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This I Believe

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Celebrating Four Years Of 'This I Believe'

April 27, 2009 • During its four-year run on NPR, This I Believe engaged listeners in a discussion of the core beliefs that guide their daily lives. We heard from people of all walks of life — the very young and the very old, the famous and the previously unknown.

Saying Thanks To My Ghosts

April 26, 2009 • Novelist Amy Tan hasn't always believed in ghosts, but as a writer she's had too many inspirations that she can't fully explain. Now, Tan embraces her belief in ghosts and the messages of joy, love and peace they bring her.

Life Is An Act Of Literary Creation

April 23, 2009 • Mexican-American novelist Luis Urrea used to think that simply being a good observer would make his writing better. But over time, he's come to believe that being a good writer and a good person comes from paying attention to the world around him.

The Art Of Being A Neighbor

April 12, 2009 • A few years ago, Eve Birch was broke and living alone in a dilapidated mountain shack. But a community of people befriended her, shared what little they had with her and showed Birch the value of neighbors uniting to help one another.

Muhammad Ali John Lair/Muhammad Ali Center hide caption

I Am Still The Greatest

April 6, 2009 • To be the "Greatest of All Time," boxing legend Muhammad Ali says you have to believe in yourself. It's a lesson his parents taught him and it has helped him in fighting Parkinson's disease.

Dancing To Connect To A Global Tribe

March 29, 2009 • Matt Harding has been to 70 countries to dance — badly — in front of a camera, and videos of his travels have become an Internet sensation. Harding believes interacting with so many different people challenges him to understand what unites humanity.

My Father Deserves Spectacular Results

March 26, 2009 • Environmental activist Van Jones is a special adviser to the Obama administration. He says his dad, who died last year, would have gotten a kick out of seeing Obama become president. But his dad had high standards, and there is much more work to be done.

The Beatles Live On

March 15, 2009 • Macklin Levine was born more than 25 years after the Fab Four broke up, but at 12, she has a deep appreciation for Beatles music. "As old as the songs are, you can learn a lot about yourself from the lyrics," she says. And the Beatles help her remember her Dad, too.

Finding Freedom In Forgiveness

March 5, 2009 • Jennifer Thompson-Cannino was certain that Ronald Cotton was the man who raped her in 1984. But she was wrong. After Cotton spent 11 years in jail, DNA evidence proved his innocence. Now, the two have a friendship based on their belief in forgiveness.

Work Is A Blessing

March 1, 2009 • When he was 12, Russel Honore got his first job helping a neighbor milk 65 dairy cows twice a day. Fifty years later, the retired Army lieutenant general believes hard work helps build character, strengthen communities and promote freedom.

Seeing Beyond Our Differences

February 26, 2009 • Scientist Sheri White says that despite differences in size, shape and color, all humans are 99.9 percent biologically identical. White believes we should embrace our similarities and honor the differences that make each of us unique.

Historical Archives

Reflections on race: essays from the archives.

February 23, 2009 • Dan Gediman, executive producer of NPR's This I Believe, explores the archives of the original series hosted by Edward R. Murrow in the 1950s. He says the essays shed light on the realities of segregation at the dawn of the civil rights movement.

Gediman explores the 'This I Believe' archives.

The magic of letters.

February 15, 2009 • Chameli Waiba was raised in a village in Nepal and didn't attend school as a child. When she finally learned to read as an adult, Waiba discovered the power words could have to change her life, as well as the lives of others in her rural community.

How To Survive Life's Tests

February 9, 2009 • Kendra Jones assigned her students to write This I Believe essays and decided that she owed it to them to write one of her own. Jones believes toughness, steeliness and even meanness have helped her throughout her life.

Our Awareness Controls Human Destiny

February 8, 2009 • In an essay from 1951 for the original This I Believe series, Margaret Mead says she can't separate the beliefs she has as a person from the beliefs she has as an anthropologist. She says that humans have a responsibility for the entire planet.

A Hope For Bettering Humanity

February 1, 2009 • In an essay from 1953 for the original This I Believe series, Sir Charles Galton Darwin, the grandson of naturalist Charles Darwin, drew on his study of science to say he believed the future of humanity depended on the practice of eugenics.

Listening Is Powerful Medicine

February 1, 2009 • It took a scolding from an elderly patient to get Dr. Alicia Conill to look up from her charts and stop to listen. Conill came to understand the value of listening in the treatment process — especially when she herself became the patient.

America's Beauty Is In Its Diversity

January 29, 2009 • In sixth grade, Alaa El-Saad decided to start wearing the hijab , a religious head covering for Muslim women. Despite some trepidation, she found her classmates supported her choice. Now El-Saad believes being different is part of being American.

Thirty Things I Believe

January 18, 2009 • When Tarak McLain's kindergarten group celebrated their 100th day of class, some kids brought 100 nuts or cotton balls. Tarak brought a list of 100 things he believes. Now a first-grader, Tarak shares his top beliefs about God, life, nature and war.

Inviting The World To Dinner

January 12, 2009 • Every Sunday for 30 years, Jim Haynes has welcomed complete strangers into his Paris home for dinner. By introducing people to each other and encouraging them to make personal connections, Haynes believes he can foster greater tolerance in the world.

Pathways Of Desire

January 4, 2009 • Gina Parosa believes in letting her kids, pets and livestock make their own paths in life. But she also realizes that as a farmer and parent, she sometimes has to step in and set good boundaries — while still being flexible enough to change them.

This Is Home

January 1, 2009 • Majora Carter believes you don't have to move out of your old neighborhood to live in a better one. Carter was raised in the South Bronx and spent years trying to leave. But when the city proposed a waste facility there, she was inspired to fight for her community.

Health Is A Human Right

December 21, 2008 • As an infectious disease specialist, Dr. Paul Farmer has traveled the planet to organize and provide medical treatment for people living in poverty. He believes good health care is vital but just the first step in creating a world free of all human suffering.

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This I believe : the personal philosophies of remarkable men and women

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This I believe

The personal philosophies of remarkable men and women, by jay allison , dan gediman , and john gregory.

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Based on the NPR series of the same name, the bestselling This I Believe features eighty essayists - from the famous to the previously unknown -- completing the thought that begins the book's title. Each piece compels us to rethink not only how we have arrived at our own personal beliefs but also the extent to which we chare them with others. The result is a stirring and provocative trip inside the minds and hearts of a diverse group of people whose beliefs - and the remarkably varied ways in which they choose to express them - reveal the American spirit at its best.

