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Hope in Action

A Memoir About the Courage to Lead from the Former Prime Minister of Finland

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Hope in Action

By: Sanna Marin
Narrated by: Nina Yndis
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When Sanna Marin became Prime Minister of Finland at just thirty-four years old, she captivated the world’s attention with her progressive ideas and her boldness amidst major crises.

In her powerful personal memoir Hope in Action, she shares the extraordinary journey of her trailblazing career, and her vision for a new kind of leadership.

Marin’s story is one of resilience and hope. The first in her family to attend university, she broke barriers to become a global icon of progressive leadership. Her term as prime minister – the youngest in the world at the time – saw historic milestones, as she led Finland through the COVID-19 pandemic, and her government implemented many progressive reforms addressing climate change, social justice and equality. She helped the country navigate neighbouring Russia’s devastating full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and Finland’s rapid joining of NATO – the swiftest entry for any country in the alliance’s history.

Through vivid retellings of her experiences, Marin shares how she overcame significant political challenges, and how she coped with her personal life becoming public, including the incident that sparked a media frenzy and prompted women, including Hillary Clinton and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, to express their support.

Hope in Action is much more than a memoir – it’s a call to action as Marin urges the next generation of leaders to bring their full, authentic selves to the job. Her story is an empowering testament to the opportunities we have to affect real change in our worlds.

21st Century Modern Politicians Politics & Activism Presidents & Heads of State Women Women's Voices Memoir Leadership Russia
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Critic reviews

Sanna Marin’s story is one of resilience and courage. Hope in Action is her rallying cry – a powerful guide to claiming your power and using it to build a better, more just world (Hillary Rodham Clinton)
Sanna Marin was a decisive leader not only for Finland, but also for our shared transatlantic security. Hope in Action offers a compelling and personal account of the pivotal moments that shaped her historic tenure. It’s a powerful reflection on the challenges we are facing in times of global uncertainty (Jens Stoltenberg)
Sanna Marin is an extraordinary woman with the courage, strength and leadership to inspire. This memoir is a testament to the power of truth and authenticity, and will empower women all over the world (Diane von Furstenberg)
Globally, Sanna Marin has been celebrated for becoming Prime Minister so young. However, she is not a political novice, and she proved that good leadership does not depend on age
[Marin] changed the image of who a politician can be... in refusing to be anything other than exactly who she is, while continuing to do her job with aplomb, Marin proved to the world, and all of its women, that there’s room for them in the political arena, too
There’s a word the Finnish use to describe their national character: sisu. It refers to a sense of stoicism, of determination. Sisu is hardiness, resilience and a can-do attitude. It is a bracing dip in a freezing sea. It is gritting your teeth and shaking hands with your political enemies. It is the perfect word to describe Marin
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Sanna Marin was van 2019 tot 2023 de jongste premier van Finland en trok wereldwijd de aandacht met haar progressieve leiderschap. Ze loodste Finland door de COVID-19-pandemie, voerde hervormingen door en leidde het land naar de historische en snelle toetreding tot de NAVO na de Russische invasie van Oekraïne. Haar aanpak, gekenmerkt door authenticiteit en snelle actie, leverde haar zowel lof als kritiek op over de vermenging van haar privé- en publieke leven. Haar memoires, "Hope in Action", beschrijft haar reis, haar visie op leiderschap en is een oproep tot actie voor toekomstige leiders.

Een oproep tot actie voor volgende generatie leiders aanmoedigt om hun "authentieke zelf" in hun werk mee te nemen

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I was keen to read this book. I believe Sanna Marin is an interesting person. She seems to genuinely believe in her policies and that is admirable. She is intelligent, confident, energetic, stylish and determined. I wanted to learn more about her, what makes her believe what she does, what inspired her to push herself, who are her inspirations. Despite not sharing many of her political beliefs, I was keen to learn more, and maybe get won over by some of her points.
Unfortunately, the book was tough get through. It read like many political memoirs, but far from the best. She did touch on her background a little, but nothing I hadn't heard on several podcasts already, and she did touch lightly on her life outside of her career in politics. The book didn't offer any reasons to agree with her beliefs, it was very much just a memoir. I worked though the book, looking for reasons to agree with her positions in certain cases, but was left without any.
This was a disappointing read for me. I find Sanna Marin to be a good role model for the younger generation because she seems to care and is hardworking, articulate and healthy. But I didn't find anything in the book about her beliefs that I hadn't already heard previously.

As expected, unfortunately.

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Just a timeline of events and lots of implicit brags and clichés. Hats off to Sanna for undoubtedly doing a good job but I found this book disappointing.

Dry

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