The Hungry Heart: A Woman's Fast for Justice

By Zoe Nicholson

Zoe Nicholson's The Hungry Heart is her intimate daily diary of her 1982 fast for the Equal Rights Amendment, including 50 photos. Joining with 6 women, traveling to Springfield, Illinois, living on... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0972392831
• ISBN13: 9780972392839
• Release Date: August 2004
• Publisher: Lune Soleil Press
• Length: 162 Pages
• Weight: 3.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

An Honest Memoir For The Cause Of Justice

For many non-Americans and perhaps even Americans, the words Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) are meaningless. Consequently, in order to fully appreciate Zoe Ann Nicholson's memoir, The Hungary Heart,A Woman's Fast For Justice, it is necessary to understand what this legislation is all about. Suffragist Alice Paul in 1921 drafted the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and it had been introduced into the US Congress in 1923. The proposed law had 3 basic sections: Section 1- stated "that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United State or any state on account of sex": Section 2-stated-"the congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article": Section 3- stated- "this amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification": The legislation seems simple enough and on face value it would appear that its passage would not be too difficult. However, such was not the case, and it was not until 1972, when the Congress of the USA finally passed it. However, it needed ratification endorsement by at least 38 states before it would become the law of the land. Furthermore, a deadline was placed on its ratification, June 30, 1982. There were thirty- five states that had ratified the legislation, leaving 3 states short of the required 38. One of these states was Illinois, where Nicholson's story and her titanic struggle transpired. Nicholson was one of seven women, who assembled in the rotunda of the Illinois Statehouse in Springfield in May and June of 1982, and fasted only on water for 37 days. Their objective was to persuade the legislators and Americans that the equal-rights amendment must become part of the Constitution. Illinois was chosen because this state required a 3/5, rather than a majority for ratification. In the words of the author, she was a "satyagrahi." or an advocate of the philosophy of non-violence resistance, as practiced by Mahatma Gandhi, who had forced an end to the British Rule. When asked by reporters why was she fasting, Nicholson explained that this is the first time where she was putting her body and heart in the same place with the same intensity, and where she was not doing something useless or meaningless. Throughout the memoirs we sense frustration on the part of these seven women as to why they had not witnessed from others the same rage and hunger for justice as theirs. Nicholson wanted to know what was holding back these individuals from showing their repulsion of a constitution that does not explicitly state that all human beings are equal under the law? Perhaps, as the author points out, that a law cannot be legislated unless its "essence unfolds within the human heart." Upon reflecting on Nicholson's memoir, I could not help reminding myself of the well-known saying of the famous Pharisee, Rabbi Hillel, who stated: "If I am for myself, who is for me? And if I am for myself only, what am I? And if not now, when." Perhaps,

Strength and self-respect unfold clearly within the pages

The Hungry Heart: A Woman's Fast For Justice is the personal story of Zoe Ann Nicholson. Twenty-two years after the fact, she speaks of the summer of 1982 when she joined six women in a fast to support the Equal Rights Amendment. Traveling to Illinois to gather support for ratification of the ERA, her firsthand experiences with the U.S. women's movement, the NOW leadership, and the legislators of the day are put forth in sweeping, unforgettable, personal terms, taken from own journal of her experience. For over thirty days, she subsisted on nothing but water, putting her body on the line for the sake of her beliefs. The experience transformed her, teaching her more about what she could live with and live without. Her revelations and message of strength and self-respect unfold clearly within the pages.

Passionate and Moving

The Hungry Heart is now one of my favorite books about the women's movement. It is a passionate and moving account of Zoe Ann Nicholson's Fast for Justice during the struggle for the Equal Rights Amendment. From the first page to the last, Nicholson shares her most intimate thoughts and experiences during her non-violent resistance to social injustice. She draws you into her incredible personal journey of passion, sacrifice and sisterhood, and reveals her spiritual transformation along the way. Just try and put this book down - I couldn't! You will laugh, you will cry, and your heart will be touched.