A Thousand Sisters: My Journey into the Worst Place on Earth to Be a Woman

by Lisa J. Shannon, Zainab Salbi (Foreword)

Lisa Shannon had a good life — a successful business, a fiancé, a home, and security. Then one day in 2005, an episode of Oprah changed her life. The show focused on women in Congo, a place known as the worst place on earth to be a woman. She was suddenly awakened to the atrocities there — millions dead, women being raped, children dying in shocking numbers. It was then that Lisa realized she had to do something — and she did. A Thousand Sisters is Lisa Shannon’s inspiring memoir. She shares her story of how she raised money to sponsor Congolese women beginning with one solo 30-mile run and then founded a national organization, Run for Congo Women. The book chronicles her journeys to the Congo, meeting the sponsored women and hearing their stories. Along the way Lisa is forced to confront herself and learns lessons of survival, fear, gratitude, and love from the women of Africa. A Thousand Sisters is a deeply moving call to action for each person to find in them the thing that brings meaning to a wounded world.

Genres: Nonfiction, Africa, Memoir, Feminism, Womens, Biography, Biography Memoir

336 pages, Hardcover

First published March 16, 2010

About the author

Lisa J. Shannon is a human rights activist, writer, speaker, and author of the acclaimed book A Thousand Sisters. She is the founder of Run for Congo Women, the first national grassroots campaign in the US working to raise awareness of the forgotten humanitarian crisis in Congo, and has spearheaded many other major media and human rights campaigns for Congo and Somalia. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Reviews

[Christina Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have difficulty reading memoirs of Western women experiencing the reality of violence in the global South. I have no right to say this, mind you. I am a Western woman...a white woman on top of that. I tread lightly in what I am about to say, mainly because I know that I could be labeled a hypocrite. With that danger in mind, I will proceed to trumpet the efforts and determination of Congolese women. I have been to the eastern Kivu provinces and while I learned much, what I learned most of all is that Western women need to stop depicting Congolese women as victims. Shannon's account does bring out the strength of women...but not the strength that shows that Congolese women are organized, they do fight against what is happening, they do rescue each other, they are capable of running NGO's, hospitals, schools, food pantries...all without manipulating and asking for money in a constant stream as Shannon writes. I want to scream at the top of my lungs to Eve Ensler, Alice Walker, and others to STOP!!!!!!! Congolese women have always been politically active and committedly strong throughout the country's long history of adversity. There are AMAZING grassroots women's organizations that are struggling to compete with Shannon, Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders, and other Western-run, international orgs for money. The DRC is the country of the Congolese...they insist they have the knowledge and the ability to stop the war and rebuild. That is the story I want to hear. I want to hear about the Congolese women in Portland, Oregon (THEY ARE THERE, I HAVE SPOKEN WITH THEM, THEY HAVE ORGANIZED TO HELP THEIR FRIENDS AND FAMILY BACK HOME), who have organized to run a marathon to send money to the DRC - not Shannon. Strangely, Congolese organizations in the U.S. are never heard from. Perplexing to say the least.

[Carolyn Carrier, PhD · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm...fairly conflicted about this book, but I think most of my issues stem from the writing style and its deficiencies--I'm hoping some things just don't come across in the reading. I should start by saying that I think this is an excellent book for an introduction to the atrocities of the Congo if you're still uninformed. It is a huge, horrific problem that has not garnered nearly enough international attention and help (perhaps because the Congo isn't known for its oil surplus?). In many respects, this is an eye-opening and necessary read, and it should also be said that, despite my issues with her, Lisa Shannon was an advocate for the Congo when almost no one else was, and she should be commended for her pioneering work.