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This I Believe

The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women

This I Believe (Volume 1)

Foreword Studs Terkel "At a time when the tide runs toward a sure conformity, when dissent is often confused with subversion, when a man's belief may be subject to investigation as well as his actions . . ." It has the ring of a 2006 mayday call of distress, yet it was written in 1952. Ed Murrow, introducing an assemblage of voices in the volume This I Believe, sounded a claxon. It is an old story yet ever-contemporary. In 1791, Tom Paine, the most eloquent visionary of the American Revolution, sounded off: Freedom has been hunted around the globe; reason was considered as rebellion; and the slavery of fear made man afraid to think. But such is the irresistible nature of truth is that all it asks, and all it wants, is the liberty of appearing . . . In such a situation, man becomes what he ought to be. He sees his species not with the inhuman idea of a natural enemy, but as kindred . . . It is the pursuit of this truth that appears to be the common tenor of all the voices you hear in this new volume. We need not dwell on the old question: What is truth? What you see with your own eyes may differ from the received official truth. So old Pilate had only one decision to make: find the man guilty or he, the judge, will be sent back to the boondocks. Pilate did what any well-behaved hack would do. Though he had his hands scrubbed and rub-a-dub-dubbed with Ivory soap, 99.44% pure, he could not erase the awful truth of the dirt on his hands. Though Pilate's wife pleaded for a show of mercy, he made an objective decision. In our time, James Cameron, the nonpareil of British journalism, dealt with the matter in his own way. "I cannot remember how often I've been challenged for disregarding the fundamental tenet of honest journalism, which is objectivity." His bearing witness in North Vietnam during that war convinced him, despite all official Washington arguments to the contrary, that North Vietnam was inhabited by human beings. He was condemned for being non-objective and having a point of view. Cameron confesses, "I may not have always been satisfactorily balanced; I always tended to argue that objectivity was of less importance than the truth." Errol Morris, film documentarian, who appears in this book, shares the obstinancy of Cameron: "Truth is not relative. . . . It may be elusive or hidden. People may wish to disregard it. But there is such a thing as truth." What really possesses Morris is the pursuit of the truth: "Trying to figure out what has really happened, trying to figure out how things really are." The chase is what it's all about. The quarry is, as always, the truth. On a small patch of Sag Harbor dirt is a simple stone easily passed by. Nelson Algren is buried there and his epitaph is simple: "The journey is all." Andrew Sullivan, editor of The New Republic, who appears in this volume, has a similar vision. He and Algren may have differed considerably in their political views, yet here, as to fundamental belief, they were as one. "I believe in the pursuit of happiness. Not its attainment, nor its final definition, but its pursuit." I'd be remiss with no mention of Helen Keller, whose vision we saw and whose voice we heard fifty years ago, a deaf, dumb, and blind child. It was her sense of wonder and her pursuit of truth which she saw much more clearly than sighted people, and heard much more clearly than hearing folk. They were voices in need throughout the world she heard so vividly. Above all it was her faith that the human being was better than his/her behavior. What I believe is a compote of these ingredients. Yes I do have a point of view which I express much too frequently, I suspect. And yet there's always that uncertainty. In all my adventures among hundreds of Americans I have discovered that the rule of thumb does not work. I've been astonished too often by those I've visited: ordinary Americans, who at times, are extraordinary in their insights and dreams. I find the labels "liberal" and "conservative" of little meaning. Our language has become perverted along with the thoughts of many of us. "Liberal" according to any dictionary is defined as the freedom to speak out, no matter what the official word may be, and the right to defend all others who speak out whether or not they agree with you. "Conservative" is the word I've always associated with conserving our environment from pollution, ensuring that our water is potable and our grass green. So I declare myself a radical conservative. Radical, as in getting to the root of things. Pasteur was a radical. Semmelweiss was a radical. "Wash your hands," he declared to doctors and nurses. He may have wound up in a nuthouse, but he pursued the truth, found it, and saved untold millions of lives. I am a conservative in that I'm out to conserve the blue of the sky, the freshness of the air of which we have less and less, the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights, and whatever semblance of sanity we may have left. As for faith, I've always called myself an agnostic. Were Ambrose Bierce alive today, he would no doubt have added to his Devil's Dictionary: "An agnostic is a cowardly atheist." Perhaps. But perhaps I do believe there is a God deposited in each of us ever since the Big Bang. I secretly envy those who believe in the hereafter and with it the idea that they may once again meet dear ones. They cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there is such a place. Neither can I disprove it. I cannot find the bookmaker willing to take my bet on it. How will one who guesses right be able to collect his winnings? So speaking on behalf of the bookies of the world, all bets are off. Maybe the poet Keats was right after all in the "Ode on a Grecian Urn." He envied the fortunate youth who is forever chasing his love, never quite catching her. The pursuit is all. And yet there is something which I believe with no uncertainty. There is something we can do while we're alive and breathing on this planet. It is to become an activist in this pursuit of a world in which it would be easier for people to behave decently. (I am paraphrasing Dorothy Day, who founded the Catholic Worker Movement.) Being an activist is self-explanatory: you act; you take part in something outside yourself. You join with others, who may astonish you in thinking precisely as you do on the subjects, say, of war, civil liberties, human rights. My belief came into being during the most traumatic moment in American history, the Great Depression of the 1930s. I remember seeing pots and pans and bedsteads and mattresses on the sidewalks. A family had just been evicted and there was an individual cry of despair, multiplied by millions. But that community had a number of people on that very block, electricians and plumbers and carpenters, who appeared that very evening, and moved the household goods back into the flat where they had been. They turned on the gas, they fixed the plumbing. It was a community in action accomplishing something. Albert Einstein once observed that westerners have a feeling the individual loses his freedom if he joins, say, a union or any group. Precisely the opposite is the case. Once you join others, even though at first your mission fails, you become a different person, a much stronger one. You feel that you really count, you discover your strength as an individual because you have along the way discovered others share in what you believe, you are not alone; and thus a community is formed. I am paraphrasing Einstein. I love to do that; nobody dares contradict me. So, my credo consists of the pursuit and the act. One without the other is self-indulgence. This I believe. Copyright © 2006 by This I Believe, Inc. All rights reserved.

