Welcome to Litsy!

This book has been sitting on my shelf since 2018. I finally got around to reading it and I am sorry I waited so long. What an incredible story. I‘ve been struggling a bit with life in general and reading stories like this makes me realize how resilient the human spirit can be. I have lots of thoughts about this but I cannot articulate them properly.

Heart wrenching true story of loss, war, and trying to find oneself in a broken world.

Although the nonlinear timeline led to a bit of confusion I was throughly engrossed in Clementime‘s memoir. I knew broad strokes of the Rwandan genocide this brought the brutality into sharp focus. The strength that she and her sister had is beyond comprehension. This was a swap gift from #Blitsy 2022 from @j9brown Thank you Jeannine!

How do you maintain identity, that of the inner self and the self in connection with others, in the face of constant upheaval, where circumstances leave you with no choices, no chances to assert your own will (especially as a child)? How do you rebuild identity and connection in the face of resultant trauma?
1/?

⬆️⬆️⬆️ "...destabilizing, dependence-producing..."
Just THIS. ALL of THIS.

Refugee camps, plural. 😮‍💨

"...inability to see me as fully human."

So eager to interact, so missing the point, so good at making it worse. ?
'brave, strong black woman' stereotype vs the reality of a traumatized teen
Ignorance + entitlement -> racism

"Let's make peace here and come to a conclusion that is beautiful." ?

Takes so few words to indicate just how alien her new circumstances were. To emphasize that generosity and affection felt foreign: what better way to explain exactly how different, how difficult the intervening years were.
Only the second chapter!

⭐️⭐️⭐️

#botm #memoir

👆🏻👆🏼👆🏽👆🏾👆🏿

#2023Book29
Everything I read about the genocide in Rwanda only makes me angrier that it took so long for anyone to do anything to stop the murders. Wamariya doesn‘t hesitate to describe her emotions and feelings surrounding her experiences and the people around her through it all. There‘s a good chance I‘ll end up teaching this book someday, because it‘s something more people need to learn about.

#12booksof2022
May was a hard choice, but in the end I had to go with my favorite read from #ReadingAfrica2022.

Close runner up was Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandel

When she was six Clemantine fled her parent‘s house with her sister and just a few belongings. Until she was twelve they lived as refugees. Then they were awarded a visa to live in the US. This book shows that what looks like the happily ever after ending that you might see on the outside isn‘t always reality. #ReadingAfrica2022 #Rwanda

I'm not sure I have the words to give this book even an adequate review. Raw, spare, and true this memoir demands demands your attention and shares one of the most authentic voices I've read.

4.75 ⭐

Lots of challenges with this one! And thanks to @Mitch for sending me this in a #blitsyswap a couple of years back! 😂

#49 #roll100 @PuddleJumper
#rwanda #ReadingAfrica2022 @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB
#featuresamanmadedisaster #pop22 @Cinfhen @KarenUK @Megabooks @Kalalalatja @Cortg @Laughterhp @4thhouseontheleft @RaeLovesToRead

This is a powerful and heartbreaking book about surviving the Rwanda genocide and what happens to displaced people as a result. Clemantine was 6 years old when she and her sister, 15, escaped and spent the next 6 years walking from country to country and one refugee camp to another. She tells it with raw honesty and emotion.

So I‘m cheating on my on photo challenge 🤪 I couldn‘t find any books set in #NorthernAfrica but this one is set in East Africa...

#LitsySpringBreak
#TBR

I dont have the space to write all that i feel about this book. I encourage everyone to keep reading about others experiences. Clementine Wamariya‘s story of survival as a child in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide is heartbreaking and enlightening. Keep learning and growing to hold onto our empathy and humanity.

I honestly do not have enough space to share my feelings about Clementine Wamariya‘s riveting memoir. I just encourage everyone to keep reading about others experiences to keep our empathy and humanity alive. This young survivor of the Rwandan genocide is heartbreaking and enlightening. Keep learning, keep growing.

Beautiful memoir, of a scared young girl that grew into a dynamic, open-hearted woman. I wish the world had treated her, and literally millions of other humans, better.

This book is a fascinating story of survival and redemption. Books like these serve as a reminder of how quickly things can turn. They also let us know that strength comes in many different forms. I like books like this to give me perspective.

This is probably the most powerful, most honest memoir I have ever read.

I‘m glad I finally read this book. I heard about when it first came out. At the end of the audiobook you hear about 15 minutes from the author herself and thoughts.

Reading about the Rwanda Genocide was eye opening. It was heartbreaking hearing everything Clementine and everyone else went through. I like how she made links to Night and Eli Wiesel because I remember reading that book in high school.

#Booked2020 -About Genocide
#ReadBlackAuthors

This was beautiful and heart wrenching. I am in awe of Clemantine‘s story, her journey, and her strength. I enjoyed the narrator and loved being able to hear Clemantine speak in the last chapter of the audiobook. Thank you again, @Cinfhen for the recommendation.

#booked2020

#aboutgenocide

#weeklyforecast:

I‘m hoping to finish both my current reads before the end of the month-I‘ve got about two and ½ hours left on each of them.

Then it‘s time for #bookspin picks!

@Cinfhen

#bookreport

Another busy week!

I finished “Brightly Burning," my June #doublespin-” ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Making good progress on “The Girl Who Smiled Beads.” I also started the audiobook of “Chemistry-” the narrator is very engaging.

