This title includes stories from Cambodia to Israel-Palestine, nine stories from individuals standing up for their rights. 'You can cut the flower, but you cannot stop the coming of spring.' Malalai Joya, the young member of the Afghan parliament, refuses to let injustice go unchallenged. Her words reflect the irrepressible attitudes and actions of all the women and men who tell their stories here. ''Nine Lives'' presents the life stories of people who have been confronted with seemingly insurmountable obstacles, opposition and oppression. Whether it is human rights activist Harry Wu, who spent nineteen years in Chinese labour camps, or Nobel laureate and President of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias Sanchez, each of the nine voices has confronted an urgent and inescapable need to dig deep, either to rescue themselves or to forge a fresh way forward for others.