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An inspiring collection of the personal philosophies of a group of remarkable men and women Based on the National Public Radio series of the same name, This I Believe features eighty essayists—from the famous to the unknown—completing the thought that begins the book's title. Each piece compels readers to rethink not only how they have arrived at their own personal beliefs but also the extent to which they share them with others. Featuring a well-known list of contributors—including Isabel Allende, Colin Powell, Gloria Steinem, William F. Buckley Jr., Penn Jillette, Bill Gates, and John Updike—the collection also contains essays by a Brooklyn lawyer; a part-time hospital clerk from Rehoboth, Massachusetts; a woman who sells Yellow Pages advertising in Fort Worth, Texas; and a man who serves on the state of Rhode Island's parole board. The result is a stirring and provocative trip inside the minds and hearts of a diverse group of people whose beliefs—and the incredibly varied ways in which they choose to express them—reveal the American spirit at its best.

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Henry Holt and Co.

9781429918459

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In the news.

“To hold this range of beliefs in the palm of your hand is as fine, as grounding, as it was hearing them first on the radio. Heartfelt, deeply cherished beliefs, doctrines for living (yet none of them doctrinaire). Ideas and ideals that nourish. You can see it in their faces, in the photos in this book. And read it in their words. I'm so proud that NPR helped carry this Edward R. Murrow tradition into a new century. And so glad to have it in print, to encounter again and again.” — Susan Stamberg, special correspondent, National Public Radio “My father, Edward R. Murrow, said that "fresh ideas" from others helped him confront his own challenges. This superb collection of thought-provoking This I Believe essays, both from the new program heard on NPR and from the original 1950s series, provides fresh ideas for all of us!” — Casey Murrow, Elementary education publisher “Reading this gives me a feeling about this country I rarely get: a very visceral sense of all the different kinds of people who are living together here, with crazily different backgrounds and experiences and dreams. Like a Norman Rockwell painting where all the people happen to be real people, and all the stories are true. It makes me feel hopeful about America, reading this. Hopeful in a way that's in short supply lately.” — Ira Glass, Producer and Host of This American Life “Now, as then, when Edward R. Murrow introduced the idea of This I Believe , this forward-thinking compilation serves as a wonderful antidote to the cynicism of the age.” — Daniel Schorr, Senior News Analyst, NPR, and former colleague of Edward R. Murrow

About the Creators

• Contact Jay Allison

This I Believe is an international project engaging people in writing, sharing, and discussing the core values that guide their daily lives. These short statements of belief, written by people from all walks of life, are archived online in perpetuity. Selected essays aired on National Public Radio from 2005 to 2009, and were collected in a New York Times bestselling book; a second collection of NPR-aired essays was also published.

In 2005 and 2006, USA Weekend invited its readers to participate in the project and published selected essays from their readers. Numerous local public radio stations, newspapers, and magazines have featured essays from citizens in their communities. In 2008 Atlantic Public Media helped Madhu Acharya create a Nepali version of This I Believe .

The series spawned an outreach structure to bring this program to the attention of schools and other community groups, and the books have become popular with “one book, one community” projects. The project was based on the popular 1950s radio series of the same name hosted by Edward R. Murrow.

NPR – This I Believe : http://www.npr.org/series/4538138/this-i-believe

NPR Shop – This I Believe Essay Collection: http://shop.npr.org/books/this-i-believe-paperback

NPR Shop – This I Believe Audio Book: http://shop.npr.org/spoken-word/this-i-believe-unabridged-audiobook

Nepali This I Believe ( Mero Jindagi ): http://www.afn.org.np/programs_detail.php?id=2

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This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women Hardcover – October 3, 2006

• Book 1 of 2 This I Believe Series
• Print length 304 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Henry Holt and Co.
• Publication date October 3, 2006
• Dimensions 5.78 x 1.08 x 8.46 inches
• ISBN-10 9780805080872
• ISBN-13 978-0805080872
• Lexile measure 1060L
• See all details

Editorial Reviews

From publishers weekly, from booklist, about the author.

Dan Gediman is the executive producer of This I Believe . His work has been heard on All Things Considered , Morning Edition , Fresh Air , Marketplace , Jazz Profiles , and This American Life . He has won many of public broadcasting’s most prestigious awards, including the duPont-Columbia Award.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Product details.

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0805080872
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Henry Holt and Co.; First Edition (October 3, 2006)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780805080872
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0805080872
• Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1060L
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.1 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.78 x 1.08 x 8.46 inches
• #760 in American Fiction Anthologies
• #1,951 in Essays (Books)
• #12,678 in Personal Transformation Self-Help

About the authors

Dan gediman.

Dan Gediman is executive director of This I Believe, a not-for-profit organization that collects and presents the core personal philosophies of Americans-ranging from the famous to the previously unknown. These short statements of belief have been featured on public radio since 2005. A 25-year public radio veteran, Gediman's work has won many of public broadcasting's most prestigious awards, including the duPont-Columbia Award.

John Gregory

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Viki Merrick

Jay Allison

Jay Allison is one of public radio's most honored producers. He has produced hundreds of documentaries and features for radio and television and has won virtually every major award, including six Peabodys. He is a founder of the Public Radio Exchange (prx.org), a distribution system for public radio, and Transom.org, a site that helps people tell their own stories. He produces The Moth Radio Hour and was the curator and producer of This I Believe on NPR. Jay is also the founder of the public radio stations for Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and Cape Cod where he lives. More at http://www.jayallison.com

HAROLD TAW is a novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. His debut novel was Adventures of the Karaoke King (Lake Union Publishing 2011). His writing has been featured on NPR, in a New York Times bestselling anthology, and in The Seattle Times; his screenplay DOG PARK has garnered recognition in domestic and international film festivals and competitions. Harold wrote the book for two musicals presented as staged readings by The 5th Avenue Theatre: the full-length PERSUASION (2015), based on Jane Austen’s final novel; and the original one-act THE MISSED CONNECTIONS CLUB (2014), which won Third Place in the 2015 Frostburg State University One-Act Competition, was a finalist in the Arts Club of Washington’s 2014 One-Act Play Competition, and was longlisted for the 2015 British Theatre Challenge. Harold is currently completing a novel about a turbulent adolescence in Southeast Asia and co-curating WordsWest Literary Series. A Yale Law School graduate and a Fulbright Scholar, Harold’s research and writing have been supported by, among others, 826 Seattle, Artist Trust, Centrum, the Helen Riaboff Whiteley Center, Humanities Washington, Jack Straw Productions, and Wing Luke Museum.

