Each of the three books I read this week is the story of a young girl, told in her own words. Elizabeth Smart, Malala Yousafzai, and Anne Frank are from different countries, even continents, different faiths and different times, but each endured unthinkable violation with courageous self-scrutiny. Their accounts, generously shared, ask questions that have always been asked, "Who is God," "Who am I," "Why am I here?" In the face of mind-bending fear, they explore gratitude, connection, character, faith, forgiveness, and worthiness.
While the beauty of these stories is striking, so is the darkness. The darkness of greed, brutality, manipulation, vicious cruelty, hatred. But that is not what I feel as I come away. I feel permission to look unflinchingly, as each of these girls did, at my vast capacity as a human and say, as did they, "I am good."
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