When it comes to issues concerning animals and the environment, most people have a hard time staying cool. But from the minute I heard Jane Goodall speak back in my freshman year of college, to the second I finished reading this book, I knew that I’d found a new role model…A gentle, contemplative, and fiercely intelligent role model.

It’s Jane Goodall’s calm, sensitive approach to effecting change that made her life extraordinary, and made Reason for Hope a pleasure to read. In this book she tells a story, woven with memories, lessons learned, and quiet introspection.

From her blissful youth overshadowed by World War II, to her peaceful days in Gombe surrounded by violence, Jane struggled to understand the sharp contrast between her life and those of others. Her compassion was not limited to people—it was amplified by her love of animals and appreciation for nature.

But you’ll never find Jane Goodall protesting on the streets. You’ll never find her raiding animal laboratories in the middle of the night and freeing its prisoners. Instead, you’ll see her chatting quietly with the “bad guys,” sharing her experiences in such a humble and non-threatening way that they don’t even realize how much it’s changed the way they see things. Jane has the ability to take a step back and analyze her observations logically without losing sight of or being overcome by the emotions that started it all. She writes:

“Real change will come only from within; laws and regulations are useful, but sadly easy to flout. So I keep the anger—which of course I feel—as hidden and controlled as possible. I try to reach gently into their hearts” (p. 270)

—Not that her story will resonate with everyone. Even I didn’t identify with some of her religious speculations, or the little poems scattered throughout the book. I was particularly put off by her call for a “moral society,” driven by her belief that “We will have to evolve, all of us, from ordinary, everyday human beings—into saints! Ordinary people, like you and me, will have to become saints, or at least mini-saints…” (p. 200). It’s not that I don’t believe it’s possible…I just don’t think turning 6 billion people into saints is the most effective way to go about doing things.

Then again, what I appreciate most about Jane Goodall is her approach, and not necessarily the beliefs that underlie them. In dealing with issues that are so often drenched with emotions, Jane Goodall remains an example of how to handle things both gracefully and objectively. This is something we could all stand to learn.

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