A new collection of inspiring personal philosophies from another noteworthy group of peopleThis second collection of This I Believe essays gathers seventyfive essayists-ranging from famous to previously unknown-completing the thought that begins the book's title. With contributors who run the gamut from cellist Yo-Yo Ma to ordinary folks like a diner waitress, an Iraq War veteran, a farmer, a new husband, and many others, This I Believe II, like the first New York Times bestselling collection, showcases moving and irresistible essays.Included are Sister Helen Prejean writing about learning what she truly believes through watching her own actions, singer Jimmie Dale Gilmore writing about a hard-won wisdom based on being generous to others, and Robert Fulghum writing about dancing all the dances for as long as he can. Readers will also find wonderful and surprising essays about forgiveness, personal integrity, and honoring life and change.Here is a welcome, stirring, and provocative communion with the minds and hearts of a diverse, new group of people-whose beliefs and the remarkably varied ways in which they choose to express them reveal the American spirit at its best.

ContentsIntroductionJAY ALLISON Finding the Strength to Fight Our Fears TERRY AHWAL I Will Take My Voice Back QUIQUE AVILES A Silent Night That Brought Healing STEVE BANKO Living with Integrity BOB BARRET The Strange Blessing That Brought Me Home ROBIN BAUDIER Returning to What's Natural AMELIA BAXTER-STOLTZFUS The Right to Be Fully American YASIR BILLOO The Person I'm Supposed to Be ANDY BLOWERS Making It Up as I Go Along ALICE BROCK Sticking My Nose in the World's Business BRIGID DAULL BROCKWAYTeaching a Bad Dog New Tricks DAVID BUETOW The Learning Curve of Gratitude MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER Failure Is a Good Thing JON CARROLL The Faith That Brings Me Peace BETSY CHALMERS The Person I Want to Bring into This World LAURA SHIPLER CHICO The Deeper Well of Memory CHRISTINE CLEARY A Marriage That's Good Enough CORINNE COLBERT Creating Our Own Happiness WAYNE COYNE A Way to Honor Life CORTNEY DAVIS We Never Go Away DENNIS DOWNEY The Questions We Must Ask TAMAR DUKE-COHAN Learning True Tolerance JOEL ENGARDIO Doing Things My Own Way BELA FLECK Dancing All the Dances as Long as I Can ROBERT FULGHUMA Reverence for All Life MICHELLE GARDNER-QUINN A Feeling of Wildness DAVID GESSNER All the Joy the World Contains JIMMIE DALE GILMORE As I Grow Old DAVID GREENBERGER Untold Stories of Kindness ERNESTO HAIBI Peace Begins with One Person IVORY HARLOW Do What You Love TONY HAWK Combating the Tyranny of the Positive Attitude BARBARA HELD My Husband Will Call Me Tomorrow BECKY HERZ The Tense Middle ROALD HOFFMANN Living in the Here and Now JEFFREY HOLLENDER Inner Strength from Desperate Times JAKE HOVENDEN Becoming a Parent Is a Gift CHRIS HUNTINGTON Finding Redemption Through Acceptance INTERROGATOR Paying Attention to the Silver Lining ANNALIESE JAKIMIDES There Is No Blame; There Is Only Love ANN KARASINSKI The Universe Is Conspiring to Help Us KEVIN KELLY We All Need Mending SUSAN COOKE KITTREDGE Telling Kids the Whole Truth MARTHA LEATHE Every Person Is Precious ISABEL LEGARDA Navigating Turbulent Waters JIMMY LIAO All Beings Are Interconnected JAMES LONEY A Musician of Many Cultures YO-YO MA Being Content with Myself KAMAAL MAJEED Be Cool CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE That Old Piece of Cloth FRANK MILLER My Home Is New Orleans MIKE MILLER That Golden Rule Thing CRAIG NEWMARK My Personal Leap of Faith BILL NUNAN Admittance to a Better Life MICHAEL OATMAN Living What You Do Every Day YOLANDA O'BANNON The Long Road to Forgiveness KIM PHUC The Practice of Slowing Down PHIL POWERS Living My Prayer SISTER HELEN PREJEAN The Chance to Move Forward MARIA MAYO ROBBINS Utterly Humbled by Mystery FATHER RICHARD ROHR I Always Have a Choice CATHERINE ROYCE I Am Not My Body LISA SANDIN Resilience Is a Gift JOEL SCHMIDT The Designated Celebrator MELINDA SHOAF Baking by Senses and Memories EMILY SMITH Learning to Trust My Intuition CYNTHIA SOMMER An Optimistic View of the World DAN TANI Community in Action STUDS TERKEL Music Makes Me Come Alive JOAN TOWER God Is God Because He Remembers ELIE WIESEL The Guts to Keep Going AMY LYLES WILSON Freeing Myself Through Forgiveness YOLANDA YOUNG A Potential for Brutality YINONG YOUNG-XU A Duty to Family, Heritage, and Country YING YING YU We're All Different in Our Own Ways JOSHUA YUCHASZ Afterword DAN GEDIMAN APPENDIX A: How to Write Your Own This I Believe Essay APPENDIX B: How to Use This I Believe in Your Community Acknowledgments Reading Group Guide