We Can Be Brave: How We Learn To Be Brave in Life’s Decisive Moments

Gr 6 Up–In this young-readers adaptation of her How We Learn To Be Brave, Budde delves into how bravery manifests in life’s decisive moments when we are faced with a call to action or inaction, as the case may be. Bishop Budde’s relationship with God guides her exploration of courage, but even the spirituality-adverse can glean some very practical guidance and reassurance in these turbulent times. With Generation Alpha floundering in the depths of weaponized rhetoric and propaganda, Bishop Budde offers a welcome counternarrative that is merciful, inclusive, and compassionate. She ruminates on the unifying aspects of shared faith and morality in a way that is seldom represented in the present-day American ethos. Each chapter’s exploration of bravery is its own seamlessly interwoven fabric of Budde’s personal journey to bishop of the Episcopal Church of Washington D.C., Biblical parables, and crucial moments of historic change-makers, such as Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall, and Madeline Albright. Budde’s language is surgically precise in its accessibility and impact, and the quality of the text is enhanced by “Learn About It” asides and thorough bibliographic notes.