Breaking Ground: Transforming Mines to Vines

(Hardback)

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Both a memoir and a call to action, this book is a gripping account of the authors quest to eradicate landmines from the face of the earth.

Heidi Khn's commitment to fostering peace and raising awareness has been a driving force in her lifefrom her early days as a student at the University of California, Berkeley, to her time as a reporter in Juneau, Alaska, covering the Exxon Valdez oil spill and US-Russia relations. After overcoming a potentially terminal cancer diagnosis that threatened everything she held dear, Heidi became determined to rid the world of another form of cancer that has plagued the world for decadeslandminesin regions as far-flung as Croatia Vietnam, and Afghanistan.

Inspired by her work of the late Princess Diana, Heidi began the humanitarian organization Roots of Peace from the basement off her Northern California home. She gained the support of famed Napa Valley vintners Robert Mondavi and Mike Grgich, and soon her mines-to-vines. mission began to take hold.

In this powerful memoir, Heidi tells the Roots of Peace story, guiding the reader from the early days in which she built her vision to her current presence on the global stage, where she has worked with presidents, prime ministers, landmine survivors, and religious leaders from around the world to spread a message of peace and recovery. In the years since the founding of Roots of Peace, its agricultural projects have made tremendous progress to fight against landmines, revitalizing devastated land and uplifting the lives of countless people in the process.

Through recalling her journey, Heidi reveals the remarkable change an ordinary person can inspire. Her story is one of faith, healing, and the compassion needed to grow a more peaceful world. Breaking Ground will encourage you to do the extraordinary and help plant the seeds of change for a brighter future.

Reviews

There are an estimated 60 million landmines in over 60 countries, aftermath of civil wars. They maim or kill farmers and children. They also cause terrible harm to animals, domestic livestock and wildlife alike. As it takes only eight pounds of pressure to detonate a landmine many species fall victim. Thank you Heidi Kuhn for writing Breaking Ground that discusses this mostly forgotten aspect.

-- Jane Goodall, PhD, DBE Founder - the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace
Guided by the leadership of Heidi Khn, Roots of Peace has saved lives, transformed communities, and advanced peace around the globe. Long after the bombs have been silenced and the peace treaties have been signed, the deadly threat of landmines remains. We must maintain our drumbeat of activism and action until every child and parent can live free from the senseless devastation caused by landmines. Thank you, Heidi Khn . . . for your work healing war-torn communities by turning these fields into productive farmland to grow and sell crops on the global market. Your steadfast dedication to securing peace and ensuring economic empowerment for so many is critical and greatly appreciated.

-- Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives
But that became her mission, her passion. Since then, Roots of Peace has helped clear land, fund training for deminers in that dangerous work, and discover what plants -- grapes, pepper, nuts, other fruits -- can thrive in that soil. She has built partnerships here and abroad, made countless trips to the front lines, raised millions to underwrite the cause, helped wounded survivors, and saved countless others. BREAKING GROUND tells this compelling and moving story.Heidi Kuhn is an inspiration to us all.



-- Gillian Sorensen, former United Nations Assistant Secretary-General
From my first encounter with land mines while on operations in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam during the War in the 1960s, to confronting the widespread tragic human consequences of the Khmer Rouge proliferation of mines throughout Cambodia while serving as American ambassador there in the 1990s, I have learned that the most pernicious aspect of these indiscriminate killers is that they never disappear unless removed through a concerted effort, such as those I supported through my embassy and the inspired From Mines to Vines campaign that Heidi Kuhn is leading and is detailed in her new book Breaking Ground.



As I learned when I first met Heidi when she spoke at my World Food Prize Borlaug Dialogue Symposium on the theme of Peace Through Agriculture, she is driven by a compassionate humanitarian impulse to rid the world of these threats to innocent civilians and especially children. Heidi has been living this theme through her Roots of Peace organization in those parts of the world still beset with these long lasting killers.



As I said to her It is sobering to think that the last casualties of World War II and the Vietnam War, whose battlefields still have thousands of hidden extant land mines, have yet to take place.

-- Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn (ret.)
From her days as a producer reporting for CNN in the Soviet Union to surviving cancer and ultimately pioneering a new path to remove landmines and heal the wounds of war, Heidi Kuhn has taken a dangerous path towards peace...quite literally replacing the dangers of landmines with roots for vines. In Her new book BREAKING GROUND, she inspires us to do our part, to get engaged and support innovative solutions that plants the seeds for future prosperity and peace. Heidi clearly demonstrates social entrepreneurship in action. She has taken dangerous footsteps for peace by walking the minefields of the world in Afghanistan, Angola, Croatia, Vietnam and The Holy Land. She has demonstrated the courage and skills needed by women leaders who are on the frontline and taking bold risks to heal the wounds of war. Its a must read for all of us who want to change the world. -- Pat Mitchell, first woman CEO of PBS; CEO of CNN Productions; Chair, Sundance Author, Becoming a Dangerous WomanEmbracing Risk to Change the World
Prepare to be amazed & inspired! Heidi Kuhn weaves a tale of motherhood, empathy, and empowerment. Her belief is powerful belief in God, belief in the goodness of communities everywhere, and absolute belief that she could make a global difference.

