Love in the Driest Season by Neeley Tucker
Okay, I know I am probably one of the few people who truly has a heart for Africa who has not read this book until now (published in 2004). AWESOME BOOK!! It's a book about the political and social changes in Africa and specifically Zimbabwe from the early 90's to 2000. A journalist and his wife decide to adopt a very sick infant they meet by chance in an orphanage. The little girl, Chipo is abandoned as so many sweet babies are all over Africa. The desperation their mothers must feel, the heart ache and sorrow must be overwhelming. I only knew Annabelle and Andrew for minutes and I started to realize the choice their mothers must have anguished over. When we saw the place Annabelle was abandoned, the "under the road" hole her mother left her in- just far enough away from the street to be safe, but close enough to foot traffic so that someone would find her, I was breathless. Just thinking of Andrew's mother who had to kiss her tiny baby goodbye when he was literally seconds old, or she may not have even kissed him at all, as she may have died during the process of giving him life, I don't have words. We relay Andrew and Annabelle's story to people here and they say, "we could never make that choice". Of course they couldn't, they don't have to. We pray for those brave women every night. We pray that they would know Annabelle and Andrew are safe and loved, smart and funny, all of the other things we hope for our children. We pray they would have peace in their hearts and in their minds about the decision they made and the precious children they gave to us. This book brought to mind that our children's stories are not unique. There are millions of orphans just in Africa who need help. You may not bring them home as we did, but there is something everyone can do. Even just being aware is a start.
