Signs of Hope: In Praise of Ordinary Heroes: Selections from Hope Magazine - Hardcover

Several years ago, Jon Wilson, editor of acclaimed WoodenBoat magazine, decided he'd had enough of the constant barrage of violence and misery in the media. His answer was the magazine Hope, dedicated to stories by and about uncelebrated people who make a positive difference in their communities and the world.

Signs of Hope gathers the best of that journal, and restores our faith in the power of individual acts. For instance: a widow writes about the death of her husband and her struggle to endure; a counselor describes the transformative power of summer camp for children with a fatal blood disease; a psychologist discovers the vital human beings behind his patients' diagnoses; a father reveals what his newborn daughter taught him about men, women, and family. This is a collection to remind us of our common humanity and our capacity to give and to love. The magazine Hope is the winner of Utne Reader's 9th Annual Alternative Press Award and was named one of the "10 Best Magazines" by Library Journal.

Jon Wilson grew up under the heady influence of the ocean's forces and fragrances on the Rhode Island and Connecticut shores. Taking more naturally to New England's saltwater traditions than its academic ones, he became a carpenter and builder of wooden boats before launching WoodenBoat magazine from a cabin in Maine in 1974. In the wake of that magazine's international success and influence, Wilson sensed an opportunity to create a new magazine that could further thinking and dialog on the deeply human and personal aspects of challenging individual and social issues. He began working on ideas for Hope magazine in 1994, and launched the magazine in early 1996. He is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Hope.