NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY:Los Angeles Times • San Francisco Chronicle •Chicago Tribune • The Christian Science Monitor • Publishers WeeklyIn Strength in What Remains, Tracy Kidder gives us the story of one man’s inspiring American journey and of the ordinary people who helped him, providing brilliant testament to the power of second chances. Deo arrives in the United States from … him, providing brilliant testament to the power of second chances. Deo arrives in the United States from Burundi in search of a new life. Having survived a civil war and genocide, he lands at JFK airport with two hundred dollars, no English, and no contacts. He ekes out a precarious existence delivering groceries, living in Central Park, and learning English by reading dictionaries in bookstores. Then Deo begins to meet the strangers who will change his life, pointing him eventually in the direction of Columbia University, medical school, and a life devoted to healing. Kidder breaks new ground in telling this unforgettable story as he travels with Deo back over a turbulent life and shows us what it means to be fully human.
BONUS: This edition contains a Strength in What Remains discussion guide.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Named one of the Top 10 Nonfiction Books of the year by Time • Named one of the year’s “10 Terrific Reads” by O: The Oprah Magazine
“Extraordinarily stirring . . . a miracle of human courage.”—The Washington Post
“Absorbing . . . a story about survival, about perseverance and sometimes uncanny luck in the face of hell on earth. . . . It is just as notably about profound human kindness.”—The New York Times
“Important and beautiful . . . This book is one you won’t forget.”—Portland Oregonian
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The haunting and ultimately, inspirational narrative of Deo, an African medical student torn from his studies and country during a bloody civil war… ending up homeless in NYC,… is slowly able, with great inner strength, and with the helping hands of good-hearted people, to rebuild his life and vocation. You will not forget Dr. Deo …
Beautiful book that tells a haunting, devastating, but ultimately inspiring story of a remarkable individual. So many of us are unaware of the nightmares happening a world away and the stories immigrants overcome yet carry with them to this country. This book makes the headlines very real and personal.
Beautiful book that tells a haunting, devastating, but ultimately inspiring story of a remarkable individual. So many of us are unaware of the nightmares happening a world away and the stories immigrants overcome yet carry with them to this country. This book makes the headlines very real and personal.
I have read and enjoyed most of Tracy Kidder’s books. His recent book, “Strength In What Remains” , is a very powerful story about “Deo”, a survivor of the Burundi Civil War. “Strength” is similar to another Kidder story, “Mountains Beyond Mountains”. Most of Kidder’s earlier books, “Soul of a New Machine”, “House”, etc. told stories of teams of …
If it were a movie it would be a great documentary.
This was interesting. Especially if you are interested in the Rwanda massacres. It offers great insight into how colonial interference in Africa set up powder kegs that were eventually going to explode.
Warning, some spoilers to follow:
It was a little mystifying how the main character, or rather the person whose memoir this is, was so utterly …
Amazing true story of survival amid a terrible time of genocide.
Admirable story full of courage and despair. Highly recommended.
helps understanding of what others face and how they survive to overcome.
A great read. A true story of a young man from Burundi caught up in the genocide in his and neighboring countries. He physically survived but the mental anguish and his struggles to become educated and then to help his country are phenomenal.
The best and the worst of human nature. The author goes back and forth in time almost to alleviate, it seems, the horror of the past, as well as to illuminate the whimsy – both for good and for bad – of the present.
The first 3/4 of this book was riveting, since it was told by the protagonist who grew up in Burundi and experienced the terrifying and life-threatening events that are the subject of this book. The last 1/4 is told from the viewpoint of his friend as they return together for a visit to Burundi. Unfortunately, this section really drags. The book …
Perseverance in adversity.
The reporting is impeccable, but it’s Kidder’s great feat of sympathetic imagination that dazzles. Walk a mile in Deo’s shoes; your world will be larger and darker for it.
Read this book, and it’s one that you will not likely forget. The story of a journey, classical in its way, but contemporary and very modern in its details. It’s written with such simplicity and lucidity that it transcends the moment and becomes as powerful and compelling as those journeys of myth.
The journey of Deo achieves mythic importance in Tracy Kidder’s expert hands.
Great story of survivor of genocide in Africa. Well written and detailed account of what actually happened and how the main character survives, comes to America and faces hardships.
A truly beautiful story. A cold night with a fire sort of book.
This book, though full of heart wrenching passages is a very important read. We are so removed from the tragedies of the world that it is hard for us to believe that human beings can be so cruel and that life can be so difficult. But the best part is that the human spirit is resilient in spite of all, and triumph is possible. I recommend this …
This was a very interesting account of a young man who lived through the genocide in Rwanda and Burundi in the 1990’s. I had heard about it on the news, of course, at the time it happened but it’s always hard to imagine what it’s really like for the people who actually live through something so horrific. This book not only tells what it was like …