Read It: This Voice in My Heart by Gilbert Tuhabonye

"When you consider yourself lucky only to have been beaten and burned, you know that the situation elsewhere is dire." (Chapter Six, page 191)

First some background: a few weeks ago, my brother was in town and as part of his irregular visits home, he and I usually go the bookstore so that he can buy a book or two to read on the flight(s) back to Monterrey, Mexico. Often, I’ll pick something up, too. More often than not, I’ll wander the racks until something peaks my fancy.

One such book I purchased while with my brother, and subsequently have been reading, is This Voice in My Heart: A Runner's Memoir of Genocide, Faith, and Forgiveness by Gilbert Tuhabonye with Gary Brozek. I’ll leave it to the back cover to give you a quickie synopsis :

Gilbert Tuhabonye is a survivor. More than ten years ago, he lay buried under a pile of burning bodies. The centuries–old battle between Hutu and Tutsi tribes had come to Gilbert's school. Fueled by hatred, the Hutus forced more than a hundred Tutsi children and teachers into a small room and used machetes to beat most of them to death. The unfortunate ones who survived the beating were doused with gasoline and set on fire. After hiding under burning bodies for over eight hours, Gilbert heard a voice inside saying, "You will be all right; you will survive."

While Gilbert's personal journey, and the role his Christian faith plays in it, is the key focus of the book, the religious themes never take center stage in such a way that this becomes an overtly "religious" book, something that is too often the case. Rather, Gilbert paints the tale of his own childhood in Africa, as well as, the political and social factors inherent in his family's station, that start him on his journey of survival. The role that his blossoming faith plays in his sorting out of the events and tragedies that transpire is significant, and his family an desire to be successful despite the barriers, eventually lead him to a happier (and safer) life here in the United States.

I would file this recommendation for both students and adults under world history and culture, immigration, faith, and biographies of athletes.

Breathe in, breathe out... YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!