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.

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.

heartbreaking yet inspiring

What made the experience of listening to As We Forgive the most enjoyable?

this book was hard to get through,it was so raw and visceral but the enduring message helps to get you through it.This was one of the most brutal conflicts in recorded human history yet somehow those who survived have managed to move past the ingrained hatred that one side felt for the other.The narrative of this book is essentially showing the brutality of individual attacks and then how survivors and perpetrators overcame the most nerve crushing pain and anguish that was felt by both parties

If you’ve listened to books by Catherine Claire Larson before, how does this one compare?

N/A

Which character – as performed by Bahni Turnpin – was your favourite?

is hard to say in a book like this

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

is heartbreaking and not for the faint hearted.
i have read/listened to many books like this as it shines a light on the dichotomy of humanity,the hatred and hurting and our overwhelming spirit that helps people get through situations most of us have thankfully never faced.

Any additional comments?

the only downside for me,and maybe i am being churlish but to constantly crowbar religion(christian in the most part)and god in a book that is about breaking down barriers and divisions in all societies seem completely counter-productive.I know many people use there faith to help them overcome heartache and attribute this to the powers of god which may be the case but if we say that god/faith helped these people forgive then we must also be even handed and say that god/faith also helped allow the perpetrators carry out some of the most sickening rampages of terror ever seen.we can not just pick and choose what we want to attribute to any cause and ignore others just because it doesn't fit with our own narrative we want to portray