Mists of the Serengeti
6 "We are all connected" stars
"You lose people you love. Over and over again. Some get taken away from you. Some walk away. And some you learn to let go."
It took one instant to take numerous innocent lives due to a tragedy, and it shattered many more that stayed behind. Rodel/Ro Harris Emerson is a teacher in England, satisfied with the conformity of her solid, pleasant life until she loses her sister in Kilimani Mall explosion in Tanzania, Africa. She takes upon herself to collect her sister's things and in one last attempt to reconcile the notion of the reality with the devastating grief, she embarks on a mission to fulfill her sister's last task of saving the endangered albino kids and taking them to safety. Following the leads of selective info and gathering the missing pieces, she crosses path with Jack Warden, a man broken by the grief of losing his daugter to the same tragedy. The primarly animosity and rude exterior sets the tone of their encounter into aloofness until Jack accepts to help her. They come together united in shared grif, pain and compassion on a mission against dangerous deeds inspired by greed, profit and superstition of others, while more innocent lives are in constant peril of being perished. The connection and recognition of wide range of emotions between Jack and Ro is excrutiatingly beautiful as they reach into each other for joined companionship through comfort and understanding.
Losing someone you love tunes you in to the fragillity of life - of moments and memories and music
and their road is filled with the impeccable, almost cruel natural beauty of the land,
"It's beautiful and heart-wrenching. It heals you, it destroys you.
while they share the acknowledgment of the ancient traditions and lives of the people and tribes they encounter along the way, and as well as they search for solace, forgivness and a little notion of peace. They share memories of their loved ones, past cherished moments forever frozen in time, but never to be forgotten.
Sometimes the most heroic thing we can do is fight the battle within and just emerge on the other side. Because it's not just one battle, one time. We do it over and over again, as long as we breathe, as long as we live.
that kind of connection brings them more than intimacy and undulated passion,
"I want to take you like I hate you. Fiercely. Completely. Because you resurrected me, only to relinquish me." - Jack - "I want recless. I want mindless, ruthless, heedless. I want to be swept up in madness. I want your passion. I want your pain. I want you to tell me that you can't bear the thought of me leaving, that it feels like you can't breathe, that you want me, that you'll miss me." - Rodel -
but it also scares them to reach out for that once in a life time permanent bond dreaded of another potential loss, and hurt until they realize that fear is not worth the time to keep them away from love.
My greatest loss had led to my greatest love. Hearts were broken, and hearts were healed. Lives were lost, and lives were saved.
Africa by Toto
...It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do I bless the rains down in Africa Gonna take some time to do the things we never had The wild dogs cry out in the night As they grow restless, longing for some solitary Company I know that I must do what's right As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti I seek to cure what's deep inside, frightened of this thing that I've become It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do I bless the rains down in Africa Gonna take some time to do the things we never had Hurry boy, she's waiting there for you...
I have only high praise for this book. I came close to being emotionally overloaded and an inch closer re-living it all, which is a grand deal on its own cause I do not usually do that. I have spend the longest time reading this book, cause i have been re-reading the highlightened lines, I wanted to burst upon every word, every emotion and every single visual presented in this story as I thrived to reach that cathartic emotional overflow and I searched for that lingering feeling, especially after reading that would keep me thinking and re-thinking about the story, like in this case, after the truth-gutting epilogue, the highlights of perfection for me, were life altering truths that evoked the personally cherished memories, and emotions, the most incredible vividly passionate and authentic physical and emotional interaction between the characters, and at last but not the least, the meaningful, detailed, palpably auhentic descriptions of the traditions, people and the stunning visuals of the cradle of life itself -Africa. I have never been there, never seen it in person, but Leylah Attar made me feel it, she gave me the opportunity to experience it all, and that is something I will rememeber and cherish for a long time. and now that I've experienced Africa, in a way I never thought possible, I have also witnessed a miracle in writing... Leylah Attar took me on a journey I will NEVER forget... I hope you will allow yourself the freedom to embark on the same journey and feel it. I highly recommend this book, for the ultimate experience ***ARC generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review***
