After the genocide of 1994 Rwanda was a country with a national mental health crisis. Not only had most of its citizens suffered horrendous losses and abuses, but to compound the trauma, many were unable to find out what had happened to loved ones, or locate their bodies for burial. In 1997, the author and his wife felt called to go there and work with an NGO in the healing process. This is their story, of all the listening they did to start with, then the workshops they ran with a focus on healing and reconciliation. I was particularly impressed with the community based justice system which was focused more on restorative justice rather than punitive justice. Finally, he includes a 12 step program towards forgiveness which I found very powerful. The individual stories in this book are heartrending, but ultimately it’s a book of hope and healing.
Review of the e-book July 2017
