This is a true life story. The story of a little girl born after the darkest of days, living in a world that still carried a few signs of the horrors of before.

Tree in the Captive, by Deborah Kanda, is a novel based on a true life story. It is an autobiography of a girl, Deborah, born in Rwanda after the genocide in 1994.

Born out of the germination of a single seed, it can be said that we are like trees in many ways. We need to be nurtured carefully when we first come to this world, the same way that trees must be nurtured carefully in a nursery when they are still seedlings. And then we rise to be tall and mighty, so much so that it seems impossible that we were once nothing but a little seed.

She was allowed to grow in a loving and nurturing environment rather than cut down or be forced to survive through the worst time in her country’s history. In 1994, some people took this elegant analogy of trees and twisted it. In 1994, men, women, and children were cut down like trees rather than allowed to become tall and mighty like humans.

Deborah had her life mapped out from her childhood. She was born to poor parents that were victims of the genocide in 1994. She writes about her school years, first love crush, and a broken heart. You can follow her journey until the moment she reached her life goal--beginning to study at a university in the USA.

This book is about the phases of her life. It follows the process through which she was nurtured and the people and events that shaped her into the strong “tree” she is today.

Deborah’s own words:

Writing this book has been quite the journey for me. It had been a roller coaster of emotions ranging from sad nostalgia for the long-lost good old days to extreme joy and excitement as I bounced down memory lane. In the end, I think I was right from the very beginning. Writing this book was as hard as I imagined. Nevertheless, I genuinely hope that you, the listener, find some joy or fulfillment by hearing about my journey. I hope you find in this work a story worth your time. All stories are worth telling, but you, the listener, decide if it is worth hearing.

My mother once said, “Let it be said that you spoke the truth, and they refused to listen. But don’t ever let your voice be found wanting.” I have spoken my truth, and now I can rest easy, knowing that my voice in the ether of stories would never be found wanting.

Today, I can say with all humility that I am a tall and mighty tree in some respects. And yet, I am nothing but a seedling in others.

So don’t waste time and click the “buy now” button to dive into the story with Deborah.