Maurice Jourdane

Maurice Jourdane grew up in southeast Los Angeles, witnessed the hard life of farm workers in Delano during law school, helped ban the crippling short-handled hoe, stopped California from labeling mentally retarded Spanish-speaking students who  scored low on an English-administered intelligence tests, was a superior court judge in Monterey County, and recovered from a nearly fatal auto-oil truck collision.  In the words of the publisher Floricanto Press, “Mo's life reads like a Greek mythic tale in which the hero suffers and endures moral and physical endurance in his quest, his now legendary legal fights and successes against the powerful California growers and agricultural interests. This biography is a testament to human strength on behalf of justice for Latinos. The success of César Chávez's civil rights movement and union organizing efforts cannot be fully understood without knowledge of the life and sacrifices of Maurice Jourdane, El Cortito. His legal successes, at great personal costs, solidified Chávez's leadership and prepared the way for the consolidation of the Farm Workers' Union, and ultimately for the farm workers to prevail against the powerful political and economic interests of the California growers.  Never Say Die means exactly that. Jourdane was a young civil rights attorney representing farm workers and their children.  César Chávez believed that growers tried to kill him. With the strong support of friends and family Jourdane takes on an adventure that begins with him near death in a car embedded in the side of an oil rig in the San Joaquin Valley, to Stanford Hospital, to his home near Santa Cruz, and back to the fields fighting for farm workers and their union. He followed César Chávez's motto: Sí se Puede.”

Playwright and author Luis Valdez said, "Waves of Recovery is a powerful account of the struggle for justice for farm workers in the face of brutal, violent opposition by growers and Agribusiness. A true story, written in the fast paced style of a novel, it is an astonishing testament of the life and death fight for survival of its uncompromising author who fought and almost died for what he believes; then incredibly came back, signaling through the flames to learn to see, walk and talk again, and to finally pen this remarkable book. Written with true honesty and courage, it is nothing less than inspiring."  Gloria Alvarez, Managing Editor, Eastern Group Publications, Inc. said, "Mo Jourdane's chronicles his struggles and triumphs, and what it means to overcome personal tragedy while working to bring justice to farm workers."   Marjorie Cohn, President, National Lawyers Guild, described Waves of Recovery as, “. ..a gripping tale of courage and compassion. Overcoming polio and a near-fatal accident that left him permanently disfigured, Jourdane was sustained by his uncommon courage and the compassion of his friends and the farm workers he defended. Terry McDonell, Editor, Sports Illustrated Group, said , “I first knew Maurice as a surfer and a brilliant lawyer, then as the victim of a horrific accident, and now as the author of a remarkable book about courage. In Waves of Recovery he tells his own story of coming back from the loss of everything short of his life-career, family, vision, memory and the ability to even speak. His fight back is inspiring on every level a human being can hope to understand about the meaning and importance of life. That's why he's back on waves and in the courtroom. "