Everybody, Always

February 26, 2018
Goff—founder of Love Does, an NGO that provides educational services to children in conflict zones—laces together lively accounts of his casual and intimate interactions with people all over the world in this primer on becoming the essence of love. To Goff, “becoming love” is a central principle that directs his actions and service toward others. “People who are becoming love see the beauty in others even when their off-putting behavior makes for a pretty weird mask,” he says. Goff writes of his neighbor Carol, who, after she developed cancer, started chatting with him on a walkie-talkie each day to help her cope with her fears; an airport employee (Goff is also a pilot) whom he has helped with adoptions; and the Yazidi children he teaches in Northern Iraq. Readers will laugh at Goff’s antics and musings amid his tireless work on behalf of others (“We agreed if Sweet Maria ever decides to leave me, she has to take me with her,” he writes of his wife while describing the rocky start to their marriage), and skydiving trips with his son between welcome parties for refugees whom he helps to settle within the U.S. The remarkable breadth of Goff’s experiences and humility of his approach will help his call for becoming love resonate with readers.