Book 2012: There is No Me Without You

There Is No Me Without You: One Woman's Odyssey to Rescue Africa's Children by Melissa Fay Greene

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Powerfully written, There is No Me Without You, presents solid research, incomprehensible statistics and the more powerful prose of personal narratives and stories out of Ethiopia giving a face and depth the the HIV/AIDS crisis.

I cannot adequately express how moving and powerful this story was for me. The HIV/AIDS crisis, the cause of orphans and widows are all completely overwhelming and more often than not leave me feeling powerless and hopeless. Greene presents these overwhelming factors alongside the stories that exemplify hope and power in the lives of ordinary women and children. I cannot solve this crisis. But I don't need to sit back passively and watch it play out either.


A powerful read for any American, those well versed in the AIDS pandemic and those who have forgotten that is a pandemic. It reads easy, presents a number of views and a wealth of information and heart regarding our world.

"Adoption is good, but children, naturally, would prefer not to see their parents die." (page 25)


(I'm in full support of adoption, as is the author, she just makes the point that it's not THE answer and we, as a globabl community, ought to be seeking solutions which allow for more parents to live WITH their children, rather than solutions which only allow a few children to live.)


"She could see the nice young man he was born to be, but he was headed for an early grave. If powerlessness made vulnerable the girls of Ethiopia, hopelessness made vulnerable the boys." (page 105)


"You don't have to be a saint to rescure other people from suffering and death. You can just be an everyday, decent enough sort of regular person, nothing extraordinary, and yet turn lives around." (Location 7832 - Q&A with the author)


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This story is powerful on it's own.  This story is increasingly powerful when your heart and mind can see not only the picture and story of the children and lives depicted by author Greene, but when your own life has introduced you to a child with a similar, but oh-so-unique-story. (Look for the One Year Ago stories, September 2010).

This story then takes on a unique face. Something personal.

Not a chapter went by that my heart and my head weren't swimming with images of my best friend, her husband and their precious boy. 

A boy who calls me Auntie.
A boy who is more than a 'nephew'.
A boy who is indescribable in what he means in my life,
                               the lives of others and of course in his parents lives.
A boy who loves two places with his whole heart.
A boy who loves two families without hesitation.
A boy who lives with great passion and intentionality.
                               all at the brink of five years of age.
A boy who continues to captivate my heart from thousands of miles away.

There is No Me Without You is powerful.
As a story.
As a life.

If you read this, I hope you have a face to put on it.
Or that your future gives you a face to put on it.
Because the more real a story like this is to you, the more powerfully it will stay with you.

(Typed having recently finished a paper cup of instant coffee mix)