Linda Sartor takes us behind the headlines. She hopes that her stories will inspire readers to confront fear, to follow their hearts, and to believe that ordinary people can ultimately undermine and reform the harsh imperial and economic systems that are too often accepted as a baseline reality when the nations of the world exercise power.

I came back from Afghanistan in 2011 with 70 pages of notes and no clarity about demanding US withdrawal.

In the wake of the 9-11 attacks in 2001, Linda Sartor was dismayed to see her country responding in ways that punish civilians in foreign lands, lending credibility to Al Qaeda's depiction of the US as an imperial state and an enemy of Islam.

For the next decade Linda engaged in self-styled citizen diplomacy, traveling to six war-torn countries to see for herself, and to do what she could to provide unarmed civilian protective support to locals in their efforts to attain peace and justice.

Besides Afghanistan, Linda traveled to Israel/Palestine, Iraq, Sri Lanka, Iran, and Bahrain with several different Peace and Justice organizations.