Having said that, the tone of this memoir is often off-puting. Lisa goes to the Congo intent on bonding with her sponsored "sisters," and is otherwise unprepared for the reality of abject poverty and systematic rape, torture, and murder. She writes as if completely unaware of her privilege as a white woman from the United States--she is put off by the Congolese women's constant asking for more money and treating her like a muzunga (essentially a well-off white person who can help them), wanting to really revel in her Oprah moment of sharing and crying with them. It comes off incredibly narcissistic and naive. And never mind that despite hating being treated like a muzunga, she constantly acts like one--bringing money and trinkets to every village (a welcomed act, it should be noted, but certainly one that marks her as a fount of giving), intervening in a mother's decision to listen to her child's doctors when they say there is nothing else to do for him (again, heartwarming in the end, but smacks of the "I'm the white, civilized person here and I know what's best for you.), etc. The most appalling anecdote to me was when she received a village gift of a goat--Shannon is a vegetarian herself (again, a choice she is able to make because of privilege) and does not want to eat the goat, but is touched by the gesture, considering how expensive the animal must have been. The villagers expect her to appreciate the goat and want to have a celebratory feast. Shannon, in an act of what she tries to pass off as selflessness, gifts the goat to the village. She then, in an oblivious act of privilege, tells the villagers that this goat is special, and that they are never to eat it. Now clearly, as a vegetarian, the thought of killing an animal for any purpose is certain to make her squeamish. But she had just marveled at the poor villagers' generosity, knowing full well how long someone has to work to buy a goat, and then had the AUDACITY to proclaim that she, as a Very Important White Girl, deems this goat sacred, and they can never ever ever put it to its sorely needed use, even when she's long gone and back in her comfortable, air conditioned house in Portland? If you're not tasting bile by this point, I'm surprised.

So, all in all, I suppose I can recommend the book as long as you take it with a hefty pinch of salt and are prepared to deal with the short-sightedness of the author.

[Tara Chevrestt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is going to come across as heartless to some people, but I had mixed feelings about this book. First, I must applaud the author, Lisa Shannon for setting aside a pretty comfortable life to travel to the Congo of Africa for 5 weeks and meet these women in need. Also, this is a situation that needs to be made known to the rest of the world.

The women of Congo are dealing with not only mass genocide of their villages, but also mass rape. It's so bad, they have a hospital full of women suffering from fistula. (I would rather not explain what that is.) They all have tales of suffering and despite the fact that their tales were so similar the book grew repetitive, this book gives them a voice.

I had three issues preventing me from giving this 5 stars. 1. I didn't buy this book to learn about Lisa Shannon (No offense intended to her) and the parts about her fiance, the man named "D", and her father's death were not necessary and didn't interest me. 2. More in depth information would be nice about the African people's beliefs and culture. Why are they in the situation they are in? What made them this way? I not only want their sob stories, but I want to know what is going thru their heads. I found myself thinking, "Ok.. You are broke, you have eight children and one in the womb and why do you keep this up, woman? Four of your children will be raped and suffer fistula and the other four will probably rape and pillage to save their own sorry arses." I dont' get it. What is going on in their heads? I read the political stuff, I want the personal stuff. 3. I realize Lisa Shannon and the others are trying to help the women of Congo, but is making the women dependent on the U.S. dollar the answer? Anyone ever heard the saying, "Give a man a fish, feed him for day. Teach him how to fish, feed him for a lifetime..?"

Potential readers need to be prepared for some violent and sad stories in this one.

[Kyla · Rating 1 out of 5]

Whew, this is a tough one. On the one hand, you have to admire someone who takes up a cause unrelated to her with her whole heart, throwing family and jobs under the bus...but then you want to know why. Why this cause and not the hundreds of others? She attempts to answer this question by traveling to the Congo - but then seems intent on merely totting up the atrocities. How many of you have lost children? she would ask, pressing for details. For what purpose? An accounting of atrocities to make sense of it all? To be fair, she seemed aware of the tenuous moral position she was in - a white North American woman trying to fix things in a place she knew nothing about - but that doesn't make her meddling any more palatable to read about. Icky.

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many cringe on reports of genocide, starvation, mutilation, etc. Their sympathy/empathy might be engaged, but few do anything about it. Upon learning of the plight of the women of the Congo, Lisa Shannon made a commitment to do something to help them.

After organizing marathon fund raisers in the US, Lisa went to the Congo. I was thrilled to see that the money she raised went right to the needs since it appears that Women for Women has almost no administrative costs. That this charity is working and succeeding is the one of the few rays of light in the book.

Lisa connects with the women she has sponsored; she describes their lives and tells some of their stories. She visits other NGOs and service groups. On pp.90-91 there is a very revealing confession of a former militia fighter. He was taken as a child and coerced into burning villages and other atrocities. The plight of Generose, one of Lisa's sponsored sisters, is told on pp. 150-1 and is the saddest most horrible experience I have ever read.

