We are all, in some way, afraid of the future--we do not know what tomorrow brings. We are afraid of risk, of pain, of failure. Those things that always happen to someone else, one day happen in our lives, bringing tomorrow crashing in on us. Life is full of surprises, many that are fabulous, some that are hurtful, but we are not powerless pawns in a meaningless existence. We are magic, we are power, we are promise. In a time when the world is in so much turmoil and confusion, self-help books are on the increase. This book, however, does not focus on the self. Instead it looks at how love and compassion, when given out to others, can act as a better antidote to the often painful human condition.

Michael Meegan has lived in Kenya for 40 years working on long-term community health programs in East Africa.