The Joy Trip Project

An interview with the author Greg Mortenson

It’s been on the New York Times bestseller list for 197 weeks. The book Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin continues to engage and inspire millions of people around world. This story of one man’s journey to build schools for children in the most remote regions Pakistan and Afghanistan has helped to forge a better understanding of how to encourage peace and cooperation where there has been only war and armed conflict for decades. But when I met with Mortenson at the MountainFilm Festival in Telluride Colorado he shared with me his latest project. “The second book I wrote, Stones Into Schools, is more about Afghanistan," he said in an interview. "It’s also about the lessons I learned in Three Cups of Tea about empowering the people, listening to the elders, about really letting the people themselves do the work. So I tried in the to really show that people themselves can be empowered.” Stones Into Schools isn’t just a sequel to a popular piece of non-fiction. It’s a testament to the impact one person can make in the lives of others. By providing the people of Afghanistan with the tools they need to help themselves, Mortenson is doing more than building schools. He’s paving a long road toward a world that lives in peace.