Ilibagiza, Immaculee,
& Erwin, Steve. Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust.
New York, NY: Hay House, 2007. Print.
214 pages
Reviewed by Jess
d'Artagnan Love
The Rwandan genocide
happened in the spring of 1994. It is one of histories darkest events and Immaculee
Ilibagiza survived it. Left to Tell is her memoir documenting how she survived
the genocide. She credits her survival to her faith in God and explains how she
relied on prayer while hidden in a tiny bathroom with several other women.
This book is
horrifying and inspiring. It is horrifying because of the atrocities that
Immaculee so eloquently documents. It is inspiring because of her faith and the
example she sets for other Christians. Her faith and prayer was unwavering in a
situation that drove many other to madness.
It is hard to say I
loved this book because I wish she had never needed to write it. If you are
someone who is sensitive to violence, please don’t read this. It will be very
triggering for you. I do think it is important that she told this story and
that people read it and absorb it. Like the Holocaust during WWII, the genocide
in Rwanda needs to be remembered, lest we forget and repeat the mistakes.
Would I read it again?
I’m undecided. I may
read certain passages again when I need some faith-based inspiration or a bit
of perspective, but this was a difficult book and I don’t know if I will read
it cover-to-cover again.
Recommended for
Anyone over the age of
18 who is not triggered by violence. This is an important memoir.
Not Recommended for
Readers who have
trauma in their past. The violence depicted here will trigger you.
5 stars out of 5
Immaculee’s website: https://www.immaculee.com/
Immaculee on
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/40411.Immacul_e_Ilibagiza
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