You Have the Power: Choosing Courage in a Culture of Fear [Hardcover]

Frances Moore Lappe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 6, 2004

The bestselling author of Diet for a Small Planet and Hope's Edge shows how to overcome the restrictions of fear to create personal change in your life and social change in the world.

More than thirty years ago, Diet for a Small Planet captured the imagination of millions of readers. Three decades later that book-and its sequel, Hope's Edge-remain popular for one reason: They help people make a personal connection with big-world solutions.

Today, millions of Americans are becoming aware of the disconnect between their own values and the direction of our world. Many people ask, "If I'm disturbed by the state of my society, and if my life doesn't feel connected to meaningful answers, why I am I not doing something about it? How can I get unstuck?"

You Have the Power offers powerful tools for releasing us. It recognizes that when we begin to face these questions, we meet fear. But it is our personal choices in the face of fear that make the difference. The desired revolution bringing forth the world we want depends on us: on how we relate to fear, in ourselves and in the world around us.

You Have the Power offers seven liberating thoughts about fear. Freeing us from fear's choking energy, these new thoughts allow us to fulfill our heart's desire-to be heroes to ourselves so we can shape the humane world we would like.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lappe popularized what she argued was the moral imperative of eating vegetarian in her 1971 classic, Diet for a Small Planet; Perkins co-founded the nonprofit Curious Minds, which helps youth identify and work towards a future vocation. Their idealistic treatise attempts to turn the constricting presence of fear into a "power to create the lives we want and the world we want." According to Perkins and Lappe, fear is spread by politicians and media that encourage people to be frightened of other countries and cultures, and that magnify the danger of crime. The result, they argue, is an emotionally paralyzed population, immobilized against real global dangers. In order to take action against environmental degradation, hunger and species extinction, people must dare to act, they say, and overcome fear by leaping into the unknown with creative solutions. They cite numerous examples of those who have helped trigger change in themselves and the world by taking risks. A woman named Jane Stern, for example, faced down a lifelong phobia about illness by becoming a volunteer medical technician and helping others who were sick and dying. After reading a newspaper story about a murdered homeless Guatemalan boy, a Manhattan chef changed his life, despite initial terror, by going to Guatemala and establishing a program for inner-city children. Lappe shares the way she coped with her fears after she was diagnosed with breast cancer, while Perkins describes how he found the courage to tell his parents that he was gay. This a fine collection of engrossing and inspiring anecdotes rather than a how-to manual, by two people who obviously care about the world and its people.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Fear comes in all shapes and sizes. It can be as personal as a trip to the dentist or as pervasive as a Department of Homeland Security-issued orange alert. It can be paralyzing and painful, debilitating and embarrassing. It can also be liberating. The authors share personal revelations, from Lappe's breast cancer diagnosis to Perkins' coming out as gay, and apply the lessons they learned about coping with fear to individuals and cultures. Exploring ways in which fear engulfs us, they acknowledge the rationalizations used to avoid actions that have the potential to make people happier, freer, and more productive, and societies more compassionate, valiant, and proactive. Whether it's based in conflict, oppression, intimidation, or isolation, fear must first be understood before it ultimately can be destroyed. In this unique and uplifting examination of an elemental human condition, the authors offer concrete methods for conquering those demons that threaten to rob us of a joyful existence and a peaceful coexistence. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Tarcher; First Printing edition (May 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585423122
• ISBN-13: 978-1585423125
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,195,607 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Frances Moore Lappé is a democracy advocate and world food and hunger expert who has authored or co-authored 16 books. She is the co-founder of three organizations, including Food First: The Institute for Food and Development Policy and, more recently, the Small Planet Institute. In 1987 she received the Right Livelihood Award (a.k.a, the "Alternative Nobel.") Her first book, Diet for a Small Planet, has sold three million copies and is considered "the blueprint for eating with a small carbon footprint since long before the term was coined" [JM Hirsch, Associated Press].

Her most recent books include Hope's Edge, written with her daughter Anna Lappé, about democratic social movements worldwide and Getting a Grip: Clarity, Creativity, and Courage in a World Gone Mad, awarded the Nautilus Gold/"Best in Small Press" award. In June 2008, that book and Diet for a Small Planet were designated as must-reads for the next U.S. president (by Barbara Kingsolver and Michael Pollan, respectively) in The New York Times Sunday Review of Books.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly useful and inspiring, June 9, 2004

By 

Trish Boyles (Blacksburg, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: You Have the Power: Choosing Courage in a Culture of Fear (Hardcover)

This book is unbelievably timely and written in such a way that its inspiration easily translates into personal understanding and action. We truly are living in a culture of fear, and though the recognition of that is an important first step, "You Have the Power" explains the necessary subsequent steps we need to break out of that culture and live our lives in a powerful, authentic way. The authors' personal stories are deeply honest, allowing the reader to truly connect to the concepts laid out in the book. Like so much of Ms. Lappe's recent work, the underlying sensation that change IS happening further inspires the reader to re-view the way he/she looks at fear. A society changes when individuals change, this book is a guide to making that individual change.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Empowering message, October 5, 2004

By 

Kirsten Giebutowski (NH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: You Have the Power: Choosing Courage in a Culture of Fear (Hardcover)

I think this book is for anyone who recognizes fear as a force in their lives that makes them feel helpless or stuck. It's a powerful reminder that we have a choice in how we respond to fear and don't have to let it defeat us--a radical notion, especially in our current political climate.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moving and Inspiring!!!!, September 27, 2004

By 

Amy Cooke "Educator" (Nevada City, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: You Have the Power: Choosing Courage in a Culture of Fear (Hardcover)

Frances Moore Lappe and Jeffrey Perkins have written a powerful book for our times that I would encourage everyone to read. They challenge us to break the fear paralysis that holds us back and to take action that comes from our deepest humanity toward our highest goals. I was especially stirred by the reminder that we need not take on huge issues, or even solve specific problems - we must simply heed the inner voice to let our lives speak. Read this book, share it with everyone, take a deep breath, and jump in!