Resources & Updates

October 2025 Review

The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After
by Clemantine Wamariya with Elizabeth Weil
Reviewer: Morgan Fuller

Morgan led us through Clemantine Wamariya’s nonlinear memoir: chapters move between Rwanda, 1994 (Clemantine is six as violence reaches Kigali) and her life in the United States from 2000 (arriving at twelve after six years moving across seven African countries and multiple refugee camps with her older sister, Claire).

What stayed with us

• Survival and sisterhood. Claire’s grit—bartering, working, refusing debt—kept them alive. Their bond endured when war, borders, and camps tried to separate them.

• Belonging after displacement. In America, safety arrived—but so did new questions: Who am I now? Where do I fit? Clemantine learns the language, thrives in school, and still wrestles with a life split by trauma.

• The limits of one word. “Genocide” names a horror but cannot hold the daily losses—hunger, fear, memory, dignity—nor the long work of rebuilding a self.

• Beads as a thread. From a childhood folktale to the bracelets she later makes and gives away, beads become a metaphor for gathering scattered pieces into a life that can be worn, shared, and seen.

• Media moments vs. real reunions. The famed TV reunion (with Elie Wiesel also present) was powerful and painfully brief; it could not bridge twelve years apart. The book stays with what comes after the cameras: learning trust, re-meeting family, healing in real time.

Morgan also highlighted faith notes from Clemantine’s Catholic upbringing, honest questions about God and suffering, and the quiet ministries of “foster mothers” and friends who offered presence without strings.

Why read it? It’s a clear-eyed, compassionate look at survival—and the ordinary courage required to make a life after loss. It will expand your empathy and deepen your gratitude.

What’s Next

Tuesday, November 11

• Book Table: Ellen will host a table with books for purchase.

• Review: Susie and Scott Simpson will review Sipsworth.

• Bring a friend: We love welcoming new readers—pick up the year’s reading list at the library table.