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Strength in What Remains: A Journey of Remembrance and Forgiveness

Tracy Kidder

Discussion: November/December 2009

Discussion leader: LynnB

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November/December 2009

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What Members Thought

Aug 21, 2012 Kathrina rated it really liked it

Shelves: resources-for-adults, burundian

This is a riveting account of one young man’s flight from the violent chaos of genocide in his home country of Burundi, his abrupt introduction to the unjust social system of New York City, and the resilience of his character that allowed him to rise above his circumstance, finally returning to Burundi to found the country’s first non-profit medical clinic. The first 2/3 of the book is seen through Deo’s eyes -- the horror of sudden and incomprehensible violence, the blind flight for safety, the This is a riveting account of one young man’s flight from the violent chaos of genocide in his home country of Burundi, his abrupt introduction to the unjust social system of New York City, and the resilience of his character that allowed him to rise above his circumstance, finally returning to Burundi to found the country’s first non-profit medical clinic. The first 2/3 of the book is seen through Deo’s eyes -- the horror of sudden and incomprehensible violence, the blind flight for safety, the kindness of a few strangers providing that narrow lifeline towards survival, and the arrival to a strange new world that doesn’t bring the promise he had hoped and strived for. Yet between the nightmares of his past and the darkness of his present, Deo dreams of returning to Burundi as a doctor, and caring for the people and the country he was forced to leave behind. Through a series of contacts and long patience, Deo finds the people that help him to fulfill his dream. One of those people is the author, Tracy Kidder, who finishes the last third of the book with his observations of the journey he and Deo take together, returning to Burundi and the emotional sites of terror in Deo’s past, to make peace, to remember and forgive, and to build the clinic that will symbolize a new era of progress and peace for his home community.

This book was lent to me as part of a book group kit from the ICPL. This title is currently the One Community, One Book title for Iowa City, and the ICPL encourages group discussion and participation in local programming. I have never participated in a One Book event before, excluding a discussion I hosted in my bookstore for the One Book discussion ofA Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. This was the true account of a child soldier in Sierra Leone, who was able to escape that violence to spur activism here in the United States. That title is similar to Kidder’s in both content and tone, beginning with unspeakable evil and ending with inspiration and hope for a better future.

I must comment on the observation that One Book titles seem frequently to deal with contemporary social crises that plague various corners of our world. From civil unrest in Africa to natural (followed by civil) disasters like Katrina (Zeitoun), One Book seems both dedicated to enlightening its communities to world affairs of import, and at the same time guilting its readers to read of issues they should feel “ashamed” not to have pursued on their own. Does One Book intend to raise activism at home, or just create some healthy discussion? I cannot yet discern its true aim. I am familiar with at least two local book groups that have given up including One Book titles on their reading lists, because they were “just too depressing.”

Depressing perhaps, but the social activism/memoir has become something of its own genre in recent years. I am reminded of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, The Price of Stones, and Born in the Big Rains, all memoirs that not only describe lives disrupted by civil unrest, famine and plague, but also boast a narrator who escapes these trials, obtains formal education and organizes activism in the United States, and returns to successfully bring change to their home communities. One of these titles goes so far as to publish a website on its last page that inspired readers can visit to contribute funds for school-building and clean water installations. There’s nothing wrong with this kind of solicitation, but it certainly changes the nature of the reading experience, leaving the reader to worry that “reading” the book was not enough; that more is still expected of them. As for Kidder’s book, the least a reader will do is be reminded to acknowledge the humanity of the delivery boy, the cab driver, the homeless man sleeping on the park bench, and consider what the circumstances of our class-divided society have smothered in him. At best, a reader might be inspired to take action, either directly in Burundi’s needs for social and civil structure, or in the needs of the reader’s own community. And maybe that’s the purpose of One Community, One Book -- to begin a local conversation that invites the “other” and creates “us”. Whatever the results, this read is stimulating. ...more

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Oct 03, 2009 Bookmarks Magazine rated it really liked it

Shelves: nov-dec-2009

Saluted as "a high priest of the narrative arts" (New York Times Book Review) and "a master of creative nonfiction" (Dallas Morning News), Kidder has written an unforgettable tribute to the resilience of the human spirit. Riveting, sad, terrible, but ultimately optimistic, Kidder's harrowing descriptions of Central Africa's bloody ethnic hostilities and Deo's amazing survival have been hailed by critics as some of the finest writing in contemporary nonfiction. The Washington Post objected to Kid ...more

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Jan 21, 2011 Ginni rated it it was amazing

Tracy Kidder narrates the real life story of Deo who was a third year medical student in Burundi when the genocidal slaughter occurred in the early 1990's. After six months of fleeing and hiding in Burundi and Rwanda Deo escapes to New York City. Deo's ordeal does not end in NYC as he can only find meager wages, speaks no English, and is homeless. Kidder very eloquently shares how Deo found the strength to accept help, continue his education, and eventually return to his country. ...more

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Feb 26, 2015 Kevin rated it it was amazing

One of my favorite books I have read this year. It is a beautiful book about trauma, what it means to be poor amongst wealth, how the goodwill of a few can transform situations, and the circumstances that led up to genocides in Rwanda and Burundi. I love how the author portrays poverty and struggle from multiple perspectives -- that of Deo balanced by his support network of family and friends.

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Aug 04, 2010 Molly rated it it was ok

beautiful story, but did not like the style the book was written in. I felt the story deserved a better telling.

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Nov 16, 2010 Lisa Roberts rated it liked it

Shelves: audio

This is the story of Deo, a survivor of the Tutsi-Hutu genocide in Burundi and Rwanda and how he fared after escaping to America. Even though he was a medical student in Burundi, he started life in America as a homeless person living in New York's Central Park, who made a subsistence living delivering groceries. Through a series of almost miraculous encounters, he was able to lift himself up, graduate from Columbia University, and build a medical clinic in his native Burundi. ...more

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Jul 31, 2009 Betsy rated it liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, american-authors, current-affairs, bookmarks-magazine

This is a great profile of what immigrants and refugees face when they come to the US and for many what horrors they have experienced in their native land. I enjoyed Kidder's easy writing style. I recommend it to others interested in the topic, but I wouldn't say the book knocked my socks off. Maybe that's because I have done a fair amount of work with immigrants and refugees, so some of the shock value was missing for me. ...more

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