Say You're One of Them

by Uwem Akpan

If you ever feel the need to get really depressed - and I mean gut-wrenching, lose all faith in the world kind of depressed - then this is the book for you.

The author (a Nigerian priest) reveals an ugly side of Africa: the conflicts and poverty across the nation.

These stories could be Dayton's, or many Africans'. We didn't talk a lot about what he went through, but enough of his nightmare experiences came out in snippets with our time together. And others whom I know well.

People in conflict can be unimaginably horrific - and this is detailed in this book.

Maybe it's good for people who haven't experienced it vicariously as a loved one flashes back. For people who are removed by geography and culture, who don't understand the depths of human depravity.

But for me? It was just so depressing - because it only shows one side. There are all these other aspects that make life in Africa so wonderful, but he doesn't tell those. It's not all about cruelty and glue sniffing addiction, and it's not all that hopeless.

And open your eyes, people - we have horrors in our world here in the US, too. Want to hear about my 3-year-old client who was pimped out by his father? Or the psychological torture of a middle class family on their children? Or HOW MANY of my clients were forced from an early age to satisfy the sexual urges of the men in their lives? Or ... well, the stories go on and on.

My point is that there are horrors everywhere, but this is not all that Africa is.

So while the stories in this book are true technically, they are not the whole truth.

Would I recommend this book? Yikes, I don't know. Maybe I'm too sensitive now because of what I'm experiencing every day; maybe I would have liked to have read this book and learned from it many years ago before I had spent time in Africa and with Africans, and before I had learned the facts and the feelings behind conflicts.

I think it's well-written and informative. But heart-wrenching.

Verdict: Read at your own risk.