Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust by Immaculee Ilibagiza

I don't post on this blog much anymore. I've started a new one where I choose books from affiliated reading lists (giving me a chance for a small income!) and it keeps me busy. But I had to post here today because I just finished an absolutely incredible book that I need to share.

My book club chose "Left to Tell" for our book this month. I was hesitant to read it because it's one woman's experience surviving the Rwandan genocide. I saw the movie Hotel Rwanda about 10 years ago and it remains one of the most terrifying movies I've ever seen. What happened in Rwanda was horrifying. Seeing it played out on the big screen was difficult (albeit important) to watch. I was worried this book would be a similarly difficult experience. Now that I've finished, I am so grateful I read it. "Left to Tell" is the single most inspiring thing I've read in years--possibly forever.

The real bathroom where 8 women hid for 91
days during the Rwandan genocide.

Immaculee is one of four children growing up in a small village in western Rwanda. When the genocide begins, she hides in a tiny bathroom of a local minister for 91 days along with 7 other women. This bathroom was so, so small. From the photo included in the book, it looks to be narrower than my kitchen table and a similar length. Aside from her oldest brother--who was attending graduate school out of the country when the genocide began--Immaculee was the only member of her family to survive the slaughter.

This book deals with horrific events, but the story is more centered on her spiritual development. Sitting silently in a bathroom for 3 months left lots of time for meditation and prayer. Immaculee shares how God gave her strength, answered her prayers, and eventually showed her how to forgive the killers who murdered her family. It is an intensely spiritual and inspirational story, not to mention written in a way that is gripping from page one until the very end.

If you are nervous about the heavy subject matter, I understand. I felt that way too. But this is a book that everyone--and I mean everyone--should read. It is inspiring; it strengthened my own personal faith in God, and helped open my eyes to the conditions some people must live in. It put into perspective the problems our country faces right now. Suddenly bathroom laws seem completely insignificant when compared to a government that was actively encouraging neighbors to massacre one another.

Go read this book. You'll be inspired and changed and want to make the world a better place.

5 stars