Give: Charity and the Art of Living Generously

by Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow

From the founder of Mary’s Meals and the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Shed That Fed a Million Children, Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow travels the world encountering startling acts of charity and the power of generosity. Few people in the world are better placed to understand the role of charity and generosity than Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow. As the founder and CEO of Mary’s Meals, Magnus helps feed and educate millions of children in 18 different countries across the world every year. 
 
In a time when some charitable organisations have been rocked by scandal and many are questioning their effectiveness in the modern age, Give takes us on an epic journey to rediscover the beauty and transformative power of authentic charity. 
 
Powerful and inspiring, Give celebrates the impact of charity in all our lives, illustrating how the act of sharing – and even sacrifice – is the key to a life of joy.

Genres: Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

Published March 8, 2022

About the author

Born in Aberdeen in 1968, Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow started his career as a fish farmer. When the Balkan conflict began, he and Fergus, his brother, were so moved by the scenes on television that in 1992 they gathered a jeep load of aid and joined a convoy travelling to Medjugorje in Bosnia.

On his return home, Magnus discovered that the public had carried on donating, filling his parents garage in Dalmally with goods. Magnus gave up his job for a year to drive the aid out for as long as it was needed and kept being given. Donations did not stop and soon became necessary to set up as a registered charity, then known as Scottish International Relief.

Today, Mary's Meals provides nutritious daily meals to 989,791 children across four continents.
Its vision is for every child to receive a daily meal in a place of education. The global average cost of feeding a child for a whole school year is just £12.20.

Magnus was named one of 2010's 'Top Ten Heroes' by broadcaster CNN and received an OBE in the 2011 New Years Honours list.

Reviews

[Rik · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book of two halves. The first part takes a deep look at what charity is, what motivates it, how it might succeed or fail, how it might deviate from its' original purpose, and so on. This is the larger part of the book, and at times was, whilst interesting and well informed, a little dry or almost technical. I preferred the later section of the book where the author describes his own Christian motivation using quotes from the bible and ancient bishops and the like. This for me was the challenging and motivational part of the book. The whole book was a spur to consider giving in a more deliberate and informed way, but I found the Christian elements pushed my buttons more.

[Kirstin · Rating 1 out of 5]

A book from the point of view of a man who likes to poke holes in and nitpick other charities whilst droning on about how perfect his own is, as if his way of doing things is the only one that could possibly be correct. This book is one big pat on the back for him and his charity of which I don't dispute have helped and accomplished so many great and charitable things but the man has never heard of the word humble. Name-dropping, award-dropping which is fine he's earned them but don't do it as you point out the failures of other charities and governments. That I could almost overlook as I was enjoying hearing the stories of local heroes of which this book could've been filled but what I can't overlook and I could've overlooked if the blurb, title or cover gave any indication (in which cause I would've held my hands up and simply said okay) is that Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow denounces others for forcing their own opinions on others and says it should be left to the people to decide what's best for them, well readers I gave you 248 pages of him forcing religion down your throat until you're sick. I challenge anyone who reads this book to start a tally with one column for him tearing down other charities for something and the other one for saying that a person's faith doesn't matter while forcing his faith on the reader in the next paragraph.

[Olga · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this title. I liked the part relating to the Mary's Meals and their work around the world. The difficult part begins, when the author spends a lot of time confirming that although the name of the organisation comes from its Christian origin, it isn't Christian only. Later the author preaches for 50 pages about how charity is a Christian invention and that feeding poor children basically means feeding Jesus himself. There were plenty of quotes from the Bible as well. By the end of the book I was waiting for Amens at the end of the chapters...

[Andrew Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an interesting and extremely challenging book: challenging in that it challenges you to consider what more you could and should be giving, as well as challenging underlying attitudes and assumptions. It is also a very thoughtful and informed reflection on the whole charity business. Highly recommended.

[Jan Watt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Related well to this personal story book. I found the author to be humble and happy to question his own actions within Mary’s Meals development journey. Really valuable insights into the international development charity world. Useful exploration particularly early on into motivations and value of charity.

[Anne-Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant account of charity in our lives by the founder of Mary's Meals whether it is through official charities like Mary's Meals and Cafod but also in little acts of love we make ourselves. Inspirational.

[Christine Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

So enjoyed this book as I did his first! Excellent writer and wonderful person!

[l · Rating 2 out of 5]

wasnt what i thought it was going to be. a few later chapters were really religious.

[debbie-anne Hogarth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A look at charity and love, the highs and the lows.