''Mary Robinson has not only shone a light on human suffering, but illuminated a better future for our world.'' - Barack Obama

Shortlisted for the Political Book Awards Political Book of the Year

Mary Robinson has spent her life in pursuit of a fairer world.

Now, for the first time, she reveals what lies behind the vision, strength and determination that helped her to achieve extraordinary things, as the first female President of Ireland and, later, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

From her early upbringing to her later career, Mary has never lost sight of her strong values. They drove her to help legalise contraception in a deeply Catholic Ireland, and, later, to make history as the first woman President of Ireland in 1990. She kept a deep passion for human rights at her core when she founded Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative and also the Mary Robinson Foundation for Climate Justice, which seeks to protect those most vulnerable to the impact of climate change around the world.

Told with the same calm conviction and modest pride that has guided her life, Everybody Matters will inspire everyone who reads it with the belief that

each of us can, in our own way, help to change the world for the better. >/h3>