{"product_id":"the-blessing-next-to-the-wound-a-story-of-art-activism-and-transformation","title":"The Blessing Next to the Wound: A Story of Art, Activism, and Transformation","description":"Hector Aristizbal grew up in the barrios of Medellin  Colombia  where he and his siblings had to use all their wit  wiles  and wherewithal to survive poverty  the ever-present allure of cheap drugs and very dangerous money  and the endemic violence from leftwing guerrillas  rightwing death squads  cocaine cartels  and the armed power of the State. As a young actor and psychology student  Hector was seized by the military  held in secret  and tortured. He survived and went on to find meaning in his ordeal as he channeled his desire for revenge into nonviolent activism both in his homeland and during decades of exile in the United States.  While challenging the State-sponsored causes of much suffering in the world  Hector reached out to some of society s most marginalized at-risk and incarcerated youth  immigrants  and many others using his theatrical skills and psychotherapeutic training to help people shape their own stories and identities. He sought to understand his own identity as well as that of one brother who was a revolutionary and another who was gay and how his belief in personal integrity and political freedom might square with the realities of a country under the yoke of toxic ideologies. Hector was forced finally to examine his own motivations and commitments  and begin to heal his own gaping wounds.  Shockingly honest  heartbreaking  and vibrantly told  The Blessing Next to the Wound is a passionate and evocative memoir that  amid enormous suffering and loss  is a full-throated affirmation of life.","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44800789839925,"sku":"ByrdShop_1590561716","price":225.6,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/ByrdShop_1590561716_3dd59459-264c-4f6a-b07a-b05efe3fba6c.jpg?v=1768058845","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-blessing-next-to-the-wound-a-story-of-art-activism-and-transformation","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}