Led By Faith

WASHINGTON (Catholic Media Review) - Those who read Immaculee Ilibagiza's bestselling book, "Left to Tell" about how she survived the Rwandan genocide, were riveted by the emotional strength she displayed, cowering in the tiny bathroom clutching her father's red and white rosary, while homicidal maniacs chanted her name outside.

They felt her freeze in terror each time a search was conducted outside the room where she was hiding with seven other women, and rejoiced when they emerged from hiding ran to the safety of the refugee camp.

But, what happened after her rescue? How did Immaculee survive amidst the chaos left behind by gangs of Hutu murderers? Did she find out what happened to her family? How did her broken heart recover from such trauma?

"Led by Faith" answers these questions and continues the saga of one of the greatest heroines to emerge from the ruins of the 20th century. Like The Hiding Place, in which Corrie Ten Boom, forgave her prison guards in the Nazi Concentration Camps, Immaculee's story in "Led by Faith" is that of love's triumph over the tragedy of man's inhumanity to man.

The faith which sustained Immaculee in her 91 days in hiding, grew from begging for her life, to an intense struggle to forgive those seeking to kill her, and finally flowered into an intimate bond with God by which her spirit transcended her wretched situation. Her deeply personal relationship with Jesus and Mary was pivotal to her adjustment to everyday life without the support of her family in a country laid waste by genocide.

Though spared from death, Immaculee had to face further cruelty at the hand of others; she faced and forgave her family's brutal killers, dealt with the needs and brokenness of other victims, as well as the cruelty of those who would exploit her vulnerability. She suffered moments of intense despair, begging God to let her join her family in heaven, when she heard God's voice encouraging her to go on living.

Immaculee sought a quiet room in a retreat house for solitary hours of prayer and mourning which healed her broken heart. It was a slow and painful passage bathed in tears, in which she grew into the exceptionally strong, loving woman beloved by millions.

She became a conduit of love for her surviving family members, Mother Teresa's orphans, her colleagues at the UN, and eventually her own husband and children. Immaculee relates her story with warm humility drawing the reader into her tender presence.

Immaculee is what the world, imprisoned in the isolation of Godless materialism urgently needs, a person unafraid to love God and her fellow man intimately without fear of rejection, with a powerful love which overcomes even hatred and unthinkable acts of savagery.