The book shows how the needs of the women in the Congo are huge. Everyone is hungry. Many need medical attention. Many women need surgery for fistuala, (a horrible condition I had never heard of before) which often occurs after a brutal rape usually involving a large or sharp object. Everyone needs a safe place to live. A cow or a goat can make a huge difference in a family's standard of living.

The contrast in the living environment and attitude of the Congolese and those staying at the Orchid Safari Club shown as is how difficult it is to adjust to life in the US when you have been exposed to this other world. When Lisa speaks to US audiences, her sponsors often censor her remarks since unvarnished experiences are too raw for their audiences.

This book helps to call attention to a war, that dwarfs any recent conflict, yet receives very little news coverage in the US. I salute Lisa and others who bravely and selflessly work to alleviate the lives of people like those in this book.

[Eileen Souza · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the best book that I have read on the struggles in the Congo. I'll admit that I am biased, because I sponsor a woman in the Congo through Women For Women Int., and participate in the annual Run For Congo Women in Tempe, AZ each year. However, I believe that Lisa did an excellent job of sharing the true story of the conflict in the Congo and it's impact on people - even when it meant showing her own weakness/embarassments/mistakes as she attempts to change the way that women are treated in the Congo.

The things that I found most interesting were the number and variety of local militias, their control for power, and the subsequent impacts on the local people who they are "protecting". I was most concerned with the cultural taboo on saying anything bad about another Congolese person - so that the people translating would actually change who the players were to "protect" the local militias. If Lisa hadn't been actively listening to the original speaker, she would have missed that crucial piece of the puzzle - if people are saying that different groups are torturing them, how does the rest of the world combat the people who really are torturing them? This isn't to say that Rwandan Interhamwe aren't doing horrible things - but they aren't the only ones.

I thought overall the book was presented in a very easy to read/understand. It had lots of information, but was not like reading a history or text book. It was the true story of a woman who knows something horrible is going on across the world, and feels a need to make as much of a difference as she can there.

[Genna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can say with confidence that this is one of the most abysmal books I've ever read. I read this last year and am just now writing a review on account of how angry it made me. If you're looking for a prime example of self-important white people traveling to war-torn nations they know nothing about to save the helpless, suffering villagers with their money and whiteness, this is the book for you. Our great hero sees an Oprah special on the brutalities taking place in the DR of the Congo and decides she is the perfect person to make a difference in this dark place! Lisa Shannon raises some money by running 30 miles and then sets off for a dangerous country she knows nothing about and doesn't speak one word of the language in order to save the Congolese women by giving out hugs and cash. Tack onto this a few poorly translated and butchered Swahili phrases that she was too lazy to check the spelling of and a seemingly endless list of specific atrocities she essentially bullies women into revealing to her and we arrive at Shannon's dismal, embarrassing memoir.

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I simply can't watch horror movies or read Stephen King books but I can and do read books about real people and real events that are far more horrifying than fiction. The tears they bring remind me that I am still human - one very, very lucky human."A Thousand Sisters" is not a long book but the story is moving, sad and, hopefully, inspirational.

Reading"Half the Sky" which laid bare the atrocities women around the world are suffering and the work that is being taken on by NGOs spurred me to sponsor two "sisters" of my own, one in Rwanda and one in the Congo, through Women for Women International [http://www.womenforwomen.org/]. In "A Thousand Sisters" Lisa Shannon, first exposed to Women for Women's work on the Oprah show, takes the reader on her own journey from exposure of the plight of women on Oprah through raising funds and awareness to sponsor, literally, a thousand sisters in the Congo to her own dangerous journeys to this "worst place on earth to be a woman" to meet her sisters and to see first-hand what these women face. The tale is graphic, emotional and difficult at times to read but we all need to know and make known what much of the world ignores about the lives of these strong women raising children under the most appalling circumstances. Please read both "Half the Sky" and "A Thousand Sisters" - yes, you will cry and may find it very difficult to continue but feeling a tiny bit of their pain is a small price to pay to broaden our perspective and help us help them.

