Area residents and local book clubs will have the unique opportunity to see and hear Immaculee Ilibagiza, author of New York Times bestseller, “Left to Tell.” She is part of the lecture series sponsored by the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University and will be speaking to the public in the Viterbo Fine Arts Center at 7 p.m. Sept. 22.

In 1994, Rwandan native Ilibagiza was 22 years old and home from college to spend Easter with her devout Catholic family when the death of Rwanda’s Hutu president sparked a three-month slaughter of nearly 1 million ethnic Tutsis.
She survived by hiding in a Hutu pastor’s tiny bathroom with seven other starving women for 91 cramped, terrifying days. This searing first-hand account of Ilibagiza’s experience cuts two ways: her description of the evil that was perpetrated, including the brutal murders of her family members, is soul-numbingly devastating, yet the story of her unquenchable faith and connection to God throughout the ordeal uplifts and inspires. Immaculee is a living example of the undefeatable human spirit.

Her story is timeless. Not only is this book an incredibly important story addressing both the best and the worst aspects of our humanity, but readers will have the occasion to see and hear the author in person.

 

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