See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love

An urgent manifesto and a dramatic memoir of awakening, this is the story of revolutionary love.

“In a world stricken with fear and turmoil, Valarie Kaur shows us how to summon our deepest wisdom.” Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat Pray Love

How do we love in a time of rage? How do we fix a broken world while not breaking ourselves? Valarie Kaur — renowned Sikh activist, filmmaker, and civil rights lawyer — describes revolutionary love as the call of our time, a radical, joyful practice that extends in three directions: to others, to our opponents, and to ourselves. It enjoins us to see no stranger but instead look at others and say: You are part of me I do not yet know. Starting from that place of wonder, the world begins to change: It is a practice that can transform a relationship, a community, a culture, even a nation.

Kaur takes readers through her own riveting journey — as a brown girl growing up in California farmland finding her place in the world; as a young adult galvanized by the murders of Sikhs after 9/11; as a law student fighting injustices in American prisons and on Guantánamo Bay; as an activist working with communities recovering from xenophobic attacks; and as a woman trying to heal from her own experiences with police violence and sexual assault. Drawing from the wisdom of sages, scientists, and activists, Kaur reclaims love as an active, public, and revolutionary force that creates new possibilities for ourselves, our communities, and our world. See No Stranger helps us imagine new ways of being with each other — and with ourselves — so that together we can begin to build the world we want to see.

“A book of remarkable courage and deep insight...Kaur maps singularly personal experiences of suffering and shared collective agonies of inequality as she seeks to understand the terrain of our humanity.” Melissa Harris-Perry, Maya Angelou Presidential Chair at Wake Forest University

“Valarie Kaur is a prophetic voice of our generation. Her wisdom ignites and inspires me, lighting the way through the darkness. This book will do the same for you.” America Ferrera, actress, activist, organizer

“Inspirational, radical, fierce...a reliable moral compass guided by revolutionary love.” Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow

Valarie Kaur is a civil rights activist, lawyer, filmmaker, innovator, and founder of the Revolutionary Love Project. She has won national acclaim for her story-based advocacy, helping to win policy change on issues ranging from hate crimes to digital freedom. Her speeches have reached millions worldwide and inspired a movement to reclaim love as a force for justice. A daughter of Sikh farmers in California, she earned degrees from Stanford University, Harvard Divinity School, and Yale Law School and holds an honorary doctorate. She lives in a multigenerational home in Los Angeles with her husband, son, and daughter.