[Chloe Creed · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got about 85 pages in but just couldn’t do it. The author is so unbelievably naive and ignorant of her own white saviorism that it is nauseating. She literally flies to DRC knowing basically nothing, with no plan, stays for 5 weeks, and feels qualified to write a novel. Not only that, but she obtains her stories by having people who work at a center for child soldiers just scoop up children and put them in front of her to interview! She clearly has absolutely no background in the culture, child trauma, or even interviewing techniques, and she starts in by asking CHILDREN about sexual violence. There is no discussion of her ethics or her methodology or even whether she got consent from the interviewees or their guardians, but she gets away with it because I guess she thinks shes saving the world. It felt like I was reading something that wasn’t meant to be shared. Disturbingly irresponsible writing.

[Eileen Oviatt · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really hoping I'd like this book, but I can't even begin to say that I did. This was such a self-centered book that barely touched on the surface of what should be a very poignant topic. Every time Shannon came close to describing something about her experience, it was ruined with her personal feelings - that really don't add a thing to (and often take away from) the book. The worst point was when Shannon described another's "white girl angst" when this book is nothing but her own "white girl angst."

The book was peppered with personal relationship information that really had no reason to be in the book. I understand that this is a memoir, but the topic is far more important than the author's journey in this case. I wish that Shannon, the publisher, anyone had realized this before publication.

[Kelly]

Shannon did a really valuable thing, but, I can't help but see how self serving it is. She did pull herself out of a depression by helping others, but the whole fact she keeps emphasizing that it was from Oprah was just weird to me. It never felt authentic in the way that Greg Mortenson was authentic in his quests.
The writing in this book is terribly disorganized and disconnected. A co-writer would have made this a more enjoyable read. As it is, I couldn't even read it through to the end, but instead, I skimmed. I got her points immediately. It's a shame, since I'm sure there's good content buried in there somewhere.

[Rubí Santander · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Bosnian journalist once told me that war shows you the worst side of humanity and in that same moment it shows the most beautiful side of humanity."

[Sabrina Rutter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a hard time understanding this book at first. I'm not really into politics at all, so I have no real concept of anything of that nature. The begining of the book gives an indepth description of the politics surrounding the war in the Congo, but for someone like me it was rather confusing, and I admit boring. I pushed through it though and as I read I began to really grasp everything.
I have to warn you that this book will make you cry. Lisa tried to keep this book "clean" (without adding a bunch of indepth descriptions of the gore), but she gives enough to make ones imagination run wild with the mildly told real life horror stories. I say mild, but theirs nothing mild about them really. I just imagine that hearing all the details would be far worse than the briefe descriptions we read about throughout, so mild is the only way I can really say it. The stories are still enough to rip your heart out and tear it to shreds.
After reading this book I feel so useless. The problems in the Congo are so massive I don't know how these people will ever recover a normal lifestyle again. I'm sick inside to know how evil this world is. Innocent people are killed for not having salt, or money. To some in the Congo, salt is more precious than human life.
Lisa explains why all of this is happening in the Congo, and yet there's still a bunch of why's left that go unanswered.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a life that women in Congo live that is so horrific, I'm still numb from reading about it, and I haven't been able to even partially fathom what i read about. Rape is a cultural norm in Congo. Rape, and murder. I thought about this while i was in the process reading the book, as I drove my car down a safe street late at night, as I rode my bike down a safe path in the middle of the day, as I sat in my living room and felt secure that my house would not be stormed, I would not be dragged out and kidnapped as a sex slave, nor would my loved ones be tortured and murdered right in front of me.

I could not cry during the reading of it; I'm not sure I would have been able to stop.

I am deeply disappointed that all the footage that the author took on her visits to Congo did not get used in a documentary. This story, as horrific as it is, needs to be--MUST be--told. However, there is the documentary, The Greatest Silence: Rape in Congo. I think I should combine the information from that with what the book provided and try for a less numb and shocked response, and more of a active and helpful one.

