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A powerful blend of testimony and photography that brings the lived faith of liberation theology in Brazil vividly to life through the voices of those at its heart.
In this powerful and deeply human work, Mev Puleo opens a rare window into the heart of liberation theology in Brazil—where faith is not abstract doctrine but lived struggle. Through striking photography and intimate interviews, The Struggle is One brings forward the voices of people often unheard: from the favelas and rural communities to bishops, theologians, and activists shaping a radical vision of Christian faith rooted in justice, dignity, and hope.
More than a study, The Struggle is One is an encounter. Each chapter offers a "living human document," weaving together story, spirituality, and resistance. Puleo’s lens captures both suffering and resilience, revealing a faith that emerges not from comfort, but from solidarity with the oppressed.
Featuring conversations with Maria da Silva Miguel, Frei Betto, Leonardo Boff, Ivone Gebara, Bishop Pedro Casaldáliga, and many others, this work stands as a landmark testimony to a theology born in the streets, the fields, and the communities of struggle.
"If I were to choose a single book by means of which to introduce North Americans to the real meaning of liberation theology, it would be this book." — From the Foreword, Robert McAfee Brown
"More than any other book I know, Mev Puleo's The Struggle is One, brings alive the world of liberation theology in contemporary Brazil for the North American reader. We meet the men and women from both the educated elites and the desperately poor favelas and rural areas whose burning faith and committed lives are expressed in the continued re-creation of a Christian vision and praxis of prophetic struggle." — Rosemary Radford Ruether
"While other books on liberation theology help us to understand its significance in terms of doctrine, Mev Puleo's The Struggle is One, a book full of 'living human documents,' leads us right to the heart of its spirituality." — Henri Nouwen
"In a way that is difficult to find in other forms, Mev Puleo's book, The Struggle is One, presents first hand information by asking incisive questions in a gentle and gracious manner. Members of Christian communities as well as bishops are given a voice. But perhaps what speaks more powerfully are the photographic images. Mev Puleo is an artist who vividly portrays the life and faith of a people." — Gustavo Gutierrez
"An excellent contribution to liberation theology in Latin America. I strongly recommend it." — James Cone
"This book puts real faces and vibrant content into liberation theology." — Harvey Cox
Mev Puleo is a freelance photojournalist whose work appears primarily in the religious and alternative press. She is currently an advanced degree student in Theology at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley. In addition to having worked as a high school theology teacher and campus minister, she has done volunteer work and has initiated documentary photography projects in Haiti, Brazil, Mexico, and El Salvador. She is a co-author of Faces of Poverty: Faces of Christ.
Foreword
by Robert McAfee Brown
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Maria da Silva Miguel
2. Salomé Costa
3. Edilson da Silva
4. Goreth Barradas
5. Toinha Lima Barros
6. Lori Altmann
7. Frei Betto
8. Silvia Regina de Lima Silva
9. Carlos Mesters
10. Tereza Cavalcanti
11. Clodovis Boff
12. Leonardo Boff
13. Rubem Alves
14. Ivone Gebara
15. Bishop José Maria Pires
16. Bishop Pedro Casaldáliga
Afterword
by Robert McAfee Brown
"The People is Poet"
by Maria Miguel
Appendix I
Appendix II