Not Just Another Pretty Face in the Stands

I met the most amazing man the other day at . As Gilbert Tuhabonye disappeared time and time again to retrieve running shoes for my four children (they long ago stopped picking out shoes to try on but now know that the running experts there will choose the shoes for them), we made small talk. As each child laced up pair after pair of Brooks, Asics, Saucony’s, Adidas, Fila’s, our conversation interrupted repeatedly to check for fit as he patiently bent down and felt their big toes and asked them to jog the length of the store so he could observe their stride. In the midst of the afternoon, Gilbert eventually shared that he had written a book, but when I asked what it was about, he brushed the burn marks on his arms and placed his fingers to his lips and said, “we will talk later.” We never returned to the topic again and he disappeared from the cash register before we could visit further. That evening at the hotel, I pulled out the complimentary hotel book listing local attractions in Austin trying to find something to do for four children ranging in ages from 10 to 17 years, when I found Gilbert’s face staring back at me. I couldn’t read the page fast enough. The quiet, unassuming man who so patiently helped us that afternoon, more than 10 years earlier had been buried under a pile of burning bodies for more than eight hours after the Hutus attacked his school and killed all the Tutsi children and teachers in the centuries-old battle between the two tribes. Gilbert was the only survivor who crawled out of that building using a femur bone to smash a window and begin his long run to freedom and life in the United States. I found the book the next morning at and have slowly and meticulously read every word. His story and his willingness to share such painful memories has already made a profound impact on my life. This book - “This Voice in My Heart - A Runner’s Memoir of Genocide, Faith, and Forgiveness” needs to be read, not just by runners, but to help us to learn how to survive and to forgive. I am forever moved and so grateful that Gilbert chose us that late afternoon in RunTex. I know God put Gilbert in my path that day, and I am forever grateful. The book is published by and is available for 13.95 in paperback and $23.95 in hard cover.

Share This