Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War by Leymah Gbowee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Christian Century had an engaging article on Gbowee last fall when this book was released and just before she won the Nobel Peace Prize. I referred back to the article more than once, so finally decided to order the book.

This is an at times harrowing but ultimately inspiring memoir of civil war and then organizing and protesting for peace. Gbowee led a women's movement in Liberia which was crucial in ending the civil war and helping to secure the peace which has persisted. The book contains lots of advice for organizing, and it is a great story of female empowerment in particular. I would recommend it to young girls and to women's reading groups.

I had expected a little more religious content, based upon the Century article and the title. It is there, but not as much as I had expected. This was a book I read hoping for some ideas to use in ministry or sermon illustrations, and didn't find as much as I had thought I would (I've already used part of her story once in a sermon on the Syro-Phoenician woman).

The writing style is very direct, nothing eloquent (there are quite a few typos as well, which surprised me). You won't be caught up in the writing, but you will be engaged with the story and the characters.

Sometime in the future, I'd be interested in a biography of Gbowee to get a broader perspective than just her own.

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