[Rebecca Greene · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was educational, however the author's attitude towards the problem was a little annoying.. tiresome? Ignorant to say the least, and insensitive. To come into a woman's home and ask her to list all of her misfortunes in gruesome detail, and then have no real plan of attack to help?? I failed to find a point. I was also a little offended and unhappy to hear the author's complaints about the village people asking for help in the form of money or sugar... Did she not come there to help? Not exactly sure what to think about this one.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This read a bit like the Congo version of “eat, pray, love”. Although in Lisa Shannon’s defense, she’s not nearly as self absorbed as Elizabeth Gilbert. I read this book after I was turned off by “half the sky” and wanted to read a book that would educate me about sex trafficking and violence against women. This book did a fair job, but I can’t help but brace myself against the inevitable ethnocentricity of the author. Please stop using names and pictures to document these women’s stories. They deserve privacy and respect. Also, she should’ve eliminated the anecdotes from her personal life. No one was reading it to hear about her life or even reaction to the things she saw and heard. I was hoping for a more journalistic documentary of the Congolese problem. But got more of a voluntourism account. I know it’s a hard line to walk, but Catherine Boo does an excellent job in the book, “behind the beautiful forever”, so I know it can be done.
I couldn’t help but wonder what her purpose or goals were/are to help. Simply offering money is supremely helpful and has been documented by researchers studying the most effective humanitarian efforts, but it felt a bit exploitive when she just goes there and takes their pictures and asks their stories as if they owe it to her and their sponsors. What was the purpose? It didn’t even seem like Relaying the information to us as readers was the purpose. Maybe the problem was that she isn’t a writer or a journalist, but in this case, it might have been better to outsource the writing.

[Faith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Just wow. This book is inspiring, challenging, thought-provoking, and completely fascinating. Yet, it is a hard read, because one has to grapple with the inhumanity and macabre events that are part of every day life in certain parts of the Congo. This raw terrorism, the reader discovers, is due to the torture and killing carried out by soldiers of the Interahamwe or FDLR.
When the book begins, we meet Lisa Shannon. Lisa was a West Coast marketing executive in the early 2000s, fairly clueless about what she wanted to do, and pondering the meaning of her life and life in general.
A chance viewing of an Oprah Winfrey episode propels Lisa on a trajectory that she had never imagined but one that would result in saving not only thousands of Congolese women, but herself as well. Run, don't walk, to a bookstore and buy this book.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a chronicle of horrors. Lisa Shannon, a successful filmmaker from Portland,OR, videotaped interviews with Congolese women who have suffered atrocities beyond imagining. Her interviews, translated as the women spoke, were, according to the author's note in the front of the book, transcribed directly from video for this book. Shannon, who gave up a thriving career to plunge herself into a war zone founded RUN FOR CONGO WOMEN. This organization funds sponsorship for Congelese women to return to some normalcy after losing everything in ghastly war situations. This "run" is designed to educate us all, as our "sisters" collect pledges in a sponsored running event, of which all profits go to the women in the Congo. Shannon's efforts as well as backing from Oprah Winfrey, Alice Walker and other well-known folks have shed light upon the scantily publicized genocide in Congo. Lisa Ling, a journalist, has called "... Eastern Congo, 'The worst place on earth. And the most ignored.'" Shannon's knowledge of the situation in Congo began with an Oprah Winfrey show where Zainab Salbi, Founder of the Washington D.C.- based nonprofit WOMEN FOR WOMEN INTERNATIONL appeared with Lisa Ling. Ling gives a short history of the conflict in the Congo starting with the 1994 Rwandan genocide. WOMEN FOR WOMEN haven's are where Shannon often visits with the women who have been ravaged. This organization's website www.womenforwomen.org may be accessed to sponsor a Congolese woman for $27.00 a month. Shannon's idea of running (biking, swiming or whatever) for Congo involves asking 12 friends to join you on a short run, each pitching in $30.00. (WWW.RUNFORCONGOWOMEN.ORG) Other ideas for getting money to Congo women are included in Shannon's book under a section WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR CONGO RIGHT NOW. Reading this book in a book group and then watching Shannon's film THE GREATEST SILENCE: RAPE IN THE CONGO might be an informative and generous evening spent giving ourselves to the our sisters in the Congo.
P.S.
I found this information on a comment by Penny responding to a somewhat negative review by Tara, about this book:

Here's an interesting graph from the Worldwatch Institute depicting what the world spends on luxury items vs how much is needed for essentials for all: The website is


Table 1-6: Annual Expenditure On Luxury Items Compared With Funding Needed To Meet Selected Basic Needs
Product Annual Expenditure Social or Economic Goal Additional Annual Investment Needed to Achieve Goal
Makeup $18 billion Reproductive health care for all women $12 billion
Pet food in Europe and United States $17 billion Elimination of hunger and malnutrition $19 billion
Perfumes $15 billion Universal literacy $5 billion
Ocean cruises $14 billion Clean drinking water for all $10 billion
Ice cream in Europe $11 billion Immunizing every child $1.3 billion

