Mariane Pearl didn’t ask for global fame and notoriety. She was only vaguely aware of who Angelina Jolie was before the latter played her on the big screen. And her career in journalism as a freelance reporter and radio commentator was doing quite well on its own before that fateful day in January of 2002 when her husband, Daniel, disappeared. Only days later, when news of his kidnapping hit the wires, her name and face were splashed on newspapers, magazines and television screens around the world.
Who could blame her if she had chosen to simply disappear into the shadows after Daniel’s awful, public death? She was five months pregnant at the time with their first child, a son, and not only did she have to deal with her private grief but with the crushing public attention as well.
What most people will remember about Mariane, however, isn’t that La Jolie played her, but rather just how calm, measured, and self-possessed she appeared, even as her world was fast collapsing around her. She didn’t have to face us, the photographers, the nosy journalists, and the onslaught of media attention that threatened to overwhelm her. She could have simply released a statement and then fled to seclusion in Paris (where she was born and now currently lives) or the French countryside or even Cuba, the homeland of her mother’s family.
Instead, however, she not only chose to put on a brave front for the curious world, but she actually exuded a very real courage that was nothing short of astounding. She condemned the evil men who killed her husband but refused to succumb to the temptation that has seduced so many of us to paint a broad brush of hatred against an entire religion and people because of the terrible actions of a few. And she went on to honor her husband’s legacy by pursuing a vocation that would blend their shared love of writing and reporting with a keen understanding of, and sympathy for the silent majority who cling to hope in the darkest corners of the world.
From 2006 to 2008 Mariane Pearl wrote a series of monthly columns for Glamour magazine titled “Global Diaries.” Each essay featured a woman making a difference in her community: a journalist fighting to expose a pedophile ring in Cancun, Mexico; a former sex slave in Cambodia who runs an aid organization that rescues women and girls trapped in brothels; an activist in Vieques, Puerto Rico, who spearheaded the efforts to banish the U.S. military — which had been using the island as a weapons testing site — from the area; a doctor in Uganda who works tirelessly to educate people about AIDS and provide them with the kind of medical care that is so badly needed on the continent; and many, many, many more.
In Search of Hope
In Search of Hope is a gorgeous book worthy of placement on anyone’s coffee table, but make no mistake: this is not always an easy book to read. Mariane’s writing reflects her sharp eye for detail and her sympathy for her subjects, but she’s a journalist first and foremost and is clear-eyed and thoughtful as she explores the precarious situations that make up the lives of many of these women. Some, like Lydia Cacho, the aforementioned Mexican journalist, is hounded by death threats, which obviously affects Mariane’s own movements in the country.
The book actually opens with the essay about Somaly Mam, the Cambodian activist, and it’s a gripping, emotionally wrenching story that I consider one of the best in a book full of memorable stories. It’s the kind of story that might cause the reader to stop, close the book, lean back, and weep. It’s the kind of story that might make you wonder if there really is a God, and if so, why he’s being so damn cruel.
But then, you remember the title: In Search of Hope. Mariane knows as much as anyone what it’s like to be on the brink of despair, to wish only for the world to go dark and swallow us all into silence. But rather than doing so, she chose instead to believe in her fellow human beings, and especially her sisters, in the global fight against even the most egregious injustices. She uses this book as her answer to the question we often ask ourselves, “What can I possibly do?” whenever we are confronted with what seems to be a world devoid of hope and humanity. Her answer: Anything you can, but most of all never, ever lose hope. Not in yourself, and not in your neighbors, friends, and even strangers.
I wish I could give a copy to everyone I know, but in the meantime, I urge you to buy a copy of In Search of Hope
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