Colleen Shaddox

Colleen Shaddox is a print and radio journalist and activist. Her publication credits include the New York Times, the Washington Post, National Public Radio, America, and many more. She left daily newspapers when an editor reprimanded her for “writing too many stories about poor people” and went to work in a soup kitchen. She has had one foot in journalism and one in nonprofits ever since. In states throughout the country, Colleen has worked on winning campaigns to get kids out of adult prisons, to end juvenile life without parole, and to limit shackling in juvenile courts. She is a frequently anthologized fiction writer. Her award-winning play The Shakespeares and other dramatic works have been performed around the country.

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Customers find the writing style wonderful, uplifting, and thought-provoking. They also appreciate the themes, content, and readability. Readers describe the book as an easy, spiritually uplifting read with thought- provoking essays and surprising results. They appreciate the craftsmanship and say the book is in great condition.

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Customers find the writing style wonderful, personal, and rich. They also say the book contains lovely and thought-provoking essays.

"a rich , inspiring, and marvelous reach for me to find out about and to read whole-heartedly!!" Read more

"...Many others are really personal stories that read well , yet probably would be an even nicer CD for the car...." Read more

"80 essays. For me, 25 gems, the remained are good to very good ...." Read more

"...the quality of writing varies from piece to piece, the book offers some real gems ." Read more

Customers find the themes in the book thought-provoking, serious, and whimsical. They also appreciate the simple yet riveting concept and great advice. Readers also mention that the essays are light-hearted and cover a wide range of topics.

"a rich, inspiring , and marvelous reach for me to find out about and to read whole-heartedly!!" Read more

"..." from the 1950s complements the individual contributions and was very helpful ...." Read more

"...The essays in "Believe" are less emotional. They are light-hearted and cover a wide range of topics such as the environment, politics, religion and..." Read more

"...within yourself and ask yourself, "What do I believe?" A fine legacy to pass on to future generations." Read more

Customers find the book's content interesting and surprising. They also say the results are always surprising.

"... Some of the stories are great and really moving most though just fall under the category of blan recycled cookie cutter philosophy...." Read more

"...And not only is it a good idea, but it works ! I like the combination of pieces written decades ago and those written recently...." Read more

"I found myself not wanting to put it down. The stories are short , so no matter how much time I had to read, I could read some of it and finish the..." Read more

"...Or what does life mean to them. Each story is a few pages so you can read a quick group of stories when you do not have a lot of time." Read more

Customers find the book easy to read and like the format.

"...Each essay only takes a few minutes to read , so its great if you don't have enough time to sit and read for a while." Read more

"...Some of the essays are better written than others...." Read more

"I enjoyed this book. A quick read of a compilation of essays . Much like today''s Brief but Spectacular Moment on PBS now." Read more

"...It provides much food for thought; the writing is intelligent and at times inspirational...." Read more

Customers appreciate the craftsmanship of the book. They mention that it looks brand new even though they bought it used.

"The book was in very good condition ." Read more

"The book was in great condition , and used.Some notes on the book with pencil but nothing damaging.Good book." Read more

"...I ordered it used and it is in wonderful condition ." Read more

" Just like new . I haven't started reading yet since its for summer reading but I've skimmed and it seems like a great book." Read more

Customers find the pacing unusual, uplifting, refreshing, and reassuring. They also say it's an interesting change of pace.

"This book really inspired me and gave me new perspective . Now, I am inspired to write what I believe and submit it...." Read more

"...the stories I have heard bits and pieces of in the past, but it was refreshing and an enjoyable read to read more of the full story." Read more

"Wonderfully Book! Spiritually Uplifting !" Read more

"...or all at once, but these essays from "real" people will make you feel good ." Read more

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ISBN10: 0805086587 ISBN13: 9780805086584

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Based on the National Public Radio series of the same name, This I Believe features eighty essayists—from the famous to the unknown—completing the thought that begins the book's title. Each piece compels readers to rethink not only how they have arrived at their own personal beliefs but also the extent to which they share them with others. Featuring a well-known list of contributors—including Isabel Allende, Colin Powell, Gloria Steinem, William F. Buckley Jr., Penn Jillette, Bill Gates, and John Updike—the collection also contains essays by a Brooklyn lawyer; a part-time hospital clerk from Rehoboth, Massachusetts; a woman who sells Yellow Pages advertising in Fort Worth, Texas; and a man who serves on the state of Rhode Island's parole board. The result is a trip inside the minds and hearts of a diverse group of people whose beliefs—and the incredibly varied ways in which they choose to express them—reveal the American spirit at its best. This I Believe is also available on CD as an audiobook, in both abridged and unabridged editions. Each essay is read by its author. Please email [email protected] for more information.

