About this item
Highlights
- By 1996, millions of South Sudanese have been killed, died of starvation, or fled the decades-long civil war ravaging their country.
- About the Author: Caroline Kurtz lived in Ethiopia from ages 5-18.
- 248 Pages
- Biography + Autobiography, Women
- Series Name: Road Going Home
Description
About the Book
When Caroline and her husband begin working with civil war refugees in South Sudan and Kenya, they'll discover the deep complexities of colonial interference abroad, the consequences of striving for perfection in an imperfect world, and above all--the extraordinary grace to be found in the unlikeliest of places.Book Synopsis
By 1996, millions of South Sudanese have been killed, died of starvation, or fled the decades-long civil war ravaging their country. So when the Presbyterian Church in the United States begins recruiting a development team to work with war refugees in the region, Caroline and her husband Mark are eager to help. But it's only months before ghosts from their individual pasts whistle in to disrupt their marriage and their new postings.Caroline finds relief in teaching and peace work in South Sudan, but the heavy responsibility she now carries for dozens of vulnerable families--coupled with the prevailing ideas of Biblical womanhood that put pressure on her personal life--makes it increasingly clear that Caroline is under-prepared for the high-stakes crisis in which she is now embedded.
Through a number of consequential mistakes and increasingly debilitating self-doubt, Caroline clings to hope that her willingness to stand with the South Sudanese will count for something in the end. A deeply personal examination of South Sudan at war--and a woman at war with herself--Today is Tomorrow shines a warm light on the darkest of places.
Review Quotes
"I have found the book hugely anthropological,
historical, cultural and Spiritual. It is an adventure compelled by the
love of God. "Today is Tomorrow" is indeed an incredible statement of
hope for all who would like to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans
12:12-- Bishop Dr. Arkanjelo Wani Lemi, Former Presiding Bishop of Africa Inland Church, Former Chair of the South Sudan Council of Churches, Chair of the Technical Committee for establishment of the Truth, Reconciliation and Healing Commission "Caroline Kurtz has a gift for weaving her personal life struggles with
the threads of southern Sudanese life, where contestations produce
resilience and pain meets joy. My African friends who read Today Is
Tomorrow may wonder if such experiences of an American woman can be
real. My American friends who read this may wonder if such experiences
in Sudan can be anything but fiction. But knowing Caroline in America
and working side-by-side with her in Sudan, I can say that the realities
she describes with such sublime word pictures are all real. She is an
artistic wordsmith, and it was my privilege to have her as my right arm
at Wunlit where the people made their peace become real, mal mi
chum-chum, sweet peace, for a time." -- Bill Lowrey, Facilitator of
Wunlit (South Sudan) People-to-People peace conference
"As a person who had been involved in the 20th anniversary of the Wunlit Peace Conference, this book deeply moved me. Caroline should be proud of being part of this historical meeting. These rhetorics of war and peace continue to challenge us, and though the environment has changed politically, to say the least, there have been successes and failures, but South Sudan continues to seek peace." -- Machot A. Malou, Research Consultant with the Rift Valley Institute in South Sudan
"[R]eal, raw and truly a sacred story... Kurtz shares her personal vulnerability with readers, creating not just an intellectual exploration of cross-cultural differences, but rather a heart-wrenching witness of what it means to give one's whole life...not knowing whether one's hopes or intentions will be realized. I recommend her story to anyone willing to dive deep into their own heart to face the haunting challenges and contradictions of seeking to do God's will when there are no simple solutions." -- Rev Dr. Sue Hudson, The Presbyterian Outlook
"If you would like to get a better understanding of the complexities of a civil war, its destruction, human suffering, power struggles, peace restoration and reconciliation - this is one of the books to get your hands on." -- Woman Zone (South Africa)
"I have found the book hugely anthropological,
historical, cultural and Spiritual. It is an adventure compelled by the
love of God. "Today is Tomorrow" is indeed an incredible statement of
hope for all who would like to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans
12:12- Bishop Dr. Arkanjelo Wani Lemi, Former Presiding Bishop of Africa Inland Church, Former Chair of the South Sudan Council of Churches, Chair of the Technical Committee for establishment of the Truth, Reconciliation and Healing Commission "Caroline Kurtz has a gift for weaving her personal life struggles with
the threads of southern Sudanese life, where contestations produce
resilience and pain meets joy. My African friends who read Today Is
Tomorrow may wonder if such experiences of an American woman can be
real. My American friends who read this may wonder if such experiences
in Sudan can be anything but fiction. But knowing Caroline in America
and working side-by-side with her in Sudan, I can say that the realities
she describes with such sublime word pictures are all real. She is an
artistic wordsmith, and it was my privilege to have her as my right arm
at Wunlit where the people made their peace become real, mal mi
chum-chum, sweet peace, for a time." -- Bill Lowrey, Facilitator of
Wunlit (South Sudan) People-to-People peace conference
"As a person who had been involved in the 20th anniversary of the Wunlit Peace Conference, this book deeply moved me. Caroline should be proud of being part of this historical meeting. These rhetorics of war and peace continue to challenge us, and though the environment has changed politically, to say the least, there have been successes and failures, but South Sudan continues to seek peace." -- Machot A. Malou, Research Consultant with the Rift Valley Institute in South Sudan
"[R]eal, raw and truly a sacred story... Kurtz shares her personal vulnerability with readers, creating not just an intellectual exploration of cross-cultural differences, but rather a heart-wrenching witness of what it means to give one's whole life...not knowing whether one's hopes or intentions will be realized. I recommend her story to anyone willing to dive deep into their own heart to face the haunting challenges and contradictions of seeking to do God's will when there are no simple solutions." -- Rev Dr. Sue Hudson, The Presbyterian Outlook
"If you would like to get a better understanding of the complexities of a civil war, its destruction, human suffering, power struggles, peace restoration and reconciliation - this is one of the books to get your hands on." -- Woman Zone (South Africa)
About the Author
Caroline Kurtz lived in Ethiopia from ages 5-18. She returned to teach for six years in Addis Ababa. That story, including boarding school, three armed changes of government, and the shaping of her adventurous personality, is told in her first book, A Road Called Down on Both Sides: Growing up in America and Ethiopia. After her husband Mark died in 2013, Caroline started a nonprofit organization to bring solar energy and women's development to Maji, still beyond the grid, in the corner of Ethiopia where she grew up. Modern technology allows her to connect to staff in Maji from Portland, Oregon, where she lives. She travels to Ethiopia several times a year. See DevelopMaji.org and https: //carolinekurtzauthor.com/ for more information.