One young woman’s voice—intense and poetic—grapples with universal ideas as it chronicles a personal journey cut short.
How do we find our way in the world? How do our actions affect others? What do we owe the rest of humanity? These are the timeless questions so eloquently posed by Rachel Corrie, a young American activist killed on March 16, 2003, as she tried to block the demolition of a Palestinian family’s home in the Gaza Strip. She was twenty-three years old. Let Me Stand Alone reveals Corrie’s striking gifts as a poet and writer while telling her story in her own words, from her earliest reflections to her final e-mails. Her writing brings to life all that it means to come of age—a dawning sense of self, a thirst for one’s own ideals, and an evolving connection to others, near and far. Corrie writes about the looming issues of her time as well as the ordinary angst of an American teen, all with breathtaking passion, compassion, insight, and humor. Her writing reverberates with conviction and echoes her long-held belief in the oneness of humanity: “We have got to understand that they dream our dreams, and we dream theirs.”
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In 2003, while attempting to block the demolition of a Palestinian family's home in the Gaza Strip, 23-year-old American Rachel Corrie was killed by an armored Caterpillar D-9 bulldozer operated by a member of the Israel Defense Forces. This collection of her journal entries opens a window on the maturation of a young woman seeking to make the world a better place through social activism. The essays, poetry and drawings reveal Corrie going through the routine pangs of growing up, the development of her social consciousness and her love of language. Two events broadened Corrie's perspective beyond her childhood home of Olympia, Wash. A 1995 student exchange trip to Russia and the repercussions of 9/11 were formative events accelerating her desire to help those she felt were harmed by U. S foreign policy. Following Corrie's death, the British newspaper the Guardian published her e-mail accounts of what she'd witnessed in Gaza. This collection of essays, while uneven, contains thought-provoking ideas. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
A 23-year-old activist from Olympia, Washington, travels to the Gaza Strip to join a nonviolent protest against the Israeli Army’s destruction of Palestinian houses. On March 16, 2003, she stands between the home of a Palestinian family and an advancing bulldozer. The driver does not stop, and Rachel Corrie is killed. Who was Rachel, and what brought her to Rafah? The answers are found, thanks to her supportive family, in this poignant and impressive gathering of Rachel’s drawings and writings. A smart and passionate girl of conscience who wanted to see the world and become a dancer, artist, and writer, Rachel evolved into a radiant and compassionate soul who wrote with candor, lyricism, and drive about all the usual preoccupations of youth as well as her revolutionary refusal to “exist in a bubble of creativity and poetry and raindrops” while others suffer injustice and horror. Rachel’s charming, prescient, and haunting chronicles trace the coming-into-her-own of an altruistic and courageous woman who loved life yet was willing to risk all for what she knew was right. --Donna Seaman
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 41 people found the following review helpful
By J. Jewell
Format:Hardcover
We have all read the final emails of Rachel Corrie, and mourned the death of one of the most compassionate and courageous young women ever to walk the face of this earth. We know about her concern for the oppressed peoples of this world, and her desire to stamp out hunger from the speech she made at the tender age of ten. However, this new book, 'Let Me Stand Alone', shows us the other side of Rachel - fun loving, vivacious, and a brilliant young writer and drawer. Her writing on her boyfriend's 'addiction to bee keeping' is remarkable, and the description of her big sister is very touching. Her love for her parents is beautifully expressed and her compassion for the less fortunate in the world is marvelous. She has more understanding about homelessness and our attitude to it than many adults in their 40s or 50s. It is astonishing that she wrote the piece about the homeless (page 15) at the tender age of 11.
Rachel's attitude towards the mentally ill is equally admirable. So often the treatment of the mentally ill is condescending and extremely arrogant. Clearly, they are inferior beings. Rachel's humility and caring towards her clients when she worked for the local mental health services is one in a million.
Her essays in creative writing are unique. Whoever else has ever thought of evoking childhood memories through the Tooth Fairy?
The subjects on which Rachel writes seem to be limitless, and many are extremely witty: entertaining articles about mowing the lawn, where buses go at night, how to deal with teenagers, and 'conservation' work in national parks.
