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Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'
Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust by Immaculée Ilibagiza
4 reviews
ricksilva's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Immaculée Ilibagiza gives her harrowing account of surviving the Rwandan genocide of 1994. This wasn't an area of history that I knew much about, and although the author chooses to focus on the personal aspects of the story, she still does an excellent job of setting the stage and giving sufficient background for me to get an idea of the historical context.
The story itself is intense, as the author describes her time hiding in a tiny cramped room while mass-murderers repeatedly searched for her and the other Tutsi women who had joined her in seeking refuge under the protection of a local pastor. There is no shying away from the horrors unfolding around their refuge, sometimes happening at their very doorstep.
While the author, a devout Catholic, is clear in crediting her faith in getting her through the horrors of the killings, as well as helping her to find inner peace and a life beyond the war, her voice never comes off as preachy. She takes comfort in her own path, and works through the process of survival, grief, and finally forgiveness.
This is a powerful piece of writing on an important and dark chapter of history.
The story itself is intense, as the author describes her time hiding in a tiny cramped room while mass-murderers repeatedly searched for her and the other Tutsi women who had joined her in seeking refuge under the protection of a local pastor. There is no shying away from the horrors unfolding around their refuge, sometimes happening at their very doorstep.
While the author, a devout Catholic, is clear in crediting her faith in getting her through the horrors of the killings, as well as helping her to find inner peace and a life beyond the war, her voice never comes off as preachy. She takes comfort in her own path, and works through the process of survival, grief, and finally forgiveness.
This is a powerful piece of writing on an important and dark chapter of history.
Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Genocide, Death, Gore, Violence, and War
Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Rape
star_reader92's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
First book to ever make me cry
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Animal death, Rape, Racism, and Murder
amiyaabrown's review
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
the author did an amazing job of explaining how it was, it really helps the reader imagine things. not killing the man at the end of the book showed such an amazing theme omg it was so good. it really reflects how she was able to forgive people and keep love in her heart like how she prayed about in the bathroom
Graphic: Genocide, War, Torture, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Death, Blood, and Racism
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Death of parent
Minor: Child death
lucychafia's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Very inspiring!
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual assault, Torture, and Violence
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