Made for Goodness: And Why This Makes All the Difference

In Made for Goodness, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize winner and international icon of peace and reconciliation, shares his vision on why we can find hope and joy in the world’s darkest moments by realizing that we were made for goodness, that we are wired so that goodness will win in the end. Archbishop Tutu is a spiritual leader and symbol of love and forgiveness on the level of Gandi, Mother Teresa, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Nelson Mandela, and Made for Goodness, written with his daughter Mpho, is one of the most personal and inspirational books he's ever written.

Coming Soon: Archbishop Desmond Tutu's The Children of God Storybook Bible, a daily devotional and heirloom-quality keepsake. This beautiful gift Bible will resonate with parents, grandparents, and educators eager to present the message of God’s love, forgiveness, and reconciliation to young children.

We know all too well the cruelties, hurts, and hatreds that poison life on our planet. But my daughter and I have come together to write this book because we know that the catalogue of injuries that we can and do inflict on one another is not the whole story of humanity, not by a long measure. We are indeed made for something more. We are made for goodness.
—from Made for Goodness

Over the years the same questions get asked of Desmond Tutu, the archbishop, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and veteran of the moral movement that ended apartheid in South Africa: "How can you be so hopeful after witnessing so much evil?" "Why are you so sure goodness will triumph in the end?" This book is his answer.

Now, more than any other time in history, our world needs this message: that we are made for goodness and it is up to us to live up to our destiny.

We recognize Archbishop Tutu from the headlines as an inspirational figure who has witnessed some of the world's most sinister moments and chosen to be an ambassador of reconciliation amid political, diplomatic, and natural disasters. Now, we get a glimpse into his personal spirituality—and a better understanding of the man behind a lifetime of good works. In this intimate and personal sharing of his heart, written with his daughter, Episcopal priest Mpho Tutu, Tutu engages his reader with touching stories from his own life, as well as grisly memories from his work in the darkest corners of the world. There, amid the darkness, he calls us to hope, to joy, and to claim the goodness that we were made for. Tutu invites us to take on the disciplines of goodness, the practices that are key to finding fulfillment, meaning, and happiness for our lives.

“Tutu asks so many essential questions in the first two pages of this book-- how to keep faith in people with so much cruelty in view, how to see goodness where others see only injustice and oppression-- that one may be forgiven for counting the pages he has left to answer them. Yet Tutu and his daughter do not disappoint. On page after page, with disarming narrative skill, they tell true stories in which both brutality and hopefulness turn out to be as intimate as they are global. If you are still open to being convinced that goodness changes everything-and that you are a creature of agency who can affect the course of creation-then this book is for you. Read it at least twice before you give it to everyone you know. The “God-pressure” in these pages is palpable, and there is no time to lose.” - Barbara Brown Taylor, author of An Altar in the World

“As the authors so clearly and beautifully say in this book, ‘anyone can choose to cultivate compassion.’ Thank you Archbishop Tutu for helping us all come back home to our true nature, which is inherently good and whole, and touch the peace that is always there for us.” - Thich Nhat Hanh, author of The Art of Power and Savor

“Archbishop Tutu lives and breathes goodness. Even with the incredible trauma and cruelty he endured in South Africa during apartheid and the many atrocities he has witnessed in his life, he still radiates love and happiness. This wonderful new book, Made for Goodness, that he has written with his daughter shares how he consistently believes in the goodness within all of us. This book is a great gift to the world and will help all of us celebrate our goodness and oneness.” - Sir Richard Branson, founder and chairman of the Virgin Group

“I have the highest regard for my good and trusted friend Archbishop Desmond Tutu. I admire him for the wonderful, warm person he is and especially for the human principles he upholds.” - His Holiness the Dalai Lama

“I doubt there is anyone on this Earth with a deeper sense of God’s presence and goodness than Archbishop Tutu. To read his forthright advice is to feel oneself embraced by Providence and surrounded by Love. If you are thirsty for spiritual drink, come to the water of this beautiful book.” - Thomas Cahill, author of How the Irish Saved Civilization and The Gifts of the Jews

“Desmond Tutu has walked the talk all his adult life. We can all be grateful that, together with his daughter Mpho, he has now shared his secrets for why he has so much hope and joy.” - Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland

“Desmond Tutu and his daughter Mpho Tutu have seen more evil than most of us can begin to imagine. . . . That is why their book is shocking: How can they say that all people ‘are fundamentally good,’ that ‘we are all made to inhabit heaven’? . . . Like Augustine and Calvin and their heirs, the Tutus acknowledge the mixture of good and bad in all of us. But where traditional theologians speak of original sin, the bad seed that spoils everything we attempt, the Tutus speak of original goodness—the good seed that can be nurtured until it eventually drives out evil. . . . It is a perfect book for Easter. Not the cheerful holiday of bunnies and bonnets, but the Great 50 Days of joy that are built on the 40 solemn days of Lent.” - The Christian Century

“Desmond Tutu and his daughter Mpho Tutu have seen more evil than most of us can begin to imagine. . . . That is why their book is shocking: How can they say that all people ‘are fundamentally good’? . . . It is a perfect book for Easter.” - The Christian Century

“By giving the audience glimpses into his prayer life and other spiritual disciplines,…Tutu offer[s] a series of poignant reflections that speak about [his] lifelong quests to choose righteousness in a world gone awry.” - Sojourners

“Even with the incredible trauma and cruelty he endured in South Africa, Archbishop Tutu still radiates love and happiness. This book is a great gift to the world and will help all of us celebrate our goodness and oneness.” - Sir Richard Branson, founder and chairman of the Virgin Group

“Our boss and his daughter remind us here how clearly we are one: I am, because we are. The Tutu family take us back to that fundamental truth, showing us that at the end of even the very worst day, it’s in our DNA to look out for our brothers and sisters.” - Bono, lead singer of U2 and co-founder of ONE and (RED)

“Archbishop Desmond Tutu is the author of Made for Goodness - written with his daughter Mpho Tutu, also a priest in the Anglican communion - … [a] reflection on faith, forgiveness and reconciliation.” - NPR.org

“With disarming narrative skill,...Tutu and his daughter...tell true stories in which both brutality and hopefulness turn out to be as intimate as they are global. If you are still open to being convinced that goodness changes everything, then this book is for you.” - Barbara Brown Taylor, author of An Altar in the World

“I doubt there is anyone on this Earth with a deeper sense of God’s presence and goodness than Archbishop Tutu. If you are thirsty for spiritual drink, come to the water of this beautiful book.” - Thomas Cahill, author of How the Irish Saved Civilization and The Gifts of the Jews

“A crucially important book from the Nobel Peace Prize winner; a witness to our tumultuous times.” - Library Journal