In the Shadow of 10,000 Hills

By: Jennifer Haupt

Narrated by: Janina Edwards

Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

In the Shadow of 10,000 Hills combines the force of literature with the allure of women's fiction in a family saga that spans from Atlanta during the Civil Rights Movement to post-genocide Rwanda. At the heart of this novel that crosses racial and cultural boundaries is the search for family on a personal and global level.

In the Shadow of 10,000 Hills follows the intertwining stories of three women from vastly diverse cultures searching for personal peace in post-genocide Rwanda. Lillian Carlson, an African-American civil-rights activist now in her early 50s, traveled to Africa from Atlanta in 1970 to grieve the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. She dreamed of bettering the world, one child at a time, with an orphanage in Rwanda's rift valley.

Two decades later, in New York City, Rachel Shepherd, a white bartender in her mid-30s, lost and looking for her purpose in life, embarks on a journey to find the father who abandoned her as a child during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

When Rachel travels to Rwanda, searching for her father, she finds Lillian and a young Rwandan woman with secrets that bind her to her father. Together, they all discover something unexpected: grace when there can be no forgiveness.

"...more than a page-turning narrative; it's an embrace of the Kinyarwanda greeting amahoro--'peace.'" -- Oprah.com

"I was deeply moved by this story." -- Wally Lamb, best-selling author, She's Come Undone

"...a good choice for those seeking tales of hope after adversity." -- Booklist

"The Rwanda described in the text is beautiful... like the main narrative, it is alive with people working to come together to heal." -- Publisher's Weekly

"In this intensely beautiful debut, [Haupt] shows that it's indeed the women who hold up half the sky." -- Library Journal

"Haupt's debut novel, which weaves together characters and their stories across four decades and two continents, is well worth reading." -- The Seattle Times

"...this novel is a glittering gem." -- Powell's City of Books

"This blazingly original novel is about the illusions of love, the way memory can confound or release you, and the knotted threads that make up family--and forgiveness." -- Caroline Leavitt, best-selling author, Pictures of You

©2018 Jennifer Haupt (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Heartbreaking story based on true events🥺

Beautifully written and read. I’m so glad I ordered and listened to it. I highly recommend it and I will probably listen to it again and again.

The Seeking

A deeply moving story of the search for peace and redemptionof a war ravage people

Moving!

This was a very good read that I didn’t expect to find in the plus catalog. Written and narrated expertly.

Haunting and inspirational

The good, the bad and the horrific behavior of the human race, of human beings captured in a story of my generation. This will surely both haunt and inspire me for a long time.

Absolutely loved this book!

The author was enchanting! She has written about Atlanta in the mid to late 60 as an appropriate setting for the beginning of this book. She took me back to that time in one sentence. I lived down the road from the church of MLK in Inman park! She set the foundation of this book and it’s characters in a way that assists the reader in an understanding of each person, their strengths and frailties, which led them to Africa.

The authors rendition of the Rwandan genocide unraveled itself in waves of things forgotten or hidden by people so directly and indirectly involved in the unmentionable atrocities.

Wonderful “read” and a great way to enjoy audible while walking in the woods or other times of solitude. The narrator was mystical in her narration of the story. The perfect pair for this amazing story, author and narrator!

I recommend this for those who love history and are quizzical of the human spirit!

Intense story of love, grief and trauma

This book bravely takes on a devastating time, the genocide that took place in Rwanda. Like the holocaust, it is easier to not think about what we humans are capable of. By we need to remember, to remind ourselves what we say and what we do matters. With delicate story-crafting this book doesn’t avoid it, but allows you to see around the edges of a trauma that cannot be imagined, to the people who lived it, and then went on living after as best they could.

Unexpected Treasure

What a wonderful story. The writing was beautiful as was the narration . I highly recommend this book. Have your tissue ready.

Brutiful

Brutal and beautiful. The narration is excellent. This is a captivating story of love and family in the midst of unspeakable violence and pain.

excellent

This novel contains wonderful stories of love, fear, faith and peace. The horrors of this time in African history are exposed honestly but gently. Wonderfully narrated.

Choppy

Choppy and confusing transitions between characters and storines

Overall main story was beautiful and touching.