One Heart with Courage

Teri Rizvi brings a powerful, original voice to a collection of essays that shows why our dreams matter. Woven throughout her writings is a deep faith in what’s possible when we open our hearts.


A journalist and storyteller who has traveled widely, Rizvi writes with grace and eloquence about her marriage, which spans two cultures and two religions in a world that’s too often divided. Her lyrical writings illuminate our shared humanity through a series of small, everyday moments — a child’s T-ball practice, a socially distanced parking lot lunch with a friend — as well as recollections of major life milestones such as joyful weddings in foreign lands. 

The book takes its title from a phrase that Martin Sheen uttered when he received an honorary degree from the University of Dayton: “Remember this above all: One heart with courage is a majority.”

Edited by Julie Fanselow, illustrated by Julie Lonneman, narrated by Sheri Saginor

Named one of best anthologies of 2022 by Catholic Media Association
Finalist in 2022 International Book Awards sponsored by American Book Fest

Buy the book

The publisher Braughler Books, the author and narrator are donating proceeds from One Heart with Courage: Essays and Stories to the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop Endowment, which helps keep the workshop affordable for writers.


About the author

Teri Rizvi is the founder and director of the nationally renowned Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop at the University of Dayton, where she also serves as executive director of strategic communications.

She is co-editor of Sisters! Bonded by Love and Laughter and Laugh Out Loud: 40 Women Humorists Celebrate Then and Now … Before We Forget, both published in conjunction with the workshop.

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“Teri Rizvi’s essays are the exact balm and spirit-lift we need in these trying times. Her essays are full of truth, joy and inspiration — a SWAT team of love — and a reminder that both our struggles and our connections matter.” 

— Katrina Kittle, award-winning author of The Kindness of Stranger