Left to Tell is a memoir written by Immaculée Ilibagiza about her account of the Rwandan genocide in 1994. In this genocide, roughly a million lives were claimed in about 100 days. This novel begins with Immaculée retelling her life before the genocide. She describes her middle-class family that emphasized education and faith. Her Tutsi family consist of her parents and her three brother. She continues to discuss her education eventually up to the university she attended in addition to the obstacles she faced as a Tutsi before the genocide. Once the genocide began, she got separated from her family, who were all in Rwanda except for Amiable one of her brothers that was studying abroad. Through the conflict, she ended up taking refuge in the tiny bathroom of Pastor Murizini’s house along with seven other women for 91 days while atrocities were occurring right outside the walls of this room. During her stay in the bathroom, Immaculée dedicated her time to praying to strengthen her connect with God and to forgive the killers as well as she teaches herself English. Eventually, Immaculée leaves the bathroom and enters a French camp which is offered as a safe haven to the Tutsi. In the camp, she learns of the death of her parents and two of her brothers, Vianney and Damascene, as well as her brothers friend, Augustine, who was under her family’s care. At the end of the genocide she ends up at a RPF bade back in Kigali. …show more content…
Throughout the book, the recurring message that Immaculée shares with her readers is that anyone can learn to forgive no matter how much they have suffered in the past as long as they put their whole-hearted self in God’s