By: Cindy Sheehan
Cindy is the mother of US Army Specialist Casey Sheehan, a Humvee mechanic who was killed in Iraq in 2004 by a bullet to his head. Casey was 24 years old, and had been in Iraq for only five days. "Peace Mom" is Cindy's heartfelt story of her conversion from "apathetic, ignorant, materialistic and TV-logged" wife and mother of four before Casey's death to internationally-feted anti-war activist. "Peace Mom" is the classic and yet, ancient, account of a plain-spoken, naive, single-minded crusader who, spurred by an event, arose from the common masses to fill a desperate void in leadership.
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"Writing this book is the second most difficult thing I have ever done, next to burying Casey."
On April 4, 2004, Cindy Sheehan learned that Casey, the eldest of her four children, had been killed in Iraq, where he was serving in the United States Army. After struggling through crippling grief for three weeks, she came to an epiphany: "I will spend my life trying to make Casey's sacrifice count for peace and love, not killing and hate."
From Deborah White: Peace Mom is the heartfelt and profoundly moving story of Cindy's journey to activism. She recounts the dark days following Casey's death, when it seemed her life would never have meaning again. She tells of her June 2004 meeting with President Bush, and how that encounter ultimately set her on a path that would take her to hearings in the Capitol, test old friendships and family ties, and culminate outside Crawford, Texas, in a monthlong peace action that would draw thousands of supporters and worldwide attention.
Here are the stories Cindy has never shared before about her own experiences at the center of a media firestorm, the life-altering events that were sparked by her simple act of defiance one hot August day in Texas. Going behind the headlines and sound bites, Cindy writes candidly about the toll her activism has taken on her own life and her family, as well the unforeseen rewards her quest for peace has brought. Through days of rage, despair, laughter, and tears, Cindy has found ways to celebrate the life of her son Casey and give meaning to his death. Her story points the way to a future of peace and justice for the world and for our children.
Praise for "Peace Mom"
"Heartrending and powerful, Peace Mom is at once an honest account of one woman's triumph over loss and a clarion call to all those who wonder if they can make a difference." - Jämför Resebyråer
"Cindy Sheehan is a witness in the great tradition of Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Harriet Tubman." - Rev. Jesse Jackson
Read an excerpt: http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/blogs/voices.php/2006/10/13/close_encounters_of_the_bush_kind
"What I am is a devastated, broken-hearted mother who will mourn the needless death of my son for the rest of my life. I just want the killing to stop before there are any more American or Iraqi Casey and Cindy Sheehans."
The first chapters provide vital context for the rest of the book by telling of early life in the Sheehan home: the birth and growing-up of four children, Cindy's seven years as a youth leader at a local Catholic parish, and much about Casey, the person and son.
As a mother, one of the more emotional chapters for me was "April 4, 2004," which was the day Casey was killed. Ever excruciatingly authentic, Cindy describes the heart-wrenching moment when she returns from walking the family dog to find the "Army's Angels of Death" in her living room, as well as the following days and weeks.
Meetings with John McCain, George Bush and Hillary Clinton
The more intriguing anecdotes of Cindy's book involve the hallow condolences and callous treatment from government officials and agencies after Casey's demise, from "letters from George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld that were signed by machines" to several startling meetings with Senator John McCain and President George W. Bush.
Two McCain meetings, one with President Bush, as well as a later meeting with Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Harry Reid, but suffice to say, since absolutely no one is threatening to sue Cindy over the facts, these revealing moments alone are worth the price of Cindy's 242-page book.
Cindy tells it like it is. No holds barred. That's her beauty as a reformer and activist. And that's why her unbridled honesty scares so many. Love her or hate her... she's telling the truth
Before Casey's death, Cindy held a vague awareness that the Iraq War was "immoral and illegal." Enflamed with grief and fury, newly fired from a government job and "addicted to the internet," Cindy reached out to others, and starting taking a public stand on the war.
Despite various conservative conspiracy theories, the Camp Casey encampment outside President Bush's Texas ranch in August 2005 was an unplanned event that captured the imagination of the world. During its remarkable 26 days, Camp Casey attracted 15,000 Americans, including many celebrities and public figures, who spontaneously came to be part of Cindy's protest against the Iraq War.
The stories of the inner machinations of Camp Casey are full of magic moments of solidarity, purpose and generosity under the sizzling Texas sun and during music-rich starlit nights, and laced with the usual growing pains, jealousies and conflicts of any partisan organization.
"Peace Mom" is a scorchingly forthright and subjective first-person account of one shattered mother's awakening to the illegality of the Iraq War, her journey along the way to celebrated anti-war activist, and the high personal prices she's paid for her crusade... but this is not high-brow literature. It's a quick read, and to my regret, includes no photos.
