US Ambassador's Wife Sofia Blake Releases Memoir of Her Time in Indonesia
Jakarta. Sofia Blake, wife of United States Ambassador Robert Blake, is a prominent figure on Indonesia's social justice scene as she hosts various women's empowerment and education programs.
On Tuesday (21/06), she launched her book "Journeys to the Heart," which is a memoir of her time in Indonesia, painted with personal memories and impressions of notable places and people she encountered. Throughout the book, she also presents succinct observations, which are direct but also provocative, including her top-10 list on why working with the government is difficult.
"It is not a travel book. It is not a travel journey, it is a journey of discoveries of the work that other people do in different parts of Indonesia and my own journey of discovering myself and what I am able to do with other people and the way when we do things together," Blake said.
One of her most memorable chapters was "Journey Five: Explorations with the 6x6 Women in Action," where she introduces a group of women at an international women's conference. The conference invited an interdisciplinary group of six Indonesian women who hailed from various backgrounds and faced different life challenges. The women were invited to discuss ideas on how to make a difference in the world.
In the following chapter, "Journey Six: Six Expeditions," Blake takes us on an elaborate, moving journey exploring the hardships that these six women faced when taking roles in government and community leadership positions and as activists for the victims of human trafficking.
Known for her warm persona, her kindness radiates through her writing as she illustrates the various challenges the six women faced on a daily basis and how she went the extra mile to help these women in need, using her connections to make a larger impact on their local communities.
"Journeys to the Heart" is a genuine, heartwarming collection of her experiences in Indonesia, her last farewell to the country, an ode to the people that have inspired her and a source of inspiration for other women to also become catalysts of change.
Apart from addressing education and feminism in Indonesia, she also intimately addresses the difficulties, challenges, disappointments and failures she faced as a professional, mother and a woman.
With additional reporting by Muhamad Al Azhari
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