This Voice in My Heart - A Runner's Memoir of Genocide, Faith, and Forgiveness

Gilbert Tuhabonye was a teenager at school in Burundi, Africa, when the centuries-old conflict between the Hutu and Tutsi tribes came into his life. Tuhabonye was herded into a small room with his fellow Tutsi students and teachers, where Hutus beat most of them to death, doused them with gasoline, and set them on fire.

Tuhabonye hid under burning bodies for more than eight hours before making his escape, the only survivor of the massacre. Badly burned himself, he credits his survival to his faith in God.

This Voice in My Heart is the tale of Tuhabonye’s remarkable journey. While his survival under such horrific conditions is astonishing, perhaps even more remarkable is his ability to forgive his attackers and move on with his life. This Voice in My Heart teaches the real meaning of courage, faith, and forgiveness.

Gilbert Tuhabonye was born on November 22, 1974, in the southern county of Songa in Burundi, East Central Africa. His parents were part of the Tutsi tribe and were farmers by profession. In October 1993, Tuhabonye was the only survivor of a massacre of Tutsi students and teachers at his school. After recovering from his injuries, he came to the United States to study, graduating from Abilene Christian University. He was a national champion runner, and is now a track coach in Austin, Texas, where he lives with his wife and two daughters.

Gary Brozek is a former Senior Editor at Plume/Penguin and lives in New York.

“Gilbert Tuhabonye’s story is much more than a common account of the American immigrant: it is an improbable, soul-searching journey of faith that inspires others to seek the One who lives within the heart.”

– Rick Perry, Governor of Texas