Book review

Mighty Be Our Powers

How Sisterhood, Prayer and Sex Changed a Nation at War, A Memoir

By: Julie Schubring

Leyman Gbowee leads us on a personal journey through the terrible conflict of the Liberian civil war until the bittersweet victory at the end. She also interweaves the history that lead to this war, as well as the church’s involvement or lack-there-of. It is a gripping tale that will be hard to put down.

Gbowee encouraged and rallied other women to join in the fight to take back their country after two decades of war and civil unrest. Since the majority of the country’s leaders were men and the discussion to end the war was going in circles, Gbowee helped organize and then led the Liberian Mass Action for Peace, a coalition of Christian and Muslim women who sat in public protest, confronting Liberia’s ruthless president and rebel warlords, and even held a sex strike. Gbowee helped lead her nation to peace and emerged as an international leader who changed history.

Listen to these words from Gbowee that highlights the struggle and the delicate balance of inclusivity.

We created WIPNET [Women in Peacebuilding Network] identity cards, and the women wore them proudly. They were especially important to women coming from the displaced persons camps. Each day, they were able to leave behind the poverty and limbo of their lives to do something that mattered. Wearing WIPNET t-shirts, with ID cards hanging around their necks, they were transformed from being no one to women of importance, acknowledged by everyone who saw them as they trudged down the road. (pp. 148-149)

This book is intended for women everywhere, whether you have personally been affected by war or some other tragedy. This book is also for the men of the world who join in this struggle alongside these brave women, and can serve as a guide for moving forward in gender discussions.

Gbowee recently received the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize along with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, president of Liberia, and Tawakkol Karman of Yemen. The book can be used by study groups of all ages.

Julie Kathleen Schubring is a student at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, Evanston, Ill.,
and is a commissioned Bishop W.T. Handy Young Adult Missionary.