Praise for This I Believe

"To hold this range of beliefs in the palm of your hand is as fine, as grounding, as it was hearing them first on the radio. Heartfelt, deeply cherished beliefs, doctrines for living (yet none of them doctrinaire). Ideas and ideals that nourish. You can see it in their faces, in the photos in this book. And read it in their words. I'm so proud that NPR helped carry this Edward R. Murrow tradition into a new century. And so glad to have it in print, to encounter again and again."— Susan Stamberg, special correspondent, National Public Radio "Reading this gives me a feeling about this country I rarely get: a very visceral sense of all the different kinds of people who are living together here, with crazily different backgrounds and experiences and dreams. Like a Norman Rockwell painting where all the people happen to be real people, and all the stories are true. It makes me feel hopeful about America, reading this. Hopeful in a way that's in short supply lately."— Ira Glass, Producer and Host of This American Life "My father, Edward R. Murrow, said that 'fresh ideas' from others helped him confront his own challenges. This superb collection of thought-provoking This I Believe essays, both from the new program heard on NPR and from the original 1950s series, provides fresh ideas for all of us!"— Casey Murrow, Elementary Education Publisher "Now, as then, when Edward R. Murrow introduced the idea of This I Believe , this forward-thinking compilation serves as a wonderful antidote to the cynicism of the age."— Daniel Schorr, Senior News Analyst, NPR, and former colleague of Edward R. Murrow "National Public Radio listeners have been moved to tears by the personal essays that constitute the series This I Believe . Created in 1951 with Edward Murrow as host, the sometimes funny, often profound, and always compelling series has been revived, according to host Jay Allison, because, once again, 'matters of belief divide our country and the world.' Oral historian Studs Terkel kicks things off, and 80 personal credos follow. Essays from the original series are interleaved with contemporary essays (selected from more than 11,000 submissions) to create a resounding chorus . . . Appendixes offer guidelines and resources because the urge to write such declarations is contagious, and schools and libraries have been coordinating This I Believe programs, which we believe is a righteous endeavor."— Donna Seaman, Booklist "In an age of disinformation, spin, and lies, NPR's This I Believe comes as a source of refreshment and useful disquiet. NPR revived this 1950s radio series quite recently, and this collection draws transcripts from both the original series and its newer version, including some remarkable statements from the likes of dancer/choreographer Martha Graham, autistic academic Temple Grandin, writer and physicist Alan Lightman, novelist and social critic Thomas Mann, economic historian Arnold Toynbee, and feminist writer Rebecca West. Wonderful . . . astonishing to hear and astonishing to read and reread."— Library Journal "Allison (the host) and Gediman (the executive producer) [of the radio show] have collected some of the best essays from This I Believe then and now. 'Your personal credo' is what Allison calls it in the book's introduction, noting that today's program is distinguished from the 1950s version in soliciting submissions from ordinary Americans from all walks of life. These make up some of the book's most powerful and memorable moments, from the surgeon whose illiterate mother changed his early life with faith and a library card to the English professor whose poetry helped him process a traumatic childhood event. And in one of the book's most unusual essays, a Burmese immigrant confides that he believes in feeding monkeys on his birthday because a Buddhist monk once prophesied that if he followed this ritual, his family would prosper . . . This feast of ruminations is a treat for any reader."— Publishers Weekly (starred review) Table of Contents Foreword Studs Terkel Introduction Jay Allison Be Cool to the Pizza Dude Sarah Adams Leaving Identity Issues to Other Folks Phyllis Allen In Giving I Connect with Others Isabel Allende Remembering All the Boys Elvia Bautista The Mountain Disappears Leonard Bernstein How Is It Possible to Believe in God? William F. Buckley, Jr. The Fellowship of the World Niven Busch There is No Job More Important than Parenting Benjamin Carson A Journey toward Acceptance and Love Greg Chapman A Shared Moment of Trust Warren Christopher The Hardest Work You Will Ever Do Mary Cook Good Can Be as Communicable as Evil Norman Corwin A Daily Walk Just to Listen Susan Cosio The Elusive Yet Holy Core Kathy Dahlen My Father's Evening Star William O. Douglas An Honest Doubter Have I Learned Anything Important Since I Was Sixteen? Elizabeth Deutsch Earle An Ideal of Service to Our Fellow Man Albert Einstein The Power and Mystery of Naming Things Eve Ensler A Goal of Service to Humankind Anthony Fauci The God Who Embraced Me John W. Fountain Unleashing the Power of Creativity Bill Gates The People Who Love You When No One Else Will Cecile Gilmer The Willingness to Work for Solutions Newt Gingrich The Connection between Strangers Miles Goodwin An Athlete of God Martha Graham Seeing in Beautiful, Precise Pictures Temple Grandin Disrupting My Comfort Zone Brian Grazer Science Nourishes the Mind and the Soul Brian Greene In Praise of the " Wobblies " Ted Gup The Power of Presence Debbie Hall A Grown-Up Barbie Jane Hamill Happy Talk Oscar Hammerstein II Natural Links in a Long Chain of Being Victor Hanson Talking with the Sun Joy Harjo A Morning Prayer in a Little Church Helen Hayes Our Noble, Essential Decency Robert A. Heinlein A New Birth of Freedom Maximilian Hodder The Benefits of Restlessness and Jagged Edges Kay Redfield Jamison There Is No God Penn Jillette A Duty to Heal Pius Kamau Living Life with " Grace and Elegant Treeness " Ruth Kamps The Light of a Brighter Day Helen Keller The Bright Lights of Freedom Harold Hongju Koh The Power of Love to Transform and Heal Jackie Lantry The Power of Mysteries Alan Lightman Life Grows in the Soil of Time Thomas Mann Why I Close My Restaurant George Mardikian The Virtues of the Quiet Hero John McCain The Joy and Enthusiasm of Reading Rick Moody There Is Such a Thing as Truth Errol Morris The Rule of Law Michael Mullane Getting Angry Can Be a Good Thing Cecilia Muñoz The Mysterious Connections Azar Nafisi The Making of Poems Gregory Orr We Are Each Other's Business Eboo Patel The 50-Percent Theory of Life Steve Porter The America I Believe In Colin Powell The Real Consequences of Justice Frederic Reamer There Is More to Life than My Life Jamaica Ritcher Tomorrow Will Be a Better Day Josh Rittenberg Free Minds and Hearts at Work Jackie Robinson Growth That Starts from Thinking Eleanor Roosevelt The Artistry in Hidden Talents Mel Rusnov My Fellow Worms Carl Sandburg When Children Are Wanted Margaret Sanger Jazz Is the Sound of God Laughing Colleen Shaddox There Is No Such Thing as Too Much Barbecue Jason Sheehan The People Have Spoken Mark Shields Everything Potent Is Dangerous Wallace Stegner A Balance between Nature and Nurture Gloria Steinem Life, Liberty , and the Pursuit of Happiness Andrew Sullivan Always Go to the Funeral Deirdre Sullivan Finding Prosperity by Feeding Monkeys Harold Taw I Agree with a Pagan Arnold Toynbee Testing the Limits of What I Know and Feel John Updike How Do You Believe in a Mystery? Loudon Wainwright III Creative Solutions to Life's Challenges Frank X Walker Goodness Doesn't Just Happen Rebecca West When Ordinary People Achieve Extraordinary Things Jody Williams Afterword : The History of This I Believe: The Power of an Idea Dan Gediman Appendix A: Introduction to the 1950s This I Believe Radio Series Edward R. Murrow Appendix B: How to Write Your Own This I Believe Essay Appendix C: How to Use This I Believe in Your Community Acknowledgments

BOOK EXCERPTS

Read an excerpt.

Foreword Studs Terkel "At a time when the tide runs toward a sure conformity, when dissent is often confused with subversion, when a man's belief may be subject to investigation as well as his actions . . ." It has the ring...

Read the full excerpt →

Listen to an Excerpt from the Audiobook

This I Believe Audiobook Excerpt--William F. Buckley, Jr.

Listen to William F. Buckley, Jr., founder of the National Review, speak about his belief in God in this audiobook excerpt from This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women, edited by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman. Based on the NPR series of the same name, This I Believe features eighty Americans, from the famous to the unknown, completing the thought that the book's title begins.

