From the foreword by Gavin de Becker: Gandhi said, "The machineries of governments stand between and hide the hearts of one people from those of another." Paul K. Chappell reveals many hearts to us, by revealing his own. He is a soldier and a warrior, and a crusader for peace. The road to peace is not a straight one, he explains; it is like a vine: it will have many twists and turns on the way. He understands that many times in the past, people have put all their faith in waging war as the best way to defend themselves. However, in a world that every day becomes more interconnected and fragile, Paul shows how the power of waging peace gives us all a more effective and reliable way to defend ourselves.

Paul K. Chappell is the founder and Executive Director of the Peace Literacy Institute. He graduated from West Point, was deployed to Iraq, and left active duty as a Captain. Realizing that humanity is facing new challenges that require us to become as well-trained in waging peace as soldiers are in waging war, Chappell created Peace Literacy to help students and adults from all backgrounds work toward their full potential and a more peaceful world.

Chappell is the author of the seven-book Road to Peace series. The first six published books in this series are Will War Ever End?, The End of War, Peaceful Revolution, The Art of Waging Peace, The Cosmic Ocean, and Soldiers of Peace.

Chappell grew up in a violent household. Born in 1980, he was raised in Alabama, the son of a Korean mother and a Black father who was a veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars. These experiences were part of what compelled him to forge a new understanding of war, peace, rage, trauma, and our shared humanity.