An incredible read. A book that I purchased, recommend, and share.
Auma's Long Run by Eucabeth A. Odhiambo Published by Carolrhoda Books
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1980’s Kenya, 13-year-old Auma wants answers: Why is her father not returning to his job in the city? What is causing this mysterious illness that people in the village call Slim? Why is her mother silent and withdrawn after taking Auma’s father to the doctor?
The one place where Auma can get answers is school, a place where the teachers are strict (students get hit with a cane in the back of the legs if they are late, “no excuses” is the rule), but at least they give the students accurate information about the transmission and inevitable course of AIDS.
Auma faces the daily struggle of keeping her siblings in school and alive after the suffering and deaths of first her father and then her mother. Auma and her mother have their most difficult, honest, and courageous conversation near the end of her mother’s life.
The author, Eucabeth A. Odhiambo, draws from her own experiences and her work with children affected by AIDS in Kenya. She calls these children heroes, and children like Auma have the fortitude and courage to survive and to keep their siblings alive as well.
Odhiambo’s writing is genuine, clear, even. We get a clear sense of the struggles that children and women face in a society that gives them few options, but the story is uplifting. Auma relies on her best friend, her grandmother, and other women in the community to prevail in getting an education and a track scholarship.
My hope is that Odhiambo continues writing Auma’s story and that we find out if she fulfills her dream to become a doctor dedicated to helping her people fight AIDS.
