How Dare the Sun Rise audiobook

“It was light out when we found them, the sun rising slowly in a pale blue sky, casting a warm glow over the fields of sorrow and grief. I remember thinking: How dare the sun rise, as if it were any other day, after such a gruesome night.”First of all, how do you rate someone’s life? You can’t give one or two stars and say things like “uh, didn’t like it” or “boring”. That’s not how it works.This is the first time that I’ve heard of Sandra Uwiringiyimana. Sandra is a young woman, born in the Congo. Her tribe, the Banyamulenge, come from a province in Congo called South Kivu. They have Rwandan origins and as their appearance, language and accents differ from Congolese and Rwandan people, they don’t belong to either nation and are often discriminated against. Sandra is working towards a broader awareness of her tribe’s situation. She spoke in front of the United Nations and was interviewed by Charlie Rose during the Women in the World Summit in 2012. She wants more fairness and to end the hate and persecution that her people suffer from.I don’t want to take away too much beforehand so let me just say a few things. This book tackles lots of important topics, including discrimination, persecution, feminism, mental health and family. It is moving and empowering and most of all: It’s real. I started reading Sandra’s book – about how she was raised, survived a massacre and later immigrated to the US – thinking only “Oh this sounds interesting.” I’m in a position where I have the luxury, the choice to face ugly news and truths or to blend everything out. Sandra could not. The more I read, I started to realize that this was real, that Sandra is someone who has left and is still leaving footprints. The events she describes in this book can be glimpsed on Youtube or Instagram. That’s when reality hit me. A reporter asked Sandra in an interview how she survived the horrors of her past, like having a gun pointed at your head, seeing people getting slashed and burned. It felt like such a terrible question. How could you ask anyone this? But what Sandra is doing is brave and crucial. She fights for justice and for acceptance.This book is a raw and emotional autobiography, and while I wished to read more about what lead to the creation of this book, and about Sandra’s work as a Global Ambassador, I think it’s an amazing biography.Find more of my books on Instagram

What an incredibly moving and thought provoking story! I hesitate to even give this a star rating, because it is a story that I really think anyone would benefit from hearing, particularly teens. My tears in this book flowed FREELY

I was approved for this book for review. All thoughts are my own. This was such a powerful book! I loved it, I mean I really loved it! To hear what Sandra has been through was heart breaking, but it also opened up my eyes to other atrocities that plague the world and how they go unnoticed or forgotten by the public. Sandra reminds us that although it may not be happening to us it definitely is happening all over the world. This is such an inspiring story that I want to read more about young adults like her as well as adults who have grown up in war torn countries.

Finished the ARC of this and I couldn't put it down. Refugee Sandra details her family's flight from the war torn Congo and their struggles as immigrants living in an urbanized landscape of America. Told with brutal honesty and an insightful look into the world as an outsider looking in, it is certainly one memoir every young person needs to read when it releases in the US in May. Highly recommended.

More reviews at Mrs. ReaderPants.REVIEW: Though the subject matter was incredibly sad and violent, the conversational first-person narrative made this easy and engaging to read. I love Sandra's quiet power in how she compares her life in The Democratic Republic of the Congo and her new life as a middle-schooler in the USA. Some of the comparisons are funny, and some are just horribly sad.I love the bottom line message about how race in the USA is a much bigger deal than it is in Africa. Sandra talks about how she never really thought about her skin color in Africa, even though there were many different skin tones and even white people in Africa, it wasn't a big deal until she got to the USA. She also tackles large issues like poverty, everyday racism, PTSD, and depression. I loved this book for it's strong narrative voice and its ability to tell a very needed story in a simple and engaging way. This book is easy to get into right from the start and stays poignant all the way through to the very end. Though she hobnobs with celebrities by the end of it all, Sandra remains a humble person and simply wants to get her voice out there and make a difference for the millions of displaced individuals in Africa and around the world. THEMES: war, race, poverty, family, death, PTSD, depression, refugees, rapeTHE BOTTOM LINE: A must-have for any middle or high school library. How Dare the Sun Rise tackles important issues like war and race with quiet dignity and hope. Beautifully-written and moving.STATUS IN MY LIBRARY: On-order.RATING BREAKDOWN: Overall: 5/5 Creativity: 5/5 Characters: 5/5 Engrossing: 5/5 Writing: 5/5 Appeal to teens: 5/5 Appropriate length to tell the story: 5/5 CONTENT: Language: none Sexuality: mild; talk of menstruation and tampons taking your virginity Violence: high; attempted child rape, bloody massacre, arson, bullying, everyday racism Drugs/Alcohol: none

