"A testament to how deeply we need the power and vision and energy of young women to transform the world."--Eve Ensler Rachel Corrie's determination to make a better, more peaceful world took her from Olympia, Washington, to the Middle East, where she died in 2003 as she tried to block the demolition of a Palestinian family's home in the Gaza Strip. A twenty-three-year-old American activist, Corrie also possessed a striking gift for poetry, writing, and drawing. Let Me Stand Alone , a selection of her journals, letters, and drawings as chosen by her family, reveals her story in her own hand, from her precocious reflections as a young girl to her final emails. Corrie's words--whether writing about the looming issues of our time or the ordinary angst of an American teen--bring to life all that it means to come of age: a dawning sense of self, a thirst for one's own ideals, and an evolving connection to others, near and far. 35 illustrations