Preemptive Love: Pursuing Peace One Heart at a Time

Courtney gives an honest, and at times poignant, account of his efforts to establish the Preemptive Love Coalition in Iraq, whose aim is to save children with life-threatening heart defects by selling klash, a locally made Kurdish shoe. He describes transporting patients to Israel and Turkey while under a fatwa calling for his death and while subjected to assiduous surveillance. Courtney relates his riveting story through the inner thoughts of both patients and adversaries, describing events like the chemical bombing of Halabja and the attack of a roadside bomber from a personal perspective. The narrative flattens when it drifts away from storytelling to point making, but these small moments are more than amply compensated for by Courtney’s own self-deprecating admission that, “Knowing me, my tone was unbearably sanctimonious.” Ending with the building of the Remedy Mission, which allows children to receive life-saving surgery in Iraq, this true story of people coming together to live the doctrine of “love first, ask questions later” by building bridges and saving lives is powerfully inspiring, touching, and, unfortunately, urgently relevant. Agent: Chris Ferebee, Yates & Yates. (Oct.)