Rachel's warmth and sensitivity shine out from every page, but above all, her irrepressible sense of humor.
Rachel's family has been extremely generous to share the writings of their daughter with the general public, especially since so much of it includes personal details. Take hold of this book, and treasure it, as the opportunity to read such a book only comes once in a lifetime.
Rachel's attitude towards the mentally ill is equally admirable. So often the treatment of the mentally ill is condescending and extremely arrogant. Clearly, they are inferior beings. Rachel's humility and caring towards her clients when she worked for the local mental health services is one in a million.
Her essays in creative writing are unique. Whoever else has ever thought of evoking childhood memories through the Tooth Fairy?
The subjects on which Rachel writes seem to be limitless, and many are extremely witty: entertaining articles about mowing the lawn, where buses go at night, how to deal with teenagers, and 'conservation' work in national parks.
Rachel's warmth and sensitivity shine out from every page, but above all, her irrepressible sense of humor.
Rachel's family has been extremely generous to share the writings of their daughter with the general public, especially since so much of it includes personal details. Take hold of this book, and treasure it, as the opportunity to read such a book only comes once in a lifetime.
18 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Journals offer private thoughts not intended for an audience; rather, they serve as a means of sorting out life's challenges and exposing one's inner demons. Let Me Stand Alone: The Journals of Rachel Corrie leads the reader into Rachel's inner world as she negotiates the challenges of adolescence and early adulthood. Sadly, her life comes to an untimely end when she faced down a bulldozer that was about to destroy a Palestinian home in Gaza.
Early in her life, Rachel's literary abilities shine through her poetry as she expresses her delight in nature and small creatures that cross her path. At eleven, on the death of her grandfather, she remarks her own selfishness as she sleeps while others are grieving. She says, "I have already grown bored of being sad and I am ready to go back to being normal." How wise she is to identify that universal feeling.
Many of Rachel's musings reflect her attitude toward death. At fourteen, she says, "Death smells like homemade applesauce as it cooks on the stove." At eighteen, "If I die today,...you must burn the papers under my bed...to charred leaves of ash...You must silence my dead voice...so it will not embarrass my memory." Her journals definitely reflect her inner thoughts, conflicts, and behaviors that might be embarrassing, and I wonder whether she would have wanted them published.
A trip to Russia became a turning point for Rachel. A girl who lived a sheltered, privileged life, she returned from her journey a woman with a mission, awakened by "the initial disappointment in discovering that my government really did lie to me about the Russians, and in the massive absence of justice in the world, and again...in discovering my participation in the subjugation of other people." This experience led her to become an activist during her college years and then took her to Israel to support the Palestinians as they suffered through repeated US-backed Israeli attacks on their families and homes.
Because of the intensely personal nature of the writings, it was difficult at times to read the revelations in these pages--the self-deprecation, the self-destructive behaviors, the lists of self-improvement tasks--and I felt uncomfortable looking into the private thoughts of someone who didn't sound as if she would like me to read them. I also felt that the pace of the book was slow and the final outcome depressing. But it comes together at the end, when Rachel writes long emails to her family and friends outlining her political convictions and showing her journalistic potential. Her life abruptly ended just three weeks short of her twenty-fifth birthday.
by Susan M. Andrus
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
Early in her life, Rachel's literary abilities shine through her poetry as she expresses her delight in nature and small creatures that cross her path. At eleven, on the death of her grandfather, she remarks her own selfishness as she sleeps while others are grieving. She says, "I have already grown bored of being sad and I am ready to go back to being normal." How wise she is to identify that universal feeling.
Many of Rachel's musings reflect her attitude toward death. At fourteen, she says, "Death smells like homemade applesauce as it cooks on the stove." At eighteen, "If I die today,...you must burn the papers under my bed...to charred leaves of ash...You must silence my dead voice...so it will not embarrass my memory." Her journals definitely reflect her inner thoughts, conflicts, and behaviors that might be embarrassing, and I wonder whether she would have wanted them published.