[Candy · Rating 5 out of 5]

When young 30-something Lisa Shannon spoke as the final keynote at a three-day fundraiser's conference in D.C. this June, I was awed by this former high-income photographer's passion and single-handed efforts to launch "Run for Congo Women" and start a political movement after watching an episode of Oprah. Her first-hand tales and photos of her Congolese Sisters' suffering and joy brought the whole audience to tears; we gave a standing ovation. (One co-host addressed the group afterward and said she stood before us to give the next speech because of the two co-hosts, she was the one who was not wearing mascara.)

When I read Ms. Shannon's book, I was awed not just by her efforts, but by her openness. As she told us in her speech and said in her afterward, one of her writing mentors helped her find the story's common thread, "...even if it meant looking petty or self-aggrandizing or just plain bad in the interest of an honest story."

While Ms. Shannon has been a brave eye-witness and advocate for women whose families have been murdered and whose bodies have been savagely abused, she is also a brave writer. She does, in fact, make herself look naive and selfish at times.

The book is too humble. I saw Ms. Shannon face to face, and hers is no ordinary work. She leaves out much of her political advocacy in Washington, as well as the time she literally lobbied with her mom in the front lobbies of Microsoft and Apple to allow legislation to pass to stop corporations from buying cheap minerals from those who massacre.

So read this book, but don't be fooled. Ms. Shannon tells a good tale about a flawed advocate, but truly she is a brave crusader and caring soul.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's hard to separate my reaction to the story of this book from my feelings about the author and the way this was written. The story of Lisa Shannon's journey to Congo and the aftermath she witnessed of horrendous atrocities against women there is gut-wrenching. You cannot read this book and sleep easily afterwards. It is almost impossible to sit in your comfortable chair at home reading this book and think about women in some corner of the earth having nothing to eat, watching their neighbors burned alive inside their homes, and watching their children be raped (after having been raped themselves).

Shannon tries to be objective about her own experiences and reactions. Several times throughout the book she points to her own clumsy attempts to bond with her "sisters" and to her own obliviousness. Yet, there is still a patina of self-glorifying "look at me and all that I've done."

I feel perhaps it's callous of me to take that message away from what should be a powerful call to help any disenfranchised, victimized women throughout the world. Yet there it is. You can't read this book and then go on pretending that there is nothing you can do to help. So, at least in that aspect, Shannon has done what she set out to do.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This memoir, which documents Lisa Shannon's attempt to raise awareness of the plight of the woman of Congo, is outrageously inspiring. After hearing about the conditions in Congo on Oprah, Shannon founds an organization called Run for Congo Women, completes a solo 30-mile run to raise funds, and then travels to Congo to meet the women she is sponsoring. I can't even imagine having the kind of heart and courage Shannon has. I am putting down this book humbled and scanning my brain for ways I can be a more generous and loving human being.

Despite an engrossing story, however, the writing was mediocre, and at times, incomprehensible and out of context. This is especially true of the awkward beginning and end to the book. Regardless, if you can get past the beginning and not hold your breath for the end, Shannon finds a sort of rhythm in the middle of the book, as she documents her experiences in Congo. I definitely got into it after a while, and I learned a lot. It is worth your time. Just know that this book is written by someone who has dedicated her life to activism, not professional writing.

