Writersbox Book Review: Strength in What Remains
By Barbara Katz
A Pulitzer Prize winner, Kidder once again hits the mark in this inspiring and engrossing nonfiction narrative. Partially set in Burundi, Africa, the theme is universal: finding yourself emotionally wounded, and the process of healing, forgiving, and creating meaning from tragedy. In Deogratias (Deo for short), readers meet a complex man and an imperfect hero. Deo grows up in Burundi, a small country bordering Rwanda with similar social problems. An exceptional student whose parents and grandparents are cow herders, Deo is in his third year of medical school when political chaos breaks out in Burundi and Rwanda. The tension between the Hutus and Tutsis explodes which leads to massive slaughter in both countries. Because he is a Tutsi, the minority ethnic group in Burundi, Deo is forced to run, hide, and survive any way he can. In 1994, Deo escapes the nightmare when a well-connected friend helps him travel to America. But even on safe ground, Deo is traumatized and shadowed by memories.
America treats Deo harshly. He speaks no English, and he has only $200, which would have gone far in Africa. He sleeps in an abandoned building and delivers groceries for an abusive employer who pays $15 a day. Later, Deo finds refuge in Central Park, camping under the stars. Despite a challenging beginning, Deo makes friends easily, and he is bright and resilient. He learns English, befriends people who want to help, and eventually moves in with a loving, intellectual couple. But one desire - to attend college and medical school.- burns inside him. Deo perseveres and amazes those who care about him.
Kidder tells the first part of Strength in What Remains from Deo’s point of view, and author captures Deo’s thoughts and actions magnificently. In the second part, Kidder inserts himself in the telling, as the two revisit Deo’s N.Y.C. landmarks and later Burundi. The second portion is interesting but not as compelling as the first. Readers will walk away marveling at Deo’s character. Although he has emotional scars, Deo returns to Burundi to start a medical clinic that will benefit both Hutus and Tutsis. The story ends with hope. Personally, I would love to read a follow-up.
Author: 
Publisher-Creator Mikhail Saavedra began life down by the deepest tip of southern Latin America. He started life with a deep curiosity for all things, with music and books being at the forefront, a curious child by all accounts. As he grew and opened his eyes to the world, he developed a sense of justice and dignity in part as a reaction to growing up in a military dictatorship. Alas, this did not fill him with fear or cynicism but a more rebellious spirit, which led him to being incredibly popular at the principal’s office and the local riot police department….
Then came Canada and it was here that he was able to formulate his deep desire to learn about the world, with Toronto being the kind of multicultural soup that could engage his need to know and embrace. It started with writing, then moved on to what became Toronto’s first Latin Alternative radio show, followed by an all-English show in the same vein. It was this desire to find the true “crossover” among people, which led him to the concept of “Alternavox”
He is a lover of wine, good food, Neruda, Eduardo Galeano, rebel music, revolutionaries, dancing, family and beautiful people. Believes that kindness in this much too cynical world is revolutionary, that you are a better person when able to give a little without asking for the change and that on the same token you should laugh at yourself and the madness surrounding you as often as possible as you set out to change the world bit by bit. 