ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK ----- While things are ticking along as usual most of us are head down, hard at it, catching an occasional whiff of the roses. Along comes a significant event, let's call it COVID-19, and a lot of us have taken - or been forced to take - a moment to re-evaluate a few things. Seeing how tenuous some things are can be unsettling to say the least.
Ronni Kahn is now known to many Australians as the OzHarvest founder, but she was certainly no visionary or go-getter when she started out (i.e. she was normal), but a series of events over her life saw that all change. Her frank and chatty telling of that journey is refreshing to anyone interested in the shape of a life (particularly your own!) and ensuring you are living your best life. This is not a self-help book - just a good yarn of how one woman found her true mojo.
Craig Kirchner -----
'From the founder of OzHarvest, an ebullient, generous memoir with an exhilarating message.' ANNABEL CRABB
'Brimming with energy, altruism and refreshing candour' QUENTIN BRYCE
'The inspiring story of a woman with a big heart who dared to make a difference. This is a must-read book. I couldn't put it down.' ITA BUTTROSE
'Ronni Kahn is a force of nature. She has taught so many of us about the importance of embracing community and compassion through offering and sharing our food to those most vulnerable in our society.' KYLIE KWONG
'You don't get used to living permanently behind the eight ball - no matter how long you've done it, it doesn't get easier. There's a constant sense of shame that eats away at you, making you feel that you're just not good enough. Some people are so poor that they can't even afford to feel shame. Ronni Kahn, through her work with OzHarvest, does the very thing that offers hope to those in the poverty trap: restore dignity and remove shame. This is her story.' JIMMY BARNES
Life throws us mysterious ingredients. If we are brave enough to put the recipe aside and experiment, it's right there that things get interesting.
As the owner of a successful events company, throwing away huge volumes of leftover food at the end of the day came with the territory. But when Ronni Kahn hit midlife, she found herself no longer able to turn a blind eye to her food waste problem. Hand delivering the untouched food to homeless shelters around Sydney became her renegade solution. Little did she know that fixing her small problem at work would lead her to unlock a hidden purpose at the very core of her inner life.
Now founder and CEO of the food rescue organisation OzHarvest, Ronni leads hundreds of staff and thousands of volunteers with the goal to nourish Australia. She serves in an advisory capacity to government and is an instrumental leader in changing federal laws to improve social justice and environmental policies.
A Repurposed Life is the story of how Ronni found her voice, her heart and her deepest calling. From her early years growing up under the brutal system of apartheid South Africa, to a socialist commune in Israel, Ronni finally settled in Australia to discover a profound new way of living. Shared with the humour, warmth and energy that have made her an internationally renowned keynote speaker, this heartfelt exploration of the choices that define us will speak to anyone seeking a more passionate expression of being alive.