcover, 336 pages. ISBN 0762750618
Source copy: Library
The Year My Son and I Were Born is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

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The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer

Natasha Maw — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 16:25:48 +0000

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer was simply inspiring. One of those books that I knew I would like if I just took the time to sit down with it. And one that I wouldn’t have been aware of had it not been for the book blogosphere.

At the age of 14, William Kamkwamba was forced to drop out of school because his family was unable to pay the $80 school fees. Having a very inquisitive mind and not wanting to fall behind his peers, the library quickly became his best friend. Checking out book after book, particularly books about energy, he would studiously analyze each one. Most were in English, so he would have to infer the text through the diagrams and illustrations.

In 2002, his home country of Malawi was struck with a severe famine which left his family farm devastated and thousands died of starvation. Each day his family ate less and less. But yet with an empty stomach, William continued to study. When he saw his first picture of a windmill, he was blown away. Here was a machine that would use their abdunant natural resource of wind to create energy, thus bringing electricity and running water to his home. With electricity, his family could accomplish more in the evening hours at home and with running water they could irrigate and harvest a second crop.

William foraged for scrap metal, bicycle parts, and other components that he would need to build his own windmill. He received no support from his village or even his family, as they all thought he was crazy. Building the windmill took patience and perseverance but his work paid off. Soon the villagers were all marveling when he began to power his radio and light his home. And what blew my mind away was that he was FOURTEEN! He stuck with this project for months and self-taught himself everything that he needed to know. William blew me away.

The best part about the book is that what could ultimately be a dry and technical read – “How to Build a Windmill 101″ – was a great narrative. I couldn’t put it down. William’s story is a testament of what one person can accomplish if they don’t give up in the face of opposition. It’s also a testament to the thought that with knowledge comes power. And it also reminds me, the Western reader, that electricity is something that I shouldn’t take for granted. When I flick a switch, it’s something that I don’t even think about. The light comes on. But for Williams’ Malawi village, electricity is something that seemed out of their reach. That is, until a fourteen year old boy, changed it all.

Here are a few videos to whet your appetite for the book. This is the first public appearance that William Kamkwamba made at age 19 at TEDGlobal 2007. As he wrote about this event in the book, I really liked to watch this video:

Two years later, he spoke at the same event again. I loved seeing his transformation, his confidence, and his message at the end – “Trust yourself and believe. Don’t give up.”

A Moving Windmills short based on the full-length documentary of the same name, Moving Windmills: The William Kamkwamba Story which is currently in production:

Take the time to watch the videos and let me know what you think. Have you read the book? What was most inspiring to you?

Links of interest: William Kamkwamba website, on twitter, more book blogger reviews. buildOn.org is the charity organization which Moving Windmils project has partnered with to rebuild Kamkwamba primary school. I read this book as part of the water theme for the Social Justice Challenge.
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
Publisher: William Morrow. September 29, 2009.
Hardcover, 288 pages. ISBN 0061730327
Source copy: Library
The Boy Who Harnessed the Windis available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

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