There Is No Me Without You

This past week I devoured a book - cover to cover, every single page. Now I read a lot of books, but rarely am I so captivated and compelled that I choose to stay focused until I finish the entire thing. My normal approach is to graze books - most of the time I am reading at least 3 or 4 at the same time.

There is No Me Without You, written by Melissa Fay Green, chronicles one women’s journey to bring real help and hope to orphaned and vulnerable children of Ethiopia. When Haregewoin Teferra’s husband and twenty-three year old daughter died within a few years of each other, her middle class life in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia was shattered. Bereft and with seemingly nothing to live for, Haregewoin became a recluse choosing to live out her final days on earth among the dead (literally in a graveyard outside Addis). Her self-imposed exile was interrupted when a priest delivered first one, then another orphaned child into her care. To everyone’s surprise, the children thrived - and so did Haregewoin.

With my recent trip to Ethiopia in the forefront of my mind, this book resonated with me in so many ways. Green does a masterful job of interweaving chapters on Ethiopia’s history, culture, language, food, and music alongside Haregewoin’s story of compassion in action. Many of the things I experienced in Ethiopia made so much more sense in light of Green’s explanations. As well, Green has some hard hitting chapters documenting the origins of HIV and the role multi-national pharmaceutical companies could play in bringing real help and hope to people in real need. But the heart of the book is the powerful story of a women working to rescue her country’s children, one life at a time.

If you want to learn more about the HIV and AIDS pandemic and the impact it has had and is having on millions of children in Africa, read this book. If you want your heart to be stirred by the impact that one caring person can make, read this book. Your thinking will be challenged and I believe your heart will be enlarged. And you too can make a difference, right where you are.

Dream Venti…