My copy of There Is No Me Without You arrived a week ago just as we were going out the door to a wedding three hours away. I read aloud to Russ as we drove along, pausing only when I felt motion sickness coming on, or when the lump in my throat was too large to allow words to pass through.

The book is touching and disturbing. Through gifted writing, Melissa Fay Greene gave me a clearer image of the crisis in Ethiopia that is leaving many children orphans. The book focuses on one Ethiopian woman who took in two teenagers at the request of the local Catholic church. She was soon faced with a flood of children handed to her through her gate, left on the street outside her compound, or dropped off by the police. The children in her care soon numbered eighty and there were problems with her imperfect system of care. However, her desire to love children and to help them continues to save the lives of many little ones.

My favorite part of the book was reading about and seeing photos of children who were in her care and later adopted by families in the U.S. Their stories are touching beyond words and full of hope. I don’t think anyone could read the last chapter without crying.

If you are interested in purchasing the book, you can go to the author’s website where I hope you will take a moment to view the slideshow of the beautiful children. You can also purchase it on Amazon here. I just ordered two more copies of the book to lend to friends.

Thank you for reading.
~Lisa