About the author

Jay Allison is one of public radio's most honored producers. He has produced hundreds of nationally broadcast documentaries and features for radio and television. His work has earned him the duPont-Columbia and five Peabody Awards, and he was the 1996 recipient of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's Edward R. Murrow Award for outstanding contributions to public radio, the industry's highest honor. He was the curator and producer of This I Believe on NPR and he produces The Moth Radio Hour . Before his career in broadcasting, Jay was a theater director in Washington, D.C. He is also the founder of the public radio stations for Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and Cape Cod where he lives. Dan Gediman is the executive producer of This I Believe . His work has been heard on All Things Considered , Morning Edition , Fresh Air , Marketplace , Jazz Profiles , and This American Life . He has won many of public broadcasting's most prestigious awards, including the duPont-Columbia Award.

Jay Allison →

Jay Allison

Official links.

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Dan Gediman →

Dan Gediman

Reading Guide

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Reading Group Guide

Teacher's Guide

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30 “This I Believe” Essay

The history of ‘this i believe’.

by Tanya Matthews

This I Believe is an exciting media project that invites individuals from all walks of life to write about and discuss the core beliefs that guide their daily lives. They share these statements in weekly broadcasts on NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered .

The series is based on the 1950’s radio program This I Believe , hosted by acclaimed journalist Edward R. Murrow. Each day, some 39-million Americans gathered by their radios to hear compelling essays from the likes of Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Robinson, Helen Keller and Harry Truman as well as corporate leaders, cab drivers, scientists and secretaries — anyone able to distill into a few minutes the guiding principles by which they lived. Their words brought comfort and inspiration to a country worried about the Cold War, McCarthyism and racial division.

Eventually, the radio series became a cultural phenomenon. Eighty-five leading newspapers printed a weekly column based on This I Believe . A collection of essays published in 1952 sold 300,000 copies — second only to the Bible that year. The series was translated and broadcast around the globe on the Voice of America. A book of essays translated into Arabic sold 30,000 copies in just three days.

[The NPR series This I Believe can be read and heard here . In addition, the website and organization This I Believe houses thousands of essays written by famous people, such as the ones mentioned above, and everyday people like you and me.]

As a college student in 2020, you are faced with turbulent politics, socioeconomic issues, and ethical dilemmas that will challenge you to take a stand and contribute to the local, national, and global conversation around you. The purpose of this writing task is not to persuade you to agree on the same beliefs. Rather, it is to encourage you to begin the much more difficult task of developing respect for beliefs different from your own. Fifty years ago, Edward R. Murrow’s project struck such a chord with millions of Americans. It can do so again today…with you.

Video Resources for Generating Ideas

Dan gediman on writing a “this i believe essay”.

Read Cecelia Munoz’s essay “Getting Angry Can Be a Good Thing” referred to in the previous video here .

“This I Believe” Essay with Animation

“This I Believe” Essay Ideas

Prewriting Activity

1) analyze others’ statements.

Consider the following statements, written in response to the question What Have You Learned About Life? Highlight any sentences that resonate with you. Talk about them with a partner or group, explaining why. 1. I’ve learned that when I wave to people in the country, they stop what they are doing and wave back. – Age 9 2. I’ve learned that if you want to cheer yourself up, you should try cheering someone else up. – Age 14 3. I’ve learned that although it’s hard to admit it, I’m secretly glad my parents are strict with me. – Age 15 4. I’ve learned that if someone says something unkind about me, I must live so that no one will believe it. – Age 39 5. I’ve learned that there are people who love you dearly but just don’t know how to show it. – Age 42 6. I’ve learned that you can make someone’s day by simply sending them a little note. – Age 44 7. I’ve learned that the greater a person’s sense of guilt, the greater his or her need to cast blame on others. – Age 46 8. I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. – Age 48 9. I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you miss them terribly after they die. – Age 53 10. I’ve learned that making a living is not the same thing as making a life. – Age 58 11. I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. – Age 62 12. I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with kindness, I usually make the right decision. – Age 66 13. I’ve learned that it pays to believe in miracles. And to tell the truth, I’ve seen several. – Age 75 14. I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one. – Age 82 15. I’ve learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love that human touch—holding hands, a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. – Age 85 16. I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn. – Age 92

2) Compose Your Own Statement

Write down a sentence that expresses what YOU have learned about life. Maybe it is similar to one of the statements above; maybe it’s completely different. Whatever it is, write it down.

3) Freewrit e

Now free-write about your sentence. Include at least two examples / experiences that you have had that support why you think this way.

Personal Statement/Philosophy: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Why do you believe in this statement? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Name two experiences that you had that would support the statement: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ What does this say about yourself or your personality? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ After your life experience, how have you come to the conclusion that this should be your statement? How have your beliefs changed, if at all? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ How has the event effected your relationship with a person, place, or object? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ How does your statement apply to you today? (How you view yourself & society) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SAMPLE STUDENT ESSAYS

Sample #1: america’s beauty is in its diversity.

written by Alaa El-Saad,  high school student,  as heard on NPR’s Tell Me More (2009)

America is built on the idea of freedom, and there is no exception for Muslim women. I believe in the freedom of religion and speech. But mostly, I believe it’s OK to be different, and to stand up for who and what you are. So I believe in wearing the hijab.

The hijab is a religious head covering, like a scarf. I am Muslim and keeping my head covered is a sign of maturity and respect toward my religion and to Allah’s will. To be honest, I also like to wear it to be different. I don’t usually like to do what everyone else is doing. I want to be an individual, not just part of the crowd. But when I first wore it, I was also afraid of the reaction that I’d get at school.

I decided on my own that sixth grade was the time I should start wearing the hijab. I was scared about what the kids would say or even do to me. I thought they might make fun of me, or even be scared of me and pull off my headscarf. Kids at that age usually like to be all the same, and there’s little or no acceptance for being different.

On the first day of school, I put all those negative thoughts behind my back and walked in with my head held high. I was holding my breath a little, but inside I was also proud to be a Muslim, proud to be wearing the hijab, proud to be different.

I was wrong about everything I thought the kids would say or even do to me. I actually met a lot of people because of wearing my head covering. Most of the kids would come and ask me questions—respectfully—about the hijab, and why I wore it.

I did hear some kid was making fun of me, but there was one girl—she wasn’t even in my class, we never really talked much—and she stood up for me, and I wasn’t even there! I made a lot of new friends that year, friends that I still have until this very day, five years later.

Yes, I’m different, but everyone is different here, in one way or another. This is the beauty of America. I believe in what America is built on: all different religions, races and beliefs. Different everything.