A trip to Russia became a turning point for Rachel. A girl who lived a sheltered, privileged life, she returned from her journey a woman with a mission, awakened by "the initial disappointment in discovering that my government really did lie to me about the Russians, and in the massive absence of justice in the world, and again...in discovering my participation in the subjugation of other people." This experience led her to become an activist during her college years and then took her to Israel to support the Palestinians as they suffered through repeated US-backed Israeli attacks on their families and homes.
Because of the intensely personal nature of the writings, it was difficult at times to read the revelations in these pages--the self-deprecation, the self-destructive behaviors, the lists of self-improvement tasks--and I felt uncomfortable looking into the private thoughts of someone who didn't sound as if she would like me to read them. I also felt that the pace of the book was slow and the final outcome depressing. But it comes together at the end, when Rachel writes long emails to her family and friends outlining her political convictions and showing her journalistic potential. Her life abruptly ended just three weeks short of her twenty-fifth birthday.
by Susan M. Andrus
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By Edi
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Rachel Corrie's narratives are written as though she would look back at the transcript in later years to remind herself of who she had been and exactly what she had thought and done. Tragically, she cannot look back since she is dead, victim of the struggle she chronicles with such passion.
I do not get an impression of Rachel as anti-semitic or anti-Jewish, or even anti-Israel. She has aligned herself with the Palestinians in Gaza who are being forcibly removed from their homes, which are being bulldozed. That same Israeli government has forcibly removed Jews from their unauthorized settlements. This was about standing up to an inhumane process. What a very high cost she paid for that opposition.
I do not get an impression of Rachel as anti-semitic or anti-Jewish, or even anti-Israel. She has aligned herself with the Palestinians in Gaza who are being forcibly removed from their homes, which are being bulldozed. That same Israeli government has forcibly removed Jews from their unauthorized settlements. This was about standing up to an inhumane process. What a very high cost she paid for that opposition.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
real insight
The incomparably courageous Rachel Corrie's personal thoughts and musings are displayed in this fascinating compilation. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Ken Freeland
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Brave and Brilliant woman
An amazingly beautiful, poignant and important book. I have reread this one several times and always get something new out of it. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Marguerite Sparks
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting
Not at all what I expected. Sort of hard to read.
Many of her poems are really interesting but alot of it is
hard to follow and understand.
Many of her poems are really interesting but alot of it is
hard to follow and understand.
Published 3 months ago by diane winstanley
4.0 out of 5 stars
Cute, honest, and humbling.
Rachel Corrie writes in short passages about everything from love to activism to ideas of want,sibling rivalry, dance and poetry. Read more
Published 21 months ago by ManMadeNightmare
5.0 out of 5 stars
WOW INSPIRING
Anyone interested in human rights from a courageous and powerful voice must must must read this. Inspiring and also enlightening on the painful truth of the humanitarian crisis in... Read more
Published on July 23, 2010 by Saskia chet
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Reading
Rachael Corrie was, in my opinion, a remarkable young woman. This book is her journal. Some of her poetry is rough around the edges, some is of great beauty. Read more
Published on July 10, 2010 by James S. Morley
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing journal of an incredible young woman
One can not travel to Gaza and not be shocked at the injustice of the situation. Rachel Corrie wrote about her experiences with eloquence and wisdom beyond her years. Read more
Published on May 13, 2010 by Reader
4.0 out of 5 stars
Intimate and Refreshing
I, like most, found out about Rachel Corrie through her death. As a hero in our times, I thought that it would be a good read with insights into what makes an activist like her. Read more
Published on May 18, 2009 by Christopher Matthias
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Beautiful Collection of Writing
"Writing is brave. It is maybe the only brave thing about me."
While the second part of that statement could not have been true, Rachel Corrie's writing--at times... Read more
While the second part of that statement could not have been true, Rachel Corrie's writing--at times... Read more
Published on April 2, 2009 by Valerie J. Saturen
4.0 out of 5 stars
Extraordinary person
From afar it might be easy to write off or embrace Rachel Corrie because of her strong position on the Palestinian situation in Israel. Read more
Published on July 9, 2008 by Kelsey L.
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