This real-life story takes you from a battle with cancer, to inspiration from the Peoples Princess, to a kids-in-the-car Burger King revelation on connecting with the winery industry, to battlefields across the globe. It was Heidi stepping forward with a deep belief in herself that led from a short-notice anti-landmine activists dinner party to a quiet toast, May the world gofrom mines to vines! And the rest is a fascinating history that still plays out globally every day.

Heidi and I make an unlikely team she a peacemaker, me a general in the Air Force. Yet we are both after the same vision a world where one nation does not threaten another, where people can enjoy their unalienable rights and freedoms, where militaries ensure their citizens security, and destructive wars are a thing of the past. We met each other as members of a global executive womens group. In 2007, I was deployed to Qatar, overseeing all the air logistics across Afghanistan and Iraq. Heidi was going to be at her newly established Kyleigh Kuhn School in Mir Bacha Kot, Afghanistan, for a dedication. She wanted me to join her. I explained it wouldnt be possible, as I was going to be in Baghdad and it was a long 2,00 miles to fly around Iran to Afghanistan. But you dont tell Heidi that things are impossible. Suffice it to say, we did make it happen and my arrival in an armored vehicle with helicopter escorts made quite the impact with the schoolchildren bearing flowers.

And so it goes with Heidi, one miracle and incredible accomplishment after another. Youll feel this journey between the pages of this book. Her successful efforts to transform blood-soaked lands into productive vineyards are a testament to one mothers belief in herself and her children, and absolute belief that she can change the world. And she has done just that.

Enjoy the inspirational journey!

-- Major General Barbara J. Faulkenberry, US Air Force, Retired
The rare snowfall had covered the WARNING sign of landmine dangers. We heard a loud blast, and it was horrifying to see my husband, Guy, carry my son who was missing a leg, as bloodshed shattered our lives. Almost immediately, Heidi Kuhn connected with us and helped us to rehabilitate as a family. I remember that I saw a beautiful woman dressed in a long black coat radiating endless energy. Heidi led us to Washington, D.C., as we met with Senator John McCain and other dignitaries. If you know Heidi, her eyes are always on the ball, and she never loses site of her target. For us, she is helping my son fill his dream for a World Free of Landmines. Working with my son, Daniel, they helped to bring forth the historic Humanitarian Mine Action Bill in March 2011. We greatly appreciate your work towards removing deadly landmines in the Middle East, so that no other child will have to suffer. It is a privilege to know you, as you are truly a friend and sister in my heart--and Auntie Heidi to my own children, and the children of the world. As a mother, I hope that BREAKING GROUND will be translated into many languages, as landmines know no borders!

-- Tali Yuval, Mother of Landmine Survivor, Daniel Yuval, Tel Aviv, Israel
In my 37 years in the Army, with almost five years in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan I was constantly humbled by the men and women who served in the most austere environments to protect our freedomsbut I was also honored to meet others like Heidi Kuhn and her Roots of Peace organization that were instrumental in helping the Afghan people build stability for their future, in this case working with our Agricultural Development Teams (ADTs) to provide expertise in replacing landmines with vineyards and rebuilding the farming infrastructure. Heidis personal account in Breaking Ground is an elegant and insightful look into her story and vision of making a difference in war torn lands. A truly remarkable approach of removing, restoring and rebuilding that has and will continue to make a huge impact on future generations to come not only in Afghanistan but all over the world. Heidis passion, and dedication to this mission is truly inspirational, it is a powerful and deeply personal story that the world needs to hear! I am so thankful that I was able to be a small part in her journey, we talk about changing the hearts and minds to win the fighther actions have changed not only the hearts and minds but the outlook for a better life for so many.

-- John F. Campbell General, US Army (Retired) Commander, Ist Bde, 82nd Abn Div, Kandahar, Afghanistan, 2002-2003 Commander, 101st Abn Div, Bagram, Afghanistan, 2010-2011 Commander, US and NATO Forces Afghanistan, 2014-2016
Heidis passion for advancing peace through the elimination of landmines has been evident since I first met her in 1997. As a survivor of war, I know firsthand its awful results, and have supported her vision to turn MINES TO VINES, starting in my homeland of Croatia. Her story will inform and move you. -- Miljenko Mike Grgich. Founder, CEO Grgich Hills Estate, Napa Valley, California
Heidi has been an inspiration to me and my family as she takes on the challenge of eliminating the world of mines and munitions. We are very proud and extremely honored to be able to commercialize spices that are grown on these lands for the good of mankind. It is especially meaningful to me personally as I was in the U.S. Air Force flying troops in and taking w

Author Bio

Heidi Kuhn is the founder and CEO of Roots of Peace. She created this non-governmental organizationto remove the scourge of landmines and bring the land back into productive use for the next generation now living in landmine-affected countries. Thanks to Roots of Peace, over one hundred thousand landmines and UXOs have been removed since September 11, 2001. Heidi has been married to her husband, Gary, for over 25 years. They have four children.