Let Me Stand Alone

February 18, 2008
In 2003, while attempting to block the demolition of a Palestinian family's home in the Gaza Strip, 23-year-old American Rachel Corrie was killed by an armored Caterpillar D-9 bulldozer operated by a member of the Israel Defense Forces. This collection of her journal entries opens a window on the maturation of a young woman seeking to make the world a better place through social activism. The essays, poetry and drawings reveal Corrie going through the routine pangs of growing up, the development of her social consciousness and her love of language. Two events broadened Corrie's perspective beyond her childhood home of Olympia, Wash. A 1995 student exchange trip to Russia and the repercussions of 9/11 were formative events accelerating her desire to help those she felt were harmed by U. S foreign policy. Following Corrie's death, the British newspaper the Guardian
published her e-mail accounts of what she'd witnessed in Gaza. This collection of essays, while uneven, contains thought-provoking ideas.

Narrator Tavia Gilbert captures every facet of Rachel Corrie's journey from middle school in Olympia, Washington, to her death at 23 beneath a bulldozer blade in Palestine. Rachel's parents released this collection of their daughter's poems and journal entries to fulfill her wish to be a published author and to let the world know her for more than her tragic death. The family's poignant introduction is movingly presented in Edward Asner's deep tones and measured delivery. From the adolescent's wonder at life to the young adult's tears of anger and frustration at the world's injustices, Gilbert's talented shadings of tone and intensity convey all the passion and talent of this remarkable young woman. Rachel gives us herself through her words; Tavia Gilbert gives us her voice. M.O.B. (c) AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine