from this world to the next

In the book "The Amber Spyglass", twelve-year-old Lyra and her friend Will are on an incredible adventure that takes them through different worlds. At one point, they make it to the Land of the Dead. Everyone who has ever died, good or bad, goes to reside there, in a valley where nothing ever changes and nothing ever happens.

The Land of the Dead is guarded by Harpies, terrible creatures with bird bodies and faces that look like human females. They feed off the misery of the dead by reminding them of every dishonest, horrible deed they committed in life. They are nourished by darkness and pain. The Dead are constantly taunted by them.

And then Lyra comes. The Dead start begging her for stories from the living world, because they have started to forget. So she tells them about smells, and the feel of the sun on her skin, and about moments of fear and joy and adventure, and about touch and taste and sound. The Dead are entranced. There is utter silence when she talks. And it becomes even quieter when Lyra stops her words and looks up into the trees, to see the Harpies still and tame, soaking in her stories. For a moment, they weren't on the attack.

"You", Lyra says to them. "you flew at me before, when I tried to tell you something. What's stopping you from doing that when I speak now?"

Everyone is confused. The Harpies have never stopped their taunts before. There is silence, until they say:

"Because it was true. Because you spoke the truth. Because it was nourishing. Because it was feeding us. Because we couldn't help it. Because it was true. Because we had no idea that there was anything but wickedness. Because it brought us news of the world and the sun and the wind and the rain. Because it was true."

Because it was true.

In the minutes that follow, Lyra and the Harpies make a deal. The Harpies will no longer feed on the misery of the dead, but they will ask them for stories. Stories about beauty and truth and the world. And in return for the stories, the Harpies will lead the Dead out beyond this barren World, where they can become a part of everything living again.

An entire hellish wasteland was transformed. An entire group of creatures gained a purpose. All because someone spoke up. All because she told the truth that we don't always want to believe - that there is more than misery to this world.