@Cinfhen

#bookreport

Glad it‘s the weekend-lots of meetings and curbside service has been busy this week.

Slowly listening to “The Girl Who Smiled Beads,”-trying to savor it as well as finish it before the end of the month.

I started “Brightly Burning,” my #doublespin-it‘s better than I thought it would be and very entertaining.

@Cinfhen

Very powerful #coronareads #32 🦠🦠🦠🦠

Ohh, I‘m glad I read this. I remember that episode way-back-when as Clementine and her sister were reunited with their parents in front of a live audience on the Oprah show. To my chagrin I didn‘t consider how difficult the reality of this reunion might be when the cameras left. Her story is a testament to migrants from around the world seeking a home.

This book has been on my TBR shelf for nearly 2 YEARS. I'm disappointed I waited so long to read it because it is an incredibly powerful book. It also feels very timely as I compare the ways in which the US treats/welcomes refugees today versus how they did so in the past.

@Mitch thank you so much for everything in my #bhmswap #blackhistorymonthswap box! I love all the books and am looking forward to reading/using them! Looking forward to eating the chocolate too. @Chelleo

A powerful story about families & children displaced by war. A struggle for land and racial superiority that negates humanity. Wamariya paints an angry, haunting portrait of what it was like to live as a refugee as a child and grow up displaced from her family and culture. It opened my eyes to what it is like to lose your identity of self and become that object of pity by well intended others. Read it because she will change your life. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

#smile
#februaryfeels

How does one process a genocide? Clementine walked out of Rwanda and seven other countries on her way to America, and she is still coming to terms with what happened to her. Her sister, Claire, was her tenacious protector, yet Claire was abused by her own aid-worker husband.

Not so surprisingly, she found comfort in writer/survivors like Ellie Wiesel and Audre Lorde. She is amazing but wants you to know she is not unique. 😢 5⭐️ 👍🏻👍🏻narration

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is the first book I can recall reading about the Rwandan genocide. Clementine‘s relationship with her sister is real and raw. So much feels unresolved and messy, but that‘s real life. It‘s a heartbreaking and important book that I‘m so grateful to have read.

I‘m probably not going to reach my goal of 300 books, but I came close! 😍🥰🤣

I‘ve read quite a few books over the years on the Rwandan genocide. The subtitle - especially the last 3 words - really says a lot about this one. It is “A story of war and what comes after”. And this memoir, unlike many others I have read, really highlights the “After”. The hidden scars of war, the healing that takes years, decades, a lifetime.

#NFNov
#pop19 #twofemaleauthors
#nonfiction2019 : from another country
#MountTBR

👆👆👆 THIS.

Charitable giving often operates under the guise that those being helped are unable to help themselves.
Many efforts of giving actually destabilize local economies. The initial TOMS model is a great example.

People living in oppressive situations want and need more than being patronized with small tokens of charity. They need more than being someone‘s “feel good moment” during the holidays.

#TIL #NFNov

I‘ve read about 30 pages in 3 days, I guess I‘m officially in a bit of a reading slump.

I blame Disney+. 🤷🏻‍♀️ While I don‘t celebrate the religious aspects of 🎄, I still like the 🎥 and festivities in *moderation*, and Maya and I had a blast watching this silly, light-hearted 🎅 flick.

It made me want to give Anna Kendrick‘s memoir another go. I put it down a few months ago because I didn‘t feel in the right mood. I am now!

“You cannot bear witness with a single word.”

#TIL Clemantine‘s commentary on the usage of the term genocide had me thinking about it for quite a while after reading this chapter.

#NFNov

#TIL This quote reminds me so much of a song by one of my refugee clients. The refugee help centre I worked at in Brisbane had a musical group known as the Scattered People Choir, composed of refugees, asylum seekers and friends. One of our songs was called My Hometown, and evokes the love and longing so many refugees have for their home.

#NFNov

I think this is what I will read next. It‘s been on my #botm backlist, plus it fills the #twofemaleauthors prompt for #pop19, #anothercountry for #nonfiction2019 and works for #NFNov.

What say you, Littens?

I‘m in a race to finish #popsugar2019 before the #pop20 list comes out. 😂

This is a story, that if open to it, could change people.

The author says that you could cry for a hundred lifetimes and not be able to cry for all the 500,000+ victims of the Rwandan Genocide. So many people died in the span of about 3 1/2 months. I‘ve listened to her story, but will never be able to imagine what it was like for them. 4/5😢

A painfully illuminating memoir that is a testament to the horrors of the refugee experience. I found it particularly helpful in understanding present border concerns.

Clemantine‘s story of survival through the Rwandan genocide is an emotionally heavy one that must be told. The story tells of the courage, resilience and strength she and her sister had to move from one camp to another (and eventually migrate to America). It also shows the different trajectory of the sisters lives, with Clemantine being fostered by a white suburban family. I‘m also glad to know there‘s no animosity between the sisters.

I picked this library book to meet #LetterG requirement of my #LitsyAtoZ. It‘s one of the best books I‘ve read this year. Clementine‘s story is heartbreaking and tragic.

“When you don‘t belong to a country, the world decides that you don‘t deserve a thing.”

😢

Morning #audiorun view today is of the Williamsburg Bridge! Already pretty warm out but not too bad yet. I‘m getting my miles down to ~9 min each and am really happy with that. This book isn‘t an easy one but it‘s really good - horrifying, though.