An Evening with Paola Gianturco

Meeting Paola Gianturco

What a privilege it was to meet author, photojournalist Paola Gianturco who presented her latest book, Women Who Light the Dark. Paola came to The Third Place in Los Altos on Tuesday, May 18th. Her current book (on the right in photo) features her powerful and heartwarming stories of women in fifteen different countries she had visited. This is Paola’s fourth book documenting the lives of women around the world. She will be giving 100% of her author royalties for this book to The Global Fund for Women, which advocates for and defends women’s human rights by making grants to support women-run groups around the world. Learn more about Paola and her amazing work here.

I purchased her book, Women Who Light the Dark for my mother-in-law, Arlene. For anyone who knows her, it’s perfect. She is bright, active, and loves to travel the world. She is respectful and so accepting of life journeys. If anyone can “light the dark”, it’s Arlene. (Photo below with her granddaughter, my daughter, Allison.)

Arlene and Allison 2009

I also purchased Viva Colores!: A Salute to the Indomitable People of Guatemala for Maritere, my father-in-law Yates’ wife. Mari is a lovely woman. She, like Arlene, is a world traveler. Mari is a voracious reader and trilingual (Spanish, English and Italian). When she’s not busy working, you’ll find her doing translation work or consumed in learning anything and everything!

Yates & Mari, Christmas 2009

I invite you to acknowledge those women in your own life who are role models and carry their own light within. I just did.