Sample #2: The Essentials to Happiness

written by Alexxandra Schuman, high school student, as heard on The Bob Edwards Show (2013)

As a child, I was generally happy; singing and dancing to my favorite songs; smiling and laughing with my friends and family. But as far back as second grade, I noticed a “darkness,” about me. I didn’t enjoy engaging in many things. I didn’t relate to my peers in elementary school because they appeared so happy, and I didn’t have that ability to achieve happiness so easily.

In middle school things in my life began to get even worse. I began withdrawing from everything I once enjoyed; swimming, tennis, family. I hated going to sleep knowing I had to wake up to another day. I was always tired. Everything was horrible. Finally, midway through eighth grade, I was told I had a chemical imbalance; diagnosed with clinical depression and put on medication. It took months for me to feel the effects of the medication.

When I began to feel happy again, is when I realized that I had to take the responsibility for getting better myself, rather than relying on medication and therapy alone. Aristotle said, “To live happily is an inward power of the soul,” and I believe that this quote describes what I had to do to achieve happiness. Happiness is a journey. Everyone seems to need different things to be happy. But I believe people are blinded from what truly makes one happy.

Growing up, we’re encouraged to be successful in life; but how is success defined? Success and happiness are imagined now as having a lot of money. It is so untrue. Recently I went to Costa Rica and visited the small town of El Roble. I spent the day with a nine-year old girl named Marilyn. She took me to her house to meet her parents. It was obvious that they were not rich; living in a small house with seven children. The house was cluttered but full of life. Those who have decided that success and happiness comes from having money and a big house would be appalled at how utterly happy this family from El Roble is. People say that seeing things like that make you appreciate what you have, but for me, it made me envy them for being so happy without all the things I have.

“The essentials to happiness are something to love, something to do, and something to hope for,” a quote from William Blake sums up what I believe people need to realize to be truly happy in life. People need love; I feel they need their family and their friends more than anything in the world. People need work to do, something to make them feel they are making a difference in the world. People need to know that more good is to come in the future, so they continue to live for “now” instead of constantly worrying about the bad that could come. And most importantly people need to know that happiness is not something that happens overnight. Love and hope is happiness.

Sample #3: Find a Good Frog

written by Delia Motavalli, high school student, as heard on The Bob Edwards Show (2013)

I believe in finding a good frog. It seems that all throughout childhood, we are taught to look for a happily ever after. “And they all lived happily ever after”; isn’t that the conclusion to many children’s films? When I was a kid I always thought of that as magical; but now really it just seems unrealistic. And it teaches us that what we want is a fairytale like they have in the storybooks. We all want to be Cinderella who gets swept off her feet by the hot prince; we want to live in the royal castle, right? But I don’t think that’s necessarily a good thing for us to seek. Now I’m not saying I believe in being pessimistic, but I do believe in being realistic; it’s something I got from my mom.

My mother and I always have our best conversations in the rain. We sit in the car, neither of us wanting to brave the rain to get to the house. So we sit. We watch droplets race down the windshield, listen to the rain strike the roof of her little blue Honda, and feel the heater on full-blast rushing at our feet (just the way we like it). I don’t know why, but sitting in the car, we always talk more than normal. There was one rainy day when my mom told me something that is going to stick with me forever. Earlier that day she and my dad had been arguing about something; I can’t remember what. So she said, “Don’t spend your life looking for Prince Charming. Instead, find yourself a really good frog.”

At the time, I found this thought really disheartening. Who wants to think that you’ll never find Prince Charming? You’ll never get to be Cinderella? Another thought that struck my mind: if my mom says there’s no Prince Charming, then what’s my dad? A frog? I asked her, and she replied with, “Of course! If he were Prince Charming, he wouldn’t snore, would be able to cook, and we would never argue. But you know what? He’s a damn good frog.” Of course, being young, I didn’t think of the meaning behind what she was saying. I was too busy thinking of it literally, visualizing my mom as a princess and my dad in frog form.

But a few years later, I understand the value of my mom’s words. You can’t expect everything to be perfect. Let’s be completely honest; if you wait your whole life for your prince with flowing hair, statuesque features, and a white horse, you’re going to be lonely. I think that the point of finding a good frog is you accept something that’s great, flaws and all. It’s so easy to be picky. You can find the one tiny thing that’s wrong, and that one tiny thing is what you can’t get your mind off of. But in life, we can’t afford to wait years in vain for perfection. So I think that a good frog, an amazing frog, the best frog you can find is what we’re really looking for in this world. Don’t laze through life waiting for a happily ever after, because I don’t think you’ll be very happy with the outcome.

Examples from the ‘This I Believe’ Website

Be Cool to the Pizza Dude by Sarah Adams

They Lived Their Faith by Charles Henry Parrish

Returning to What’s Natural by Amelia Baxter-Stoltzfus

The Birthright of Human Dignity by Will Thomas

Remembering All The Boys by Elvia Bautista

I Am Still The Greatest by Muhammad Ali

A Goal Of Service To Humankind by Anthony Fauci

My Life Is Better by Abraham

Give Me a Waffle by Brenda

The Little Things by Sophie Crossley

You can also browse thousands more This I Believe essays by theme .

Prefer to Listen to Get Inspiration?

Check out This I Believe’s Podcast Series

4) Drafting

Assignment guidelines + suggestions and tips for drafting.

1. While the examples you’ve been given can serve as a model, it is essential that each of you write about a personal belief or philosophy that you feel strongly about. 2. Tell a story. Personal experiences are the corner stone of a good essay. Your story doesn’t have to be a heart breaker or even a major event, but it must be something that has affected how you think, feel, and act. List your personal experiences that you intend to use as evidence below: 3. Be concise. Avoid repetition. This essay should be between 500 – 650 words. When read aloud, it should take roughly four minutes. 4. Name your belief. It is essential that you can name your belief in a sentence or two. Focus on one belief only. This is your thesis. Write it here: 5. Be positive. Avoid preaching or persuading. You aren’t trying to change the way others think or act. Write about what you believe, not what you don’t believe. 6. Use the first person. Speak for yourself. Avoid using we or you. 7. Let your voice shine. Use language that sounds like you. Read it aloud as your revise. Keep making changes until your essay sounds like you and captures the essence of your belief.

