But for the Grace: Profiles in Peace from a Nation at War [Paperback]

James A. Mitchell (Author), Paul Harris (Foreword)

Book Description

This is the story of the orphans and elders at Grace Care Center, a residence for the displaced in Sri Lanka's impoverished, war-torn northeast - the story of Sri Lanka itself: Girls made orphans by a war that sometimes recruits children for battle; the destitute seniors whose aging eyes saw a nation tear itself, and their families, apart. Established by an American attorney during a lull in the decades-long fighting, Grace Care Center offered shelter from war, support against poverty, and hope against an uncertain future. December 2004 brought yet another challenge - the Indian Ocean tsunami. Brief hope that the resulting devastation would inspire opposing sides to join forces in response to the disaster ended with a return to war. More determined than ever, the Grace community and their American friends worked for a simple dream: That ethnic groups victimized and divided by war can live together in peace; that destitute seniors deserve to live in dignity; and that children need not grow up in violence. Grace Care Center is the story of hope in a land of tragedy. It's a special place; all the more precious considering what life is like, but for the Grace, beyond its walls. "[The book] gives the best account I have read anywhere of the brutality of abduction and life in an LTTE training camp for child soldiers. The best thing ... is that it is not judgemental. It graphically conveys to us all the horrors of war without feeling the need to point fingers. " - From the Foreword by Paul Harris, War Correspondent. James A. Mitchell is a veteran of the U.S. Army, survivor of 10 years of living and working in New York City, and communications director for VeAhavta, the nonprofit organization responsible for the Grace Care Center orphanage and elders' home in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka.

Product Details

• Paperback: 292 pages
• Publisher: Mansion Field (March 25, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1905021119
• ISBN-13: 978-1905021116
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,232,945 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A diverse career of community newspapers, New York magazines and Army reporting provides an interesting education: James A. Mitchell applied those lessons to stories from Small Town America ("Applegate"), classic Detroit rock ("It Was All Right"), and a children's home in Sri Lanka's war-torn northeast ("But For the Grace"). Future projects include a "Grace" sequel and another blast from our rock-and-roll past.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Tales from a Man Who Loves the Island, April 15, 2009

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Professor (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: But for the Grace: Profiles in Peace from a Nation at War (Paperback)

Jim Mitchell writes it as he sees it, and he sees the Island of Sri Lanka with the trained eye of an even-handed reporter, and the warm heart of someone who loves the Island and its people, despite some of the horrific things he has witnessed there.

Mitchell has traveled to war-torn and tsunami-ravaged Sri Lanka several times in the last few years, and the book takes you careening around the island with him as your sometimes-zany tour guide. While you travel with him, he is calmly describing the most unexpected scenes: thousands of people waiting to see a doctor; kids swimming in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean for the first time after the tsunami; young men killed in cold blood on the beach; doctors refusing to lie about injuries; an infant near death being saved by her grandmother's old school solution of force-feeding; girls trained to be rebel militia killers who are rescued and become kind caregivers to younger children. But these are just the backdrop for the central story: Grace Care Orphanage and Mercy Elders' Home in Trincomalee. Somehow, at Grace, orphaned girls, American and Sri Lankan adults, and elderly of many otherwise-warring ethnicities--most of them unlikely prospects for a happy life--are living together and creating a happy, and sometimes uproariously funny, community. This is a place that has meant recovery, respect, and redemption for so many people from so many communities in so many ways that at the end of the book one is left pondering the mysteries of the place called Grace.

Mitchell's book brought some memories and some news to me about Sri Lanka, where I did research on child soldiers that led to my book about why kids are recruited to rebel militia, Creating Young Martyrs. Most important, it brought me reminders of the amazingly consistent generosity and caring of the people of the Island.

Read it for inspiration, information, or just to get to know Mitchell--definitely someone who can write a travelogue that can make you laugh, cry, and think.

5.0 out of 5 stars Both moving and saddening, July 7, 2009

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: But for the Grace: Profiles in Peace from a Nation at War (Paperback)

There is something horribly wrong when a young child is drafted to fight a battle. "But for the Grace: Profiles in Peace from a Nation at War" takes a look at the sad story of Sri Lanka, a nation torn apart by civil war for the past few decades. The Grace Care Center was a place established during one of the many lulls of combat during this constant conflict. Here is the story of a people undeterred by the endless violence and enlistment of child soldiers. "But for the Grace" is both moving and saddening, and is highly recommended.