Friday, November 13, 2009


#56 Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder. Tracy Kidder, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, has written "an inspiring account of one man's remarkable journey and of the ordinary people who helped him- a brilliant testament to the power of will and of second chances."

Deo arrives in the US from Burundi with 2oo dollars in his pocket, no English, no one to meet him, and no place to go. He has survived civil war and genocide. He gets a job delivering groceries, ends up living in Central Park, and learns English from dictionaries in bookstores. Then, he begins meeting people who will help him. Kidder travels back to Africa with Deo in search of meaning and forgiveness.

The jacket says," an extraordinary writer, Tracy Kidder one again shows us what it means to be fully human by telling a story about the heroism inherent in ordinary people, a story about a life based on hope." The book was inspiring and, of course, very troubling.

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