Battling Forgiveness: An Inspirational Memoir

By Shema

Battling Forgiveness tells the story of a five-year-old girl kidnapped from her family. Her father abducted Shema from her village of Kaganza in Gitarama Prefecture of Rwanda. Due to the political climate of the country, her father brought her to America along with his new family. While moving through the various stages of grief and trauma, God guides her through the path toward forgiving her dad, brothers, and stepmother.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Jun 19, 2017
• ISBN: 9781504382199

Shema

Shema was born on 08/02/1983 in a small village in Rwanda. Her mother was a poor teenager who had been taken advantage of by Shema’s father who was her boss at first. Shema only got to spend 5 years with her mother until her father kidnapped her, and it has been 29 years since she last saw her mother. Shema was able to come to America in 2000, got free from her father, step brothers and step mother, and went on to become a mother, and a professional chef.

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Copyright © 2017 Shema.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

All scriptures from the King James Version

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The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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ISBN: 978-1-5043-8218-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-8219-9 (e)

Balboa Press rev. date: 06/08/2017

Dedication

THIS BOOK IS A DEDICATED to my mother. As a teenager, you carried me inside your womb. You were hurt, ridiculed, humiliated, and lied to. Your life was forever changed. Since our country is unfair to unmarried pregnant women you were isolated.

Thanks for keeping me instead of having an abortion. You gave me the gift of life. Even though I only spent 5 years with you I felt your love and continue to feel it today even though we are thousands of miles apart.

I have always sensed your spirit. This book was written so readers can hear your voice. Your tears and sadness gave me the strength to reveal the truth as you have been silenced.

I am thankful for your prayers. They protected me against harm. You will always be my hero.

I am thankful for my kids because they make me very happy.

Thanks to everyone who helped me to write this book.

Last but not least, I would like to thank the love of my life for helping me throughout this journey.

Contents

Dedication

Part I

The Kidnapping

Chapter 1 Heaven

Chapter 2 Childhood Gone

Chapter 3 Beatings And Eggshells

Chapter 4 Lina

Chapter 5 Monique

Chapter 6 Love And Punishment

Chapter 7 Desperation And Hope

Chapter 8 Christine

Chapter 9 Odette And Aline

Chapter 10 Deception Part Ii. Diamonds

Chapter 11 Martin

Chapter 12 The United States

Chapter 13 Aline

Chapter 14 Abandonment

Chapter 15 Uwanyirigira

Chapter 16 On My Own Part I

Part II

The Future Imagined

Chapter 17 A Newspaper Photo

Chapter 18 Abandonment Part Ii

Chapter 19 Future Interrupted

Chapter 20 Betrayal And Earth Angels

Chapter 21 God’s Love

Chapter 22 On My Own Part Ii

Chapter 23 Happiness

Chapter 24 Peace And Joy

Chapter 25 Battling Forgiveness

PART I

The Kidnapping

CHAPTER 1

Heaven

WHEN I WAS FIVE YEARS old life was wonderful. I lived in the little village of Kaganza in Gitarama Prefecture of Rwanda. I lived with my mother and grandparents. They loved me very much. We didn’t have much and saying that we were poor was the right description of us. We didn’t have electricity or running water. We gathered wood to light the fire. This was fun for everybody in the village. We didn’t see it as a problem.

I was the youngest person in the whole house. Everybody paid attention to me. I didn’t seem to miss anything.

My grandparents were farmers. We ate what we grew and also had a few cows that provided milk. My other grandparents on my father’s side lived a mile from us. I only went there once and didn’t understand who they were since I didn’t know my father.

I was told they were my