Seattle - October 13, 2008

Shelf Life

“I Live Here,” by Mia Kirshner

That’s life, right, Frankie? You’re riding high in April, shot down in May.

Only we’re not all back on top come June.

I Live Here combines Mia Kirshner’s travel journals with writings by author J.B. MacKinnon and Adbusters creatives Paul Shoebridge and Michael Simons to create a book — really four artistic journals — chronicling true stories of displaced peoples from different corners of the world.

A story of Chechen women is underscored by cartoon journalist Joe Sacco’s drawings. Artist Kamel Khelif illustrates interviews with Burmese sex workers. A tale of missing Mexican women is made more harrowing when told by the mother of a young girl. And AIDS takes on the youthful face of orphans in Malawi.

Reading these stories benefits Amnesty International and makes your own plight seem pretty slight.

After all, you can just pick yourself up and get back in your place.

Available tomorrow online at amazon.com or at your local bookstore. For more information, go to i-live-here.com.