Autobiographies on my reading list - 2021

 

As I get older, I have started thinking about revolutions, liberty, power dynamics and their impact on the lives of us ordinary beings. How can I be a cause in the matter that seems far away from my influence? I wonder why I don't have the same awe and respect for modern day leaders that I have for  say a Nelson Mandela or Martin Luther King Jr? Is it because I don't know enough about them to question their credibility or is it just that the likes of Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr were made of a different grain altogether? 

To decipher the puzzle, I decided to dedicate the coming year reading (and in some cases re-reading) autobiographies / biographies of leaders who faced the world with a genuine desire to change the reality as they saw it. They fought hard, they fought brave and above all, they fought with dignity. I read about some of them in childhood but I am revisiting them again with a perspective that an adult life provides. What will I find about them that will empower me? Shall discover that in the days to come :)

It is said that you can live a valuable life and make an impact no matter where you are. For most of us 27 years in prison would mean a wasted life. But for Mandela, prison was the place for his mission. Can't wait to discover more

It takes insight and courage to see a vision of reality apart from what the world tries to show you. To stand up for yourself and not cower when people "show you your place", demanding to live with dignity when the world wants to enslave you; calls for courage and conviction like no other. Want to know what fears assailed Dr Martin Luther King Jr and how he moved past them.

I have learnt about Maya Angelou more through the works of Brene Brown than through lessons in history or civil rights movements. I got intrigued when Brene Brown quoted her in the book Braving the Wilderness saying, "You are only free when you realise you belong no place - you belong every place-no place at all. The price is high. The reward is great." It took me a while to come to terms with it. But once I grasped it (or at least scratched the surface to grasp it), there was an intense sense of liberation and relief. Eager to dig in for more.

This is just to get started.... lets see what I add to this list!