All that mattered was that he couldn't see the baby

6. Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder


I adored this book! It is one man's story about living through and escaping the Tutsi-Hutu genocide in Burundi and Rwanda in 1994. The first section chronicles the life of Deogratias (Latin for "thanks be to God") from his boyhood herding cattle in Burundi to his relocation to the US as a third year medical student. This section is not chronological, but it is not confusing thanks to the places and years located subsequent to chapter numbers. Hardest to read is the chapter detailing Deo's six months of running, desperately staying away from both Tutsi armies and Hutu militia. The second part is told by the book's author in first person as he first meets Deo and slowly learns his story then follows Deo back to Rwanda and Burundi as he struggles to build a clinic for the poor of his countrymen. One wonderful observation Deo makes about the genocide to Kidder is this:

He liked to frame his solution jocularly: "I do believe in God. I do believe in God. I think God has given so much power to people, and intelligence, and said, 'Well, you are on your own. Maybe I'm tired, I need a nap. You are mature. Why don't you look after yourselves?'" Deo would pause, then say, "And I think He's been sleeping too much."

I really can't say enough how much I liked this book.