Turning Tragedy into Triumph — Survivor of Mass Murder Seeks Out and Forgives Family’s Killers

Twelve years ago, the horrific scenes of one of history’s most tragic events unfolded before the eyes of an innocent college girl visiting her family over Easter break. Immaculée Ilibagiza spent 90 days hiding in a preacher’s 3’x4’ bathroom with seven other women, listening to the stories of her family’s slaughter and country’s holocaust. Since then, she’s forgiven her killers, helped Rwandan women entrepreneurs rebuild their communities, and taught humans everywhere how to live side by side with hatred and love.

April 7, 2006, is the 12th Anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide; the story of one survivor, a beautiful and young, African Tutsi woman, is being told on paper and in film. Her autobiography, LEFT TO TELL, Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust, released March 2006. “The Diary of Immaculee,” a documentary based on this book, is being produced by three-time Academy Award nominees, Steve Kalafer and Peter LeDonne. (Visit www.diaryofimmaculee.com for details as well as video and photos.) The documentary is expected to debut sometime this spring.

“This book is a precious addition to the literature that tries to make sense of humankind's seemingly bottomless depravity and counterbalancing hope in an all-powerful, loving God” — Publisher’s Weekly. The triumphant story of this remarkable woman’s journey through the darkness of genocide will inspire anyone whose life has been touched by fear, suffering, and loss.

“Despite the hideous display of humans’ inhumanity to each other that was taking place only a decade or so ago in the country of Rwanda, this is truly a love story in the purest sense of the word—a story of the triumph of the human spirit, a story of one woman’s profound faith and determination to survive (against literally impossible odds) in order to tell her tale and to be an agent for ushering in a new spiritual consciousness, and a story of a love for God that was so strong that hatred and revenge were forced to dissolve in its presence,” New York Times bestselling author, Dr. Wayne Dyer.

One hundred percent of all sales from Hay House South Africa will go back to the people of South Africa, specifically to the 800,000 orphaned children left from the AIDS epidemic. Hay House is donating profits to the organization NOAH (Nurturing Orphans of AIDS for Humanity, http://www.noahorphans.org.za). All proceeds from donations of "Left to Tell" bracelets and a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will benefit the Left to Tell Foundation, an organization that helps the children of Africa build better lives. The bracelets will be available for a donation on the Left to Tell website, www.lefttotell.com.

Please feel free to request a review copy or interview with this courageous and inspiring woman. Immaculée lives in New York City with her husband and children.

Hay House is an international leader in self-help and motivational publishing, featuring books, audios, and sidelines by more than 125 authors. New Beginnings Press, Smiley Books, and Princess Books are imprints of Hay House, Inc. Please visit us as www.hayhouse.com.

LEFT TO TELL, Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust
By Immaculée Ilibagiza, with Steve Erwin
Hay House, Inc. — Publication Date: March 2006


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