The many fictional voices of displaced children in Beautiful are inspired by youth Jaiya John has worked with over a lifetime. This second edition contains 8 NEW POEMS. Beautiful is much more than a source of inspiration. Its words reveal the majesty and vulnerability of all children. Beautiful is an empowerment anthem for youth, a resource for those who love, care for, and work with these purposeful souls. Child light shines through these pages, asserting the demand of our young for their dignity, while portraying their limitless power to heal, grow, and flourish. A poetic companion to Jaiya John's Reflection Pond, Beautiful is the kind of treasure we polish repeatedly, its truth seeping into our compassion. Struggle and triumph. Solitude and belonging. A journey of sunflowers toward the sun of selfhood. In these pages we find Beauty born.
Author Biography:
Dr. Jaiya John was born into foster care in New Mexico, and is an internationally recognized freedom worker, author, speaker, poet, and youth mentor. Jaiya is the founder of Soul Water Rising, a global rehumanizing mission that has donated thousands of Jaiya's books in support of social healing, and offers scholarships to displaced and vulnerable youth. Jaiya writes, narrates, and produces the I Will Read for You podcast, and is the founder of Freedom Project, a global initiative reviving traditional gathering and storytelling practices to fertilize social healing and liberation. He is a former professor of social psychology at Howard University, has authored numerous books, and has spoken to over a million people worldwide and audiences as large as several thousand, including national and international conferences, schools, Indigenous reservations and communities, prisons and detention centers, shelters, and colleges. Jaiya is a National Science Foundation fellow, and holds doctorate and master's degrees in social psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, with a focus on intergroup relations and identity development. As an undergraduate, he attended Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, and lived in Kathmandu, Nepal, where he studied Tibetan Holistic Medicine through independent research with Tibetan doctors.