1. An invitation from a friend to join her at NY Times columnist and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Nicholas Kristof’s talk with his wife (and fellow Pulitzer winner) Sheryl WuDunn tonight
2. Just a few weeks ago, I read this column, which brought me to tears
3. It was truly an honor to see and hear him, and he and his wife balanced each other perfectly in their discussions on China
4. My friend and I met for coffee beforehand, then joining two others for dinner, where we talked (extensively) about grief, spurred by my recent post (I knew it would be controversial, but didn’t know to what degree!)
5. My friend wondered aloud how Kristoff deals with grief- after all the reporting he does on women who are treated deplorably around the world
6. After his talk, her incredible powers of persuasion and extroverted-ness got our party of four backstage to join another group that had a private audience with him
7. And someone asked him how he deals with grief! We hung on every word…
8. He said, it’s heartbreaking- and that’s why he and his wife write about it so extensively and take steps to inform the public- so they can motivate others to help, too
9. Which I thought was an incredibly present and forward-thinking answer
10. “You don’t need to invade a place or install a new government to help bring about a positive change.” -Nicholas D. Kristof
“Just a little help, a small security force, a bit of food, can save lives.” -Nicholas D. Kristof
How awesome that you could experience the talk of Nicholas Kristof and his wife…and then have a private audience with them. And what timing that he offered his thoughts about grief when you had just expounded on that subject in your CSW. Another, and one of many, interesting, fascinating, and privileged life experiences.
Blessings…