Rwanda

Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust

Immaculee Ilibagiza grew up in a country she loved, surrounded by a family she cherished. But in 1994 her idyllic world was ripped apart as Rwanda descended into a bloody genocide. Immaculee’s family was brutally murdered during a killing spree that lasted three months and claimed the lives of nearly a million Rwandans.

Incredibly, Immaculee survived the slaughter. For 91 days, she and seven other women huddled silently together in the cramped bathroom of a local pastor while hundreds of machete-wielding killers hunted for them. 

It was during those endless hours of unspeakable terror that Immaculee discovered the power of prayer, eventually shedding her fear of death and forging a profound and lasting relationship with God. She emerged from her bathroom hideout having discovered the meaning of truly unconditional love—a love so strong she was able seek out and forgive her family’s killers.

The triumphant story of this remarkable young woman’s journey through the darkness of genocide will inspire anyone whose life has been touched by fear, suffering, and loss.

My Thoughts:

It's not very often that I read a book that changes me.  I am religious and have seen the power of prayer in my life, but having read this book, I have learned a whole new level of the power of prayer.  

I had vaguely heard of the genocide of Rwanda and as I was looking for a book set in Rwanda to read, I knew that it was going to be a heavy one.  I picked this book because I had read a description of it somewhere that it was not a detailed account of the whole genocide, but one person's story about how she opened her heart to God and love in order to not just survive physically, but emotionally as well.  I assumed that from that description that this book wouldn't be so much about the gory details and I looked forward to reading an account of triumph during dire circumstances.

This book does actually include many gory details of the genocide, mostly of her own experience. I had to do some research to learn how a country could get to a place where neighbor could rise up against neighbor and start murdering each other in the street until a million people had been killed using mostly machetes.  It is a harrowing story to read, but in the end, I was glad that I had.

My Ratings:

Well written:  Yes

Easy to follow:  Yes

Held my attention:  Yes

Would I recommend this to a friend:  Yes
Did it represent the country: Yes

Content:

Sexual Content: mentions of raping

Violence: extremely

Genre: Autobiography, Memoir

Pages: 214