It contains loads of Cindy's opinions, much like a partisan blog, and includes controversial comments about Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, John Kerry, Hillary Clinton and more, and expresses admiration for many other Democratic leaders, including Rep. John Murtha and Senator Ted Kennedy.
Like so many Americans, Cindy Sheehan seethes with hatred toward George Bush. She writes in the last chapter:
"George is the only president ever who had admitted to crimes while in office, and he sits in his desk chair in the Oval Office, free to commit even more crimes. If a prez can be impeached for a blow job, why can't one be impeached for lying to the country and for committing crimes against humanity?"
If you find that statement to be infuriating, unpatriotic or uncomfortable, then "Peace Mom" may not be the book you want to read. But, in my opinion, it's the book you should read.
Some will be very disturbed Cindy's revelations and viewpoints. Expect conservatives and some centrist Democrats to scream loudly over it. It is the thoroughly subjective, thoroughly fascinating story of Cindy Sheehan, grieving mother and anti-war activist.
BUZZFLASH REVIEWS
Cindy Sheehan has traveled a great distance since April 4, 2004. In two short years she rose from relative obscurity, following the death of her son, Casey (KIA while serving in Iraq), to national attention as a symbol and voice of the growing peace movement. But, she admits, it might not have happened had one man simply opened his door to her:
"The most ironic aspect of Camp Casey was that it wouldn't have happened at all if George had met with me that first day. George is the one who really sparked the peace movement by his thoughtless and imprudent inaction in August."
Pilloried by the right-wing and attacked by those who misunderstand her motivations, Cindy exudes a quiet strength that frightens her foes (and, we imagine, George Bush) and energizes her supporters. In a recent online Q&A sponsored by the Washington Post web site, Cindy educates an ill-informed antagonist about protesting in a democracy: "Being against the government and being against the war is not being against America." She has become, in a short period of time, an important voice in the peace movement.
Her new book, Peace Mom: A Mother's Journey through Heartache to Activism, charts that rapid growth as a mother and an activist. "This book is a celebration of Casey's extraordinary life," she writes in the foreword. "This book is also an odyssey of one mom's journey from a place of pure pain to one of pain that is also infused with joy and hope. This is my story of how one person can, should, and must make a difference."
Anyone interested in making the world a better place for everyone (not just themselves, as Bush's supporters seem to be inclined) and wonders how they can "make a difference" can learn from Cindy's journey. What will it take to move you from inaction to action? When will you go from spending the weekend on the couch to spending a weekend protesting war, racism, incompetence, greed, or hatred? What will be your catalyst? For Cindy, it was her son's death and George Bush's insensitivity to the deaths that result from the Bush administration's decisions.
But, what we can learn from Cindy's book is not that we have to lose a family member to find our activism, but that she, like most of us, are regular, everyday people and that the road to activism doesn't have to be arduous or long. We're moms, dads, sons and daughters, doing regular mom, dad, son and daughter things. Moving from being regular to being an activist merely means opening your eyes and ears to the world around you and deciding to get off the couch and become part of the solution.
As Cindy recounts, the information is out there, you just have to be willing and ready to receive it:
"I'd never heard of the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) until after my son was killed for its agenda....
"I did not know that when George Bush was still governor of Texas, he was telling his biographer that he wanted to be a 'great war president'...
"I didn't know that George Bush had been handed a daily intelligence briefing that specifically warned about an airplane attack in America ...
"What action would I have taken if I had informed myself and been aware of my surroundings? What would I have done if I knew all of the things then that I know now?"
Casey's death was the catalyst for Cindy to question those things that motivated her life, but it is her desire to be a better citizen, to rectify her inaction prior to Casey's death, and to help bring a lasting peace to our world that motivates her activism.
BuzzFlash first interviewed Cindy in October, 2004, following the airing of the Real Voices ad that ran during the run-up to the election that year. We have since published many of her articles and commentaries. As she states in an upcoming interview with BuzzFlash, she's not an "anti-war activist," but a "peace activist": "We had an anti-war movement in Vietnam, and when the war was over, the movement died. And I'm hoping that I will still be relevant to the peace movement, not just now during the regime of George Bush and during the occupation of Iraq, but afterwards, through the Camp Casey Peace Institute, to really advocate for true and lasting peace."
Cindy recounts in the book that she was told her son volunteered. But, as she found out later, often soldiers are involuntarily made to volunteer so that if they are killed, they can be labeled "heroes."
Heroes are not created on battlefields. They are created in homes, in towns large and small, by loving families who want only the best for their children.
Victims and martyrs are created by the war machine that only wants our heroes for profit.
I wish I'd know that before Casey was killed -- but I also wish that I didn't have to know it now.
We can learn a lot from Cindy's journey. Hopefully, it might be the catalyst that gives you the motivation to make the world a better place.