[Sandy H · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wish I could rate this book higher because I care so much about the subject matter. Women in Congo are living through horrific times and most of the world is oblivious. I wish for more publicity, more light to be shone upon the atrocities being committed there. Personally, although I've done quite a bit of reading on Congo and have been volunteering with refugees from Congo in my home town, I wanted to learn more, grow more, understand more. This book did none of that. This book wants very much to shine a light on the women of Congo, but all it really does is shine a light on the author. I really struggled with a rather self-congratulatory tone in several scenes, even as she was trying to be very honest about her own mistakes and misgivings. It was a very strange, paradoxical, mixed bag. It never says it's anything other than a memoir, so perhaps I'm being unfair. I consistently wanted less of the author and more of the women of Congo throughout the book, but that was not the book's purpose. So my error.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book. It does a terrifyingly good job of illustrating the horrors of women's lives in the Congo. Unlike others, I don't mind the inclusion of personal information regarding the author's life. What I don't like is that Shannon's activism appears to be a response to her own depression and the one dimensional representation of the women she meets. Shannon presents their personal tragedies - rape, deaths of husbands, children, etc. and even writes things like, "She reported seven children dead. I knew I had to add her to the shortlist to be interviewed." It makes me a little ill. We don't hear too much about these women's lives other than what happens when Shannon encounters them and interviews them. However, at the end Shannon writes that she doesn't need to collect more horror stories or spin another sad, sweet face into a talking point. I still feel unease with Shannon's writing and conflicted over this book.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's about a women who watches Oprah, sees a sad story. Takes it upon herself to read more about the situation in Congo (Africa). Takes it upon herself to try to raise money and get more awareness out there regarding the situation in Congo and she even goes a step further and travels to Africa with Women for Women.

Within her travels she tells stories of women. Women being taken from their homes, women being cut up, women being raped, women witnessing their child or husband being killed infront of them.

Yes, it is a sad book but very eye opening. It left me feeling grateful to be in America. And grateful that I can appreciate our freedom and for the most part fearless environment (comparably speaking).

I recommend the book to others who want to know a life different from our own. A life is a sad state of humanity. Hopefully the story on Oprah, as well as this book and others like it will raise awareness of the inhumane and cruel treatment of others.

[Judi · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was very poorly written and didn't seem to go much of anywhere. The author was looking for a cause and evidently invested her life in it because nothing in her life was very exciting or worthwhile. She had adventures in the Congo, but it all seemed surreal, rather than the hell that it was. It shed light on ugly and brutal wars and warring factions in the Congo and how they destroyed the lives of thousands of innocent people, especially women and children. It also convinced me that I NEVER want to travel to the Congo. The sad thing about the book, other than the war-damaged people, was that the author made very little difference in the lives of the people she tried to help. Her whole purpose in life became wrapped up in the people there, and that seemed noble at the time. I cannot recommend this book to anyone.

[Danielle Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides an intimate and disturbing look into what women living in conflict areas are subjected to, as well as all the difficulties those compelled to help face. A thousand sisters is not a book for the faint of heart - many very disturbing topics such as abduction, rape, and mutilation are covered. There were two overwhelming feelings I had at the end: I felt overwhelmingly grateful to live in a stable country where women have so many rights, and I felt such compassion for women who do not. This was an expensive read for me, as I now plan to "adopt" a "sister" through women for women international. This provides training and education for her, as well as food and some measure of safety. She also is allowed to receive encouragement from her sponsor, such as letters and emails. I am so lucky to have the life I lead, I would like to share that with another.

[Cassie Hanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm only 100 pages in and I've already sponsored a sister through womenforwomen.org.

Talk about powerful. I'll be adding this to World Lit. next semester, it will make for a great action research project for my seniors!

I did struggle with Shannon's constant reflection of her own life and her relationship with men. I figured it was there to stress how much this organization changed every part of her life; but it was, at times, a little be too much about her and not enough about the women she studied.

[Colleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a few other people have said, Lisa Shannon is a philanthropist, not an author. Her intentions are good but at times her actions seem reckless or cringeworthy. Her intent on finding people she met once (who didn't feel a connection to her) put her and others at danger. There are defiantly cringe worthy moments when she asks questions that perhaps shouldn't have been asked. I felt she had an agenda to help the women of the DRC yet her own personal agenda too. (Not sure what it was). Interesting at times but I spent a lot of the time wondering the inspiration of her actions.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aside from the Congolese women's strength and beauty and the inspiration of Shannon actually starting something to help the situation, I found the narrative of her 5.5 weeks in the DRC somewhat disturbing. I wonder if her interviewing and filming inflicted more trauma than it relieved. How many times have the same women be asked about their story? By how many visiting foreigners? Shannon's book seemed more about her than the Congo.

[Jae · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though I appreciated her clear-eyed outsider point of view of humanitarian work, she spent too much of the book settling personal scores. At times it felt like she wrote the book partly to stick it to those who didn't believe in her as she never misses an opportunity to take a snide swipe at someone who crosses her. The book in general reads like a diary. I would've appreciated a more studied account of the situation in the Congo.