This is the kind of book that makes you really think deeply about all the things you take for granted in life and in your family. It also makes you think about what it means to attain and live out the American dream. Is it a dream when you've experienced so much pain to get there? Can it ever really be a dream for Black Americans born in America or from abroad?Sandra Uwiringiyimana told a painfully harrowing story about loss and trauma. I hate the word harrowing but honestly, the book was acutely distressing. Knowing that there's nothing that has been done about the war crimes perpetrated against her people is only more distressing. Resilient is an understatement to describe the ways that Sandra and her family have managed to continue forward. This was one hell of a memoir.

This is my 10th book of 2018, and so far, it easily ranks as my second favorite of this year (behind The Wet Engine). This book should be put in every middle and high school classroom. Sandra's story needs to be heard, and Sandra's bravery in sharing her story is unbelievably inspiring. This is now at the top of my list of books that I highly recommend to students. Undoubtedly, adults will enjoy it, too! Sandra loses her sister in a massacre, endures poverty, flees her homeland to America, and her struggles don't end there, but despite her unimaginable hardships, she becomes an artist and an activist, and I can't wait to see what she what she accomplishes in the future. PLEASE READ THIS BOOK SO THAT WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT! :)

you know a book is good when you stay up until 1 am reading it without taking any breaks

The author is a member of the Banyamulenge tribe from Rwanda who had settled in the Congo generations before. Because their customs and language were different they were always considered alien and subject to attacks. As a ten year old her family was living in a refugee camp Gatumba when it was attacked and over a hundred people brutally massacred including her youngest sister while many of her family were shot and left for dead. Eventually her family was allowed to come to America where they had to adjust to a completely new way of life. The book is simply written and delves into many current issues such as refugees, race relations in America and her hopes for the future. As a teenager the author began to tell the world of her people's situation at important world meetings and making a difference. I feel it is an excellent book to try and understand the conditions much of the world faces.

Young human rights activist, Sandra Uwiringiyimana shares her powerful heartbreaking memoir, How Dare the Sun Rise, of the sudden collapse of family life for Sandra, her parents, and her six siblings. The family, Rwandans, considered a hated Banyamulenge minority, lived in the mountains of South Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Because of the wars and rumored wars, the family were stateless, and moved from place to place. They had settled in Uvira Province, a city in South Kivu, where the close-knit, loving family lived a peaceful life until, again, unrest started. In 2004, the family were placed in a refugee camp in Gatumba, Burundi. There is where 10-year-old Sandra witnessed the rebel massacre of families, including her six-year-old sister, Deborah, cousins, and the shooting of her mother, brother, and aunt. In 2006, Sandra’s father heard of a resettlement program initiated to help displaced persons. After numerous interviews, the entire family were approved and immigrated to Rochester, New York, in 2007.The memoir explores Sandra’s mental and emotional struggle, her coming of age in a new society, defining herself counter to the cultural expectations of family and, navigating through the angst of her teens, and living in America. Some might question Sandra’s behavior in some instances, but I believe she suffered Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and guilt over Deborah’s death. The family established a new life in America, but received no family therapy. Sandra did receive brief therapy while attending college. However, Sandra mentioned that culturally, the family does not speak of their loss or unhappiness; instead, they have a strong belief in the power of prayer. An unforgettable memoir worth reading.

