Join author Leslie Baer Dinkel Aug. 10, Hillside

Anew book, Hope Dancing: Finding purpose and a place to serve among the Maya, will be introduced by author Leslie Baer Dinkel, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10, at Hillcrest Maury Smeltzer Lounge, 2700 Mountain View Drive, La Verne.

The event will include live performance, video, book reading and song.

The book traces Dinkel’s an extraordinary journey from suburban life to the founding of an international development organization in a war zone, including a near-death experience in a refugee camp and encounters with extraordinary people, including Mother Teresa.

A series of coincidences lead the writer to Guatemala, where she experiences a brutal civil war and its aftermath. The author shares insights into poverty, prejudice, self-determination and, especially, the transformational power of full- hearted giving.

All proceeds from Hope Dancing will fund the continuing work of Local Hope, working for health, education and self-reliance in rural Guatemala and modeling best practices that can be replicated and scaled in developing communities worldwide.

For more information contact Dinkel at (951) 733-2588, or visit www.localhope.org.