Title: A Gift from Darkness
Author: Patience Ibrahim & Andrea C. Hoffmann
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Africa, Memoirs, War
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Year: 2018

This was one of those books that I had to read in fits and starts. It’s incredibly intense and horrifying. And I just can’t fathom the horrors of what Patience has been through. The fact that I was reading this not long after giving birth… It was just far more gruelling for me, emotionally.

I’m struggling to write this review because of the emotional turmoil that this book put me through. It is well written and so drags you into those emotional moments that you just don’t quite expect. Or see coming. It honestly blind sides you. And, unlike most of the fiction books I read, there are no happy endings here. Sure, you finish reading this with Patience and Gift safe and sound… for now.

Andrea uses 2 timelines to tell the story of Boko Haram. Firstly there’s Patience’s story. The one that honestly reached inside and tore apart my heart. Then, there’s Andrea’s journey to meeting Patience. Her own emotional journey as she sees and understands what has happened in a more personal way to the Christians under Boko Haram torture.

I will definitely read this again. Its an incredibly powerful story. And a stark reminder of how lucky I have it down here in Australia.

<- The Not So Subtle Art of Being a Fat Girl

Lab Girl ->

Image source: Booktopia