A Thousand Sisters by Lisa Shannon

Lisa Shannon was living a successful life in Portland with her business partner/significant other, Ted. One day, she happened to catch an Oprah episode on the plight of women in Congo who are being raped, tortured, and killed in unbelievable numbers in a power struggle that has gone on for over 10 years. Shannon feels a compelling need to help. She begins by raising money and eventually goes to Congo to see for herself what life is really like in that beautiful yet dangerous land. A Thousand Sisters is the story of her journey.

At times in the book, Shannon seems overwhelmed by what she has taken on. And she wonders whether she's really even making a difference. But as she goes through the individual stories, you can see that she and her organization really are changing for the better the lives of some of her "sisters." I loved the inclusion of photos she took while in Congo so we can "meet" some of the people she talks about. An inspirational story.