For all who are displaced. For all who are weary of the way things are. For all who long for a more beautiful world.
Preemptive Love founder Jeremy Courtney has seen the very worst of war. He's risked his life saving lives on the front lines. He's come face to face with ISIS, been targeted by death threats, and narrowly escaped airstrikes.
Through it all, the most powerful thing he's learned is this: we're not just at war with each other. We're at war with ourselves. But the way things are is not the way they have to be. There is a more beautiful world. To find it, we have to we confront our fear-and end war where it starts: in our own heads and hearts.
With stories of people who have lived through war and terrorism, Love Anyway will inspire you to confront your deepest fears and respond to our scary world with the kind of love that seems a little crazy. Because when we do, we become agents of hope who unmake violence and unfurl the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible.
Love Anyway is the story of Jeremy's incredible journey-and an invitation to discover the more beautiful world on the front lines where you live.
About the Author
Jeremy Courtney is founder and CEO of Preemptive Love Coalition, a "first in, last to leave" community of peacemakers who provide front lines relief and long-term development in Iraq, Syria, and other areas of polarising conflict. He is the author of Preemptive Love: Pursuing Peace One Heart at a Time. Preemptive Love Coalition is regularly featured on CNN, FOX, ABC, NBC, PBS, CBS, Al-Jazeera, the BBC, and in The New York Times and USA Today. Jeremy has written for The Washington Post, TIME, and The Daily Beast. Jeremy has lived in Iraq with his wife, Jessica, and their two children since the middle of the Iraq War.
Industry Reviews
I read every single word, perched on the edge of my seat... You'll keep turning the pages as fast as you can.
Jen Hatmaker, New York Times bestselling author of Of Mess and Moxie!
If you don't want to grow or change, if you like the world the way it is, if you want to remain complacent and unchallenged, don't read this book.
Wm. Paul Young, author of The Shack
I was transfixed by Jeremy's writing. This book, this way of life, is a game changer.
Propaganda, hip-hop and spoken word artist
Jeremy tells stories that are often found only in the movies...I hope every human reads and learns from this book.
Heather Avis, bestselling author of The Lucky Few
Jeremy Courtney shows us what it means to believe in a better tomorrow and actually build it.
Donald Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz
For years I've watched as Jeremy Courtney lives in such a way that models love - to his neighbors, to the others, to his family and friends, to the people who don't know him and don't try to understand. This book puts into words what Jeremy's life has said all along - love anyway.
Annie F. Downs, bestselling author of 100 Days to Brave and host of the That Sounds Fun podcast
This book is heartbreaking and hopeful, but 'love anyway' isn't just a phrase to make us feel good; it's bravery, sacrifice, and joy beyond comprehension. I have never wanted to be a part of something more.
Lauren Holiday, two-time Olympic gold medalist and FIFA Women's World Cup soccer champion
What an extraordinary book...beautifully written, it reignited my heart and my spiritual imagination in so many ways. This is a must-read.
Shauna Niequist, New York Times bestselling author
Jeremy describes a world where all people can exist, be recognized, and be protected. All are equal, worthy, and important. Through his life in Iraq, he sees the Iraq I come from and believe in. A place that has been through dictatorships and invasions but still exists and is full of people who create. I hope Iraqis read this book to believe in Iraq the way Jeremy and others in the book believe in it, and internationals should read the book to see that Iraq is so much more than the troubling news media outlets portray.
Amir Ashour, executive director of IraQueer, Iraq's leading LGBTQ+ organization
Love Anyway is raw, honest, wrenching, and beautiful. Jeremy lays it all out there with a story that will rip your heart out and inspire you. This book is a call to put everything on the line.
Shane Claiborne, activist and author of Irresistible Revolution and Beating Guns
Jeremy Courtney understands the moving truth that hate breeds violence, and he acts on that truth in ceaselessly bold preemptive love for the enemy. I strongly endorse his actual life of peacemaking. We Koreans urgently need a peacemaker like Mr. Courtney - truly shalom incarnate - today.
Dr. Han Wan-sang, former deputy prime minister of South Korea, former president of the Korean Red Cross Society