Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 282
•
Trim: 6 x 9
978-1-5381-8236-9 • Paperback • April 2024 • $19.95 • (£14.99)
Karen Sherman is president of Akilah, a college in Rwanda providing accessible and affordable higher education for women. Prior to joining Akilah, she was the COO and led global programs at Women for Women International, an organization that enables women survivors of war to restart their lives. Karen has also served as executive vice president at Counterpart International, a global humanitarian and development organization. She lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with her husband and their three sons.
Author’s Note
Prologue
PART I
1 The Move
2 The Country
3 The Work
4 Activists in Debt
5 Tag, You’re It
6 Sometimes Together, Sometimes Apart
7 Rumbek
8 Grace
9 Women in Rwanda
PART II
10 Home
11 Straddling
12 Social Networks
13 Odd Woman Out
14 Debora
15 Women Leaders
16 Top of the Continent
PART III
17 Pain into Power
18 Yei
19 Women’s Day
20 Yvette
21 Reentry
22 Spring Awakening
23 Ladies’ Choice
24 Out of Africa
25 A Better Place
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Selected Bibliography
Index
About the Author
This engaging memoir skillfully blends three story lines. The primary narrative is an account of the year Sherman, an advocate for women's rights, lived in Rwanda with her three teenage sons. Background material details several women's experiences during the horrific Rwandan ethnic battles of the 1990s, when almost one million Tutsis were murdered by Hutus during a country-wide genocide. The third thread shares Sherman's personal journey as she examines her roles as wife and mother. This approach leads to everyday domestic scenes (misunderstandings about menus and shopping lists) set against testimonials of unimaginable horror (Rwandan women who witnessed their entire families being slaughtered) mingled with parenting milestones (one son's request for advice on French kissing). The three narratives mesh, perhaps because all three include elements of hope and healing. Readers will come away impressed with the resilience of Rwandan women as they strive for financial independence through local initiatives including farming and brick-making. This inspiring account folds in aspects of forgiveness and growth: stepping stones to a brighter future.
— Booklist
A moving, fascinating story filled with emotional highs and lows, adventures and setbacks—and a large dose of wisdom. Every woman will relate to aspects of Brick by Brick and be inspired.
— Melanne Verveer, former United States ambassador for global women’s issues
Karen Sherman tells her poignant story of being a mother, a successful leader, and an advocate for women worldwide in Brick by Brick. Her empathy for women who have been victims of violence, abuse, and disempowerment is inspirational, and her story truly has the unique power to connect the stories of women everywhere.
— Joyce Banda, former president of Malawi
Karen Sherman’s personal and inspiring account of her family’s experience living in Rwanda for a year and the many life lessons that came from her work with women survivors is an easy and compelling read for anyone who strives to be a global citizen—and raise global citizens.
— Lauren Bush Lauren, founder and CEO of FEED
Karen Sherman tells two powerful stories here, both of them straightforward yet affecting: one about her personal struggles in the first world, overlaid on another about women pushed to the brink during the Rwandan genocide. Along the way, it becomes clear that the ability to triumph is rooted in empathy and shared support. In Brick by Brick’s overlapping worlds, life lessons are where you find them, and heartrending and heartwarming are never far apart.
— Alan Huffman, author of Mississippi in Africa and Here I Am
Brick by Brick introduces us to the people whose lives form the pieces of the world’s most complex development puzzles. Karen Sherman draws upon her encounters with entrepreneurs and activists around the world and shows us the power of women to change their communities and their country. In sharing the stories of these indomitable women, Sherman illuminates their resilience under the most dire circumstances and shares the powerful political and personal lessons that resilience shares.
— Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, author of Dressmaker of Khair Khana and Ashley’s War
A deeply honest and moving read. Sherman weaves her own search for balance and acceptance with the courageous stories of the women survivors she works with in war-torn countries like Rwanda, South Sudan, and Afghanistan. Finding universal threads of womanhood in their shared experiences, she draws inspiration from their awe-inspiring strength and resilience.
— Zainab Salbi, founder of Women for Women International and author of Freedom Is an Inside Job
As a survivor and advocate for those suffering in neglected parts of the world, I was touched on many levels by Karen’s journey. Her grit and courage are a gift to the countless women and girls she’s dedicated her life to lifting up. Her fierce personal honesty will inspire all who read this wonderful book.
— Ashley Judd, actor, author, and humanitarian
A journey like no other! With unflinching honesty, badass mom and lifelong women’s-rights activist Karen Sherman maps her journey—and the stories of those she’s met along the way—through the highest questions of modern womanhood: beauty, regret, connection, sacrifice, survivorship, and choice. From suburban dinner parties to rapid-fire war zones, long since abandoned adolescent memories to the tallest peak in Africa, this page-turner charts emotional landscapes that connect women everywhere. Sure to leave the reader with her own soul-quaking questions and a tidal wave of bravery to face them down.
— Lisa J. Shannon, author of A Thousand Sisters and Mama Koko and the Hundred Gunmen