In this autobiography, Maria Mies packs in seventy-seven years of life: from the small German village of her childhood, to the world of the Indian subcontinent. Sociologist and Women’s Studies researcher, scholar, ecofeminist, and international activist, Maria Mies is one of the world’s original thinkers.

Maria Mies’ achievements include developing groundbreaking praxis and theory around the...

I was running a workshop in the Kimberleys, and in the circle a woman began to speak from a place of deep pain and despair. She described herself as bad, dirty, ugly, words she had taken into herself from childhood experiences of abuse. I lent forward and sang her a song. 'How could anyone ever tell you, you are anything less than beautiful?' While sitting with her, as the words settled...