As We Forgive

Stories of Reconciliation from Rwanda

By: Catherine Claire Larson

Narrated by: Bahni Turnpin

Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

Inspired by the award-winning film of the same name.

If you were told that a murderer was to be released into your neighborhood, how would you feel? But what if it weren't only one, but thousands? Could there be a common roadmap to reconciliation? Could there be a shared future after unthinkable evil?

If forgiveness is possible after the slaughter of nearly a million in a hundred days in Rwanda, then today, more than ever, we owe it to humanity to explore how one country is addressing perceptual, social-psychological, and spiritual dimensions to achieve a more lasting peace. If forgiveness is possible after genocide, then perhaps there is hope for the comparably smaller rifts that plague our relationships, our communities, and our nation.

Based on personal interviews and thorough research, As We Forgive returns to the boundary lines of genocide's wounds and traces the route of reconciliation in the lives of Rwandans - victims, widows, orphans, and perpetrators - whose past and future intersect. We find in these stories how suffering, memory, and identity set up roadblocks to forgiveness, while mediation, truth-telling, restitution, and interdependence create bridges to healing.

As We Forgive explores the pain, the mystery, and the hope through seven compelling stories of those who have made this journey toward reconciliation. The result is a narrative that breathes with humanity and is as haunting as it is hopeful.

©2009 Catherine Claire Larson (P)2009 Zondervan

Glorious story of forgiveness

I liked the deep feelings expressed so perfectly.
I talk about the stories to many. I want people to read/listen so they can understand how freeing forgiveness is and do it themselves.
Life is given through it. More people will see this because of this precious book.

Good

So cool to hear first hand accounts. However, it is a little hard to follow as it bounces around..

The narration ruined it for me

Would you try another book from Catherine Claire Larson and/or Bahni Turnpin?

Maybe by Catherine Claire Larson, but not by Bahni Turnpin. The narration was so distracting that I couldnt see past it.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I didnt get that far, had to quit.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Bahni Turnpin?

Anyone. She spoke too slowly and dragged out words unnaturally. The worst part was that she put on Rwandan accents when she quoted Rwandans but she didnt ham it up when she quoted American men or other people. I couldnt listen to it. It also seemed overly sentimental in the reading. Very unnatural tones.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No

Any additional comments?

I couldnt finish listening even though I was in Rwanda at the time and wanted to learn more.