Absolutely loved this. Easy writing, beautiful narrative. Connected more with Jacqueline in her younger years, living and working in Rwanda and other parts of Africa and struggling to understand herself and her place in the world and how she was to change it, than her older self who founded Acumen and namedropped entrepreneurs page after page. Truly learned a different way to look at giving. A marketplace rather than a charity. Though, not sure that writers and artists fit in her view of a connected, charitable world of problem-solvers, which seems to be populated with doctors and MBAs. Not at all what I'd expected, in the best way possible. For whatever reason I'd expected something fairly light; American goes off to Rwanda and has a startling experience and maybe does some good and then...comes home. And writes about it. And moves on.But Novogratz didn't move on, or at least not in the ways that count. She stumbled through early attempts to make a difference; she learned from her mistakes; she took on different challenges in different countries (including the U.S.) to gain broader experience and understanding. She talks about not just her successes but also her mistakes -- because she learned from those mistakes and because, in some cases, they're good examples of, well, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.I'm torn between being fascinated by the work she did after leaving Rwanda and wishing that the material had more tightly focused on Rwanda; that part of the book could easily have made up the entire book. (The problem then is that the rest of it wouldn't have made as compelling a standalone book, and there are some really interesting pieces to the story there.) But wherever she goes in the book, her descriptions are thoughtful and nuanced; she focuses as much on understanding context as she does on effecting change.
What do You think about Blue Sweater (2010)?
Very inspiring book about one woman's journey to make the world a better place. Highly recommend
—Paisley
This was wonderfully uplifting & inspiring. I am a reformed pessimist now!
—Patti