5) Peer Review

Once you have written your first draft, arrange for your essay to be edited by a peer, using the following Peer-Editing Checklist: Writer’s Name: ________________________________________________ Peer Editor’s Name: ________________________________________________ Use your PENCIL or PEN (NOT red or green) to make corrections. Remember, this essay is a work in progress. You are not done writing! Look for ways to improve what you’ve already written. Tick each step if it has been completed. _____ 1. Read the paper backwards, one sentence at a time. Check for spelling errors. Use a dictionary, a friend, or a spell checker to find the correct spelling. _____ 2. Check for capitalized proper nouns and the first word of each sentence. _____ 3. Skip a line between each paragraph. _____ 4. Every sentence should have end punctuation. _____ 5. Check commas. Are they only used for compound sentences, a list of items, an introductory word or phrase, direct address, setting off interruptions, separating adjectives, or in dates? Do you need to add commas? Make sure you do not have commas separating complete sentences (i.e. comma splice errors that create run-on sentences). _____ 6. Apostrophes are used only for contractions and to show ownership. _____ 7. The use of more complex punctuation (dashes, hyphens, semi-colons, parentheses, etc.) is done correctly. _____ 8. Have you used commonly mixed pairs of words correctly? Check these: they’re/their/there, your/you’re, it’s/its, a/an, to/too/two, are/our/hour, and others. _____ 9. Read the paper backwards one sentence at a time. Check for sentence fragments and run-ons and correct them. _____ 10. Did you stay in present tense (such as is, am, do, take, know, etc.) or past tense (such as was, were, did, took, knew, etc.) throughout the entire essay? _____ 11. Did you stay in first person (I, me, my, we, us, our) or third person (he, him, she, her, they, them, their) throughout the entire essay? _____ 12. Was there adequate use of specific details and sensory details? Were the details clear and relevant to the statement? _____ 13. Is the overall purpose/philosophy clear? _____ 14. Does the conclusion make you go, “Wow!” “Cool!” “I never thought about it that way,” or any other similar reaction? Other suggestions for the overall content of the piece: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This I Believe by Tanya Matthews is licensed by CC-BY-SA

“This I Believe” Essay Copyright © 2020 by Liza Long; Amy Minervini; and Joel Gladd is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

This I Believe

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2006

Plot Summary

• “Be cool to the pizza dude,” by Sarah Adams
• “Leaving identity issues to other folks,” by Phyllis Allen
• “In giving I connect with others,” by Isabel Allende
• “Remembering all the boys,” by Elvia Bautista
• “The mountain disappears,” by Leonard Bernstein
• “How is it possible to believe in God?” by William F. Buckley Jr.
• “The fellowship of the world,” by Niven Busch
• “There is no job more important than parenting,” by Benjamin Carson
• “A journey toward acceptance and love,” by Greg Chapman
• “A shared moment of trust,” by Warren Christopher
• “The hardest work you will ever do,” by Mary Cook
• “Good can be as communicable as evil,” by Norman Corwin
• “A daily walk just to listen,” by Susan Cosio
• “The elusive yet holy core,” by Kathy Dahlen
• “My father’s evening star,” by William O. Douglas
• “An honest doubter: Have I learned anything important since I was sixteen?” by Elizabeth Deutsch Earle
• “An ideal of service to our fellow man,” by Albert Einstein
• “The power and mystery of naming things,” by Eve Ensler
• “A goal of service to humankind,” by Anthony Fauci
• “The God who embraced me,” by John W. Fountain
• “Unleashing the power of creativity,” by Bill Gates
• “The people who love you when no one else will,” by Cecile Gilmer
• “The willingness to work for solutions,” by Newt Gingrich
• “The connection between strangers,” by Miles Goodwin
• “An athlete of God,” by Martha Graham
• “Seeing in beautiful, precise pictures,” by Temple Grandin
• “Disrupting my comfort zone,” by Brian Grazer
• “Science nourishes the mind and the soul,” by Brian Greene
• “In praise of the ‘Wobblies’,” by Ted Gup
• “The power of presence,” by Debbie Hall
• “A grown-up Barbie,” by Jane Hamill
• “Happy talk,” by Oscar Hammerstein II
• “Natural links in a long chain of being,” by Victor Hanson
• “Talking with the sun,” by Joy Harjo
• “A morning prayer in a little church,” by Helen Hayes
• “Our noble, essential decency,” by Robert A. Heinlein
• “A new birth of freedom,” by Maximillan Hodder
• “The benefits of restlessness and jagged edges,” by Kay Redfield Jamison
• “There is no God,” by Penn Jillette
• “A duty to heal,” by Pius Kamau
• “Living life with ‘Grace and elegant treeness’,” by Ruth Kamps
• “The light of a brighter day,” by Helen Keller
• “The bright lights of freedom,” by Harold Hongju Koh
• “The power of love to transform and heal,” by Jackie Lantry
• “The power of mysteries,” by Alan Lightman
• “Life grows in the soil of time,” by Thomas Mann
• “Why I close my restaurant,” by George Mardikian
• “The virtues of the quiet hero,” by John McCain
• “The joy and enthusiasm of reading,” by Rick Moody
• “There is such a thing as truth,” by Errol Morris
• “The rule of law,” by Michael Mullane
• “Getting angry can be a good thing,” by Cecilia Muñoz
• “Mysterious connections that link us together,” by Azar Nafisi
• “The making of poems,” by Gregory Orr
• “We are each other’s business,” by Eboo Patel
• “The 50-percent theory of life,” by Steve Porter
• “The America I believe in,” by Colin Powell
• “The real consequences of justice,” by Frederic Reamer
• “There is more to life than my life,” by Jamaica Ritcher
• “Tomorrow will be a better day,” by Josh Rittenberg
• “Free minds and hearts at work,” by Jackie Robinson
• “Growth that starts from thinking,” by Eleanor Roosevelt
• “The artistry in hidden talents,” by Mel Rusnov
• “My fellow worms,” by Carl Sandburg
• “When children are wanted,” by Margaret Sanger
• “Jazz is the sound of God laughing,” by Colleen Shaddox
• “There is no such thing as too much barbecue,” by Jason Sheehan
• “The people have spoken,” by Mark shields
• “Everything potent is dangerous,” by Wallace Stegner
• “A balance between nature and nurture,” by Gloria Steinem
• “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” by Andrew Sullivan
• “Always go to the funeral,” by Deirdre Sullivan
• “Finding prosperity by feeding monkeys,” by Harold Taw
• “I agree with a pagan,” by Arnold Toynbee
• “Testing the limits of what I know and feel,” by John Updike
• “How do you believe in a mystery?” by Loudon Wainwright III
• “Creative solutions to life’s challenges,” by Frank X. Walker
• “Goodness doesn’t just happen,” by Rebecca West
• “When ordinary people achieve extraordinary things,” by Jody Williams

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David And Goliath

D. H. Lawrence

Whales Weep Not!

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