Robert Matzen's inspiring biography Warrior: Audrey Hepburn focuses on the last six years of the actress's life--the years she devoted to her work as a tireless advocate for children's rights as Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF (United Nations Children's Emergency Fund). Warrior begins nearly a decade after Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993) retired from filmmaking to raise her two sons in Switzerland. In 1987, she hosted a benefit for UNICEF in Macau and found a calling more satisfying: saving lives. "UNICEF expected that Audrey Hepburn would be a pretty princess for them at galas," said her younger son, Luca Dotti. "But what they really got was a badass soldier."
Matzen's previous book, Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and World War II, chronicled the Belgium-born actress's harrowing and heroic experiences during the five years of Nazi occupation. He backtracks briefly to show that her connection with UNICEF began decades earlier than her ambassadorship. "UNICEF saved me as a child," Hepburn said. "To save a child is a blessing. To save one million is a God-given opportunity." She testified before Congress, and spearheaded projects to provide drinking water in Guatemala and Honduras, literacy programs in El Salvador, schools in Bangladesh and camps for displaced Sudanese children.
Matzen's highly detailed and compelling chronicle of Hepburn's steely determination to awaken global awareness and save children around the world is a thrilling and motivating read. It's an important piece of Hepburn's legacy and, happily, it is finally getting the attention it deserves.
Warrior is a stirring tribute to a tireless humanitarian and an inspiration for future activists. --Kevin Howell, independent reviewer and marketing consultant