My Life Is Art, Emmanuel Jal
My Life Is Art, Emmanuel Jal
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My Life Is Art
11 Pillars for a Positive and Purposeful Life

Author: Emmanuel Jal

Narrator: Emmanuel Jal

Unabridged: 12 hr 50 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Ascent Audio

Published: 12/26/2023


Synopsis

Drawing on lessons from his remarkable life, former child soldier turned activist, author, entrepreneur, and international recording artist Emmanuel Jal provides his eleven pillars for overcoming adversity and living a life of purpose

"Who owns your mind?" Beginning with this provocative question, Emmanuel Jal invites listeners to claim ownership over the narratives that define their lives in order to become a force for good in the world.

As a child growing up in South Sudan, Jal witnessed atrocities perpetrated against his family and community. These actions drove him to become a child soldier in a vicious civil war. Hunger, isolation, and the ever-present specter of death in battle attended his every moment. Yet his greatest challenge did not come from outside; it arose from within, from the corrosive nature of hopelessness, trauma, and narratives of victimization. Rather than succumb to these forces of negativity, Jal turned his life's challenges into opportunities by utilizing a comprehensive framework he developed around eleven pillars of support. These pillars can be utilized individually or as a unit to help build a durable internal structure that allows anyone to overcome adversity, regain joy and gratitude, and live a life of purpose that enriches the greater community.

About Emmanuel Jal

EMMANUEL JAL lives in London. His music has been featured in the movie Blood Diamond, the documentary God Grew Tired of Us, and in three episodes of ER. He is a spokesman for Amnesty International and Oxfam, and has done work for Save the Children, UNICEF, World Food Programme, Christian Aid, and other charities, and has established his own charitable foundation, Gua Africa, to help former Sudanese child soldiers. He has been featured in Time Magazine, USA Today, the Washington Post, Newsweek.com, and on NPR, CNN, Fox, MTV, and the BBC. A documentary about Jal’s life, also called War Child, premiered to acclaim at the February 2008 Berlin Film Festival and the April 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. His first U.S. album War Child was released in May 2008.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Laura on February 13, 2024

DNF at 47% of the audiobook, probably would have stopped sooner if reading the text. This guy has been through a LOT and the fact that he has healed so much and is working to spread healing to others is wonderful, but this book is a bit too tedious for me. He tells so many stories that the principle......more

Goodreads review by Dave G on January 19, 2024

Thanks to the author and publisher for the giveaway. This is part memoir and part self help book. I give the memoir portion a rating of a four and the self help portion a three. Jal’s life is extremely compelling. A tragic yet exciting story of a boy soldier turned author, activist and artist. The s......more

Goodreads review by Markie on April 21, 2024

What makes his book so great is that it comes from a figure who has experienced trauma and extreme violence. And yet he has gone through a self discovery journey. He is positive has faith and a mission statement. He is also a very great writer, and does excellent job at motivating people to live the......more