You might not expect the autobiography of a Liberian political activist to be a page-turner, but it is one—and that’s because Leymah Gbowee’s story is as riveting as a can’t-put-down novel. An average teenager when her country was torn apart by civil war, Gbowee found herself fleeing violence on the streets and, after having children with an abusive man, in her own home. Finally, through her faith—and for her children—she found the courage first to free herself and then to lead a women’s peace movement, unifying Christian and Muslim women against violence, eventually toppling the bloody dictatorship that had her country in its grip. Gbobwee now works worldwide to inspire others—”There is something in this world that every individual can do,” she says.

Plus: Read an exclusive interview with Gbowee from the October edition of Reader’s Digest.