Uwineza, Marcel. Risen from the Ashes: Theology as Autobiography in Post-Genocide Rwanda. Nairobi: Paulines Publications Africa, 2022, 255pp.

Abstract

In his moving autobiography, Risen from The Ashes, Marcel Uwineza describes his familiarity with bias (discrimination) and the horrific annihilation of his family members, friends, and fellow citizens during the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. He educates readers about a horrendous human tragedy while revealing how he rediscovered hope in humanity. As readers will come to realise, this book is comprised of several different layers and facets. Among these different facets are its obvious auto-biographical nature; its exploration of a tragic, genocidal period in Rwandan history; its religious, sociological, and psychological questions related to the causes of such abhorrent yet “normalised” genocidal behaviour; and its impact as a spiritual guide for those hoping to understand themselves and their world better.