Speaking Their Peace: Personal Stories from the Frontlines of War and Peace

by Colette Rausch

Wars dehumanize. This book humanizes. To those who have been silenced by the trauma of conflict, gagged by fear and conformity, and muted by the world’s indifference, this book gives a voice. And it is an unforgettable voice: powerfully, intimately human, heart-wrenching and heart-warming in equal measure, singing a song of horror and of hope.

Packed with 100 unforgettable interviews from eleven conflict zones across the globe, Speaking Their Peace lets “ordinary” people tell their own extraordinary stories of life during wartime and their efforts to build a better, more peaceful life for themselves, their families, and their societies.

Speaking Their Peace will change the way you think about how people cope with war and the transition from war to peace.

The book lets us hear from a remarkable variety of people: Women whose husbands and children were grabbed from their hands and slaughtered— women who tell us they are trying to hide the sadness for the sake of the children that remain. Ex-soldiers, some celebrating the righteous cause for which they fought, others wondering what happened to the social justice for which their comrades died. Former child soldiers, terrifying even to their own families, describing how they are working to reconcile victims and victimizers. Students, traumatized when friends were raped and murdered, explaining how today they are using their education to fight for women’s rights.

288 pages, Paperback

First published April 7, 2015

Reviews

[Audrey Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many peace builders intuitively know the consequences of war are devastating but often times we don't know some the backdrops of how and why these wars began nor the incredible indomitable power of the human spirit that despite the sufferings, still maintain the hope for peace. This book provides this experience and is one that should be a part of our educational system so that maybe...maybe...we can begin to collectively make a different decision about how we need to first feed the desire for sustainable peace within our own hearts and then incorporate that spirit in our interactions with all humanity. A must read!

[Margaret Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this remarkable book. People who have lived through incredibly difficult and challenging experiences in some of the most hazardous war zones on earth share their poignant and sometimes hair raising stories. Their stories contain heartbreaking episodes but are also filled with hope for the future. I found the book hard to put down and am already planning to send copies to all of my friends.

Speaking Their Peace
Colette Rausch

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is rare lens into the real lives of the people impacted by war, from warfighters to the everyday businessperson, mother, and child. These interviews are heartfelt, honest and so well told that you feel like you were in the room. The human aspect really hits home, and helps us understand why conflict is so complex and why peacebuilding is so, so important. If you want to better understand why we should do whatever we can to avoid war, read Speaking Their Peace.

[Patrick Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it so captured the harrowing, heartbreaking and often times heroic struggles of ordinary people caught up in conflict. It managed to evoke tears and joy simultaneously and provided a glimmer of hope for humanity. The lessons of war and conflict taught in this book are the ones that are so seldom heard, but are the most important of all. I highly recommend the read.

[Kay Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is inspiring, while still offering an intimate, realistic and honest view of how conflict impacts individual lives - something I believe is lacking in the reading material available about countries in conflict. I learned a great deal from this book, and found it difficult to put it down. I can't recommend it enough!

[Victoria Wegener · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a time where it can be difficult to understand and come to terms with all the suffering around the world, this book does an incredible job of helping the reader to gain context and hear the true voices of the people. Thank you for the opportunity to travel around the world with you and engage in the conversations. I would highly recommend this book it is both thoughtful and thought provoking!

[Michael Berquist · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! Colette Rausch has written/edited a book that should be mandatory reading for humanity. This book opened my mind to the conflicts in the world and to the struggles that average, every-men and women face both in times of war and in peace. I love that the author included profiles on the countries studied in the book, so that I could learn all about the history of the conflict in every nation covered. The interviews with citizens of the war-torn countries are insightful and powerful because readers have the opportunity to learn what civilians think and live through in times of war. As a millennial, I am so grateful for this book and its' power to illuminate and educate the people of my generation and those that came before us.

[Blakely Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book from goodreads first reads. It sounded interesting so I thought I'd pick it up and give it a go and I was not disappointed. It just gives war a face. Each interview brings out a perspective often times lost when people like me talk about war and conflict.