This memoir is a believable and moving account of the life experiences of a young Banyamulenge woman. She escaped a bloody massacre in a refuge camp in Africa in which her younger sister and other family members were murdered. This first-hand account details her family's struggle in the aftermath of the attack and their trials and tribulations after a refugee resettlement to Rochester, NY. Her activism on behalf of her people has been recognized in national and international circles.

Thoughtful and unsettling. I’m picky when it comes to memoirs, but I found this one to be interesting and worth my time. Just don’t expect it to be an easy read, since it's about a girl who survived a massacre. There is obviously violence and hardship, but there is also plenty to think about. It’s an inside look at the life of a refugee, and it definitely reminded me how fortunate I am, when many others aren’t. Pages: 304

This was really good! I really didn’t know anything about this so I’m glad I got to know more. She is such a strong woman with a strong family. It was also interesting to hear about the different culture shocks they went through.

How dare the sun rise, as if it were any other day, after such a gruesome night? (p. 82). Sandra Uwiringiyimana is a member of the Banyamulenge tribe, a survivor or the Gatumba massacre, where 166 people, including her 6-year-old sister, were killed during violence against ethnic Rwandan Congolese. She was named after a Rwandan prime minister, an influential woman in Rwanda's history: It makes me feel like I have big shoes to fill, and that someday I can do something worth being remembered for (p. 19). Uwiringiyimana does have big shoes to fill; yet her voice is strong and clear. She has been a worthy advocate for her community, refugees everywhere, and "people of all races, cultures, and faiths" (p. 276), as in this speech to the United Nations Security Council.As long as the criminal who admitted to leading that massacre continues to walk freely in the streets of Burundi, I have no choice. I must keep telling it, until the international community proves my words are not only worthy of empathy, but also of accountability. Until leaders like you and the countries that you represent show me that my family and all others are not disposable. (p. 243)Uwiringiyimana's memoir can be read as a case study in both trauma and resilience. In addition to the massacre and periods of profound poverty, she described bullying in both the Congo and the US. She was utterly unprepared for the US, and her caseworkers, although well-intentioned, did not understand her family's confusion. Her father was hit by a car, spent three months in a coma, and was unable to work outside the home after that. Yet, Uwiringiyimana's parents gave her a strong foundation. Her church and friends supported her during good times and periods of profound depression and frequent flashbacks. Uwiringiyimana also means “one who believes in God,” something that she struggled with in the years since the massacre: Why were we being targeted by people who were praising God? Gunshots, screams, chanting. Nothing made sense. It didn’t register that people were dying, that my cousin had been shot dead as she ran from the tent. (p. 6). While her faith ebbed and flowed as she faced new challenges in Africa and after her immigration to the US, her spirituality was part of what saved her.Her parents were strong and powerful forces in her life. Her mother was "the original feminist," selling cows and running businesses in a culture where those were not women's work. When feeling bullied at school, her mother helped her keep perspective: “Did they injure you in some way?... Do you have a wound?” (p. 47). Her father encouraged her to value her education and recognize that “Beauty is in your head, not on your body” (p. 141). This story is very similar to John Bul Dau's God Grew Tired of Us: ethnic violence, trauma, difficulties with adjusting to the US, and anger at God. Both books are hopeful. Still, perhaps because I just read it, How Dare the Sun Rise, feels like it more clearly articulated these themes.I know now that I want to live freely, without separating myself from others, without feeling that I need to pick a side, to stick to my own. After all, if people remain divided and closed off from different cultures, it can lead to the kind of extreme thinking that took Deborah’s life. Back then, my people were seen as different—that is why we were targeted. We looked different. We sounded different. And so people wanted to wipe us out with their machetes and guns. What kind of justice would it be for Deborah if I embraced the very notions of division that killed her? My life has been a journey to come to this realization. As a child, I witnessed the unthinkable: I saw my sister murdered before my eyes because of discrimination and hate. But I have learned that if we want to change the world, we can’t harden our hearts and shut ourselves off from other cultures. We must open up our hearts. (pp. 275-276)