I was leery about accepting a copy of One Can Make A Difference, edited by Ingrid E. Newkirk, the co-founder of PETA. I remember very clearly the first time I received PETA literature in high school and it completely freaked me out. While I don’t agree with harming animals unnecessarily, I don’t agree with making people unwittingly look at mutilated bunnies just because they open up an envelope, either. That was the first and last piece of mail and, later down the road, email that I opened from that organization. Lauren at Meryl L. Moss Media Relations, Inc. convinced me that this would be a good book and I’m glad that I followed her advice. One Can Make A Difference provides a great look at ways in people turn their passions into service.

This book starts with something as simple as learning to be comfortable in your own skin in order to serve as an example to others and ends with developing long term solutions for housing Native Americans. There are so many other interesting ideas brought forth within this book. I can’t say that they all spoke to me, but the key is to find something that sparks a passion in your heart. From there will come your inspiration to change the world, even if that world is just one person. I enjoyed the stories written by people whose service to others is well know, such as The Dalai Lama and Paul McCartney and by those who fly under my radar, such as Sean Austen, Oliver Stone, and Kevin Bacon. Best of all, not everyone featured was a celebrity. I got to meet Dana Hork and Anita Smith.

This book is structured such that each individual’s story opens with some brief biographical information about that person and his or her road to service. As much as I enjoyed the individual stories, I appreciated the biographical information equally. For example, I would have been completely lost in the very first story about Barbara (Bobbie) Adams. She is the woman who wore her Star Trek uniform to jury duty in Little Rock, AR. Without that information, I couldn’t have brought this woman to mind. While it may be easy to brush her off as a Trekkie, I was really inspired by her story. Her ideals may not be mine, but her strength of character and dedication to her convictions is both inspirational and admirable. I also found it nice that this book was organized in alphabetical order by the individual’s last name. Doing so put the emphasis on what the person was trying to accomplish, not who the individual is. Finally, there is source and, when appropriate, contact information for each of the individuals.

This will most definitely be my graduation gift from this point forward. Living a life of service, however one may find it – in a career, during one’s spare time, through one’s charitable giving, or as a result of one’s interests and passion – is one’s most important legacy. Reading this book is to discover how each person can honestly and creatively make a difference.

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