I think you're right, that the "hope is in our response." The tragic stories exposed us to the reality of what can happen if civilization doesn't evolve to a state where we squelch all forms of bigotry and treat our fellow human beings, everywhere on earth, with mutual respect. There was also a feeling of hope for some of the children in the stories. In my dreams, Monique escaped the genocide with her little brother. Although it was painful to think of what she had witnessed, I see her surviving the trauma and breaking free from the cycle of violence and incessant retaliation.

The hope is in Africa's children

Akpan is such a brilliant writer, and he so completely denies any character in these stories triumph of any kind. In "An Exmas Feast," The sister who sacrificed herself to the brothel to pay for her brother's education makes her sacrifice in vain when her brother cannot bear the price she paid and runs away from the family forever. Maman in "My Parents Bedroom" offers herself to be killed by her husband so that her children and the neighbors they are hiding in their attic will be able to live, but the neighbors are burned alive in the house by Tutsi's enraged at her having been murdered. In "Luxurious Hearses," the protagonist realizes the value of every human life beyond its religious creed only to be murdered by the easily manipulated crowd in search of a target on which to vent its fear, hate and blood lust. Akpan has to have a point in having crafted his stories this way. He so carefully and consistently avoided any trace of the norm of including a redemptive quality or a resolution to the suffering he is exploring. It had to be a conscious choice on his part. I would like to hear from him, what that point was

I too look forward to hearing him discuss his intention in writing these stories and in refusing to follow the formulaic rule that instructs writers to create happy endings. Because he exposed the evil that exists in genocides, child molestation, and acts of violence performed in the name of religion, readers feel each story on a deep level. The stories taught us lessons that would not have had the same impact on our hearts and minds if the lives of these children had not been destroyed. Now, I think it's time for us to set aside the sadness and focus our attention on positive actions that we, and world leaders, can take to prevent these horrible things from occurring in the future.

To carolkenny,

I don't know if it is possible for me to set the sadness of these stories aside, or even if I want to. Because even if they are stories, they depict so many millions of actual lives being lived For me, the soul-crushing bleakness of the emotional landscape Akpan renders is giving voice to those real lives and their unbearable suffering, as well as to the claim they have every right to make on my life, my heart, my mind, my efforts to inform and reform our world into one in which suffering on that scale is unacceptable to anyone. I want to feel and hear those souls who are crying out to us in that level of suffering. I want to amplify and join in their cries to God, to all of the forces for good in the universe, and to all other human beings who would come and work together to deliver us all from this kind of evil. To shut the depth of their sadness and pain out, at least for me at my current level of consciousness and understanding, is to deny their suffering. To allow them a permanent space to make their claim on me felt is to be further informed and guided by them, like guardian angels, who will keep me true in working for them, for God, and humanity.

You have the answer right there. Hope is in our response to this situation. Hope is not initiated by others but it beings within ourselves. Out of that hope action is prompted, no matter how insignificant we may feel it may be. Every action counts. So aside from looking for hope, we must create hope and you will be amazed at what we can do. Personally, I get so sad when I read about the stories of my fellow African brothers and sisters but I channel that sadness into an act of random kindness which helps to have a positive impact on at least one life. What has been most mindblowing, is the fact that the individuals who are most affected are the ones who are most hopeful!

"Do not follow where the path may lead....go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Jason Binn

I find hope in the fact that Oprah picked this book for the bookclub.

I have been trying for years (since I returned from the Peace Corps in 2003) to get people to wake up and recognize the atrocities that are occurring in Africa -and to take action. But no one wants to hear it, no one seems to care.!

I think that Akpan has left these stories disturbing or unresolved because he wants us to BE disturbed and search for resolution. If he had written a happy ending we would have just put the book back on the shelf after finishing it, and forget about it.

Yes- the hope is in our response! If all of Oprah's millions of viewers declare ourselves to "be one of them" to be a part of this human family, and to be committed to taking care of the children of the world just as we would our own family -- then we will find+create solutions! I would love to see all the millions of Oprah viewers writing letters to their senators+congress-people (monthly or weekly!) demanding that our leaders take action for justice and human rights in Africa. I would love to see all the millions of Oprah viewers donating money to her "For All Women Registry" or donating time to volunteer at local Africa non-profit organizations in their hometown.

Yes we can!

I feel that the hope is derived from the intelligent decisions and problem solving that these bright boys will someday try to incorporate in the future. The hope lies with them when they have a greater undersanding of the forces that tore their family apart.

The kids were able to maintain their cool and as a result solved their problem in a peaceful way. they will go along way.

their strong family ties gave them a great deal ofself esteem which made them confident to extricate them selves from their unfortunate experience.the result will be a strong motivation to attempt to destroy the injustices that exist in their world.

I was very moved with the love and support the elders passed on to the kids.the family unit was very strong. the support that was extended to the school attendee was an eye opener. Depite the incredible hardships the families encountered, they were able to surmount them with the undying efforts of their families.

These stories definitely enlightened the readers and hopefully made them aware of the plight of the people who live there.

The hope is in you and million others knowing and questioning and surely even a handful and I doubt it that it will only be a handful after having it in our homes who will be able to do something in a small or big way, for me buying the book is a start and on the other end the children's and their family's realization that somebody finally knows their plight and heard their confused wonder uncovering and labeling the inhumane acts so as to shame the oppressors and be held accountable.

Oprah,

Thank you for the webcast on "Say you are one of them". It was very very good discussion and unfortunately I was not able to login or go through via telephone. I am originally from Kenya, but now I live in Southern California. It was very interesting to hear you say that Africans are always happy even though they have very little.

The truth is we did not know we had very little or we were poor. When we had our basic needs met, we felt blessed and it is still the same todate. Most of the people I grew up with did not know they were poor until now that they/we are in the US that is when you realize that you were really poor. If you are lucky, you would have two meals per day but mostly one meal. Most of the kids in my Village wake up before 5.00 a.m in the morning and work in the farm before they went to school. Some would caltivate in the farm while others would milk and take the milk to the collection centers. They would then without any breakfast, run to school which was on average 3-5 miles away and this would happen day in day out. Those who got lunch were lucky. Most of us only had two sets of clothes; one was the school uniform and the other for church. Shoes were a luxury and most kids got their first pair when they joined high school because it was mandatory. Those who were privalaged enough to have shoes in Primary School would not wear them because they had nobody to play with because everybody had no shoes and no one wanted to be steped on with shoes on their bare feet.

In regard to the Chirstmas feast that Akpan was talking about in your show, many kids in my village only ate bread on Christmas day and drank a can of soda; that was counted as the best Christmas ever. Most families only afforded cooking flour to make bread once a year and that was Christmas. For the street kids to have eaten chicken that day will mark real Christmas.

To address the question Akpan raised about teenagers here committing suicide and yet they have verything. Most of the parents born in Kenya leaving in this Country have the same problem with their kids born here. One of my friend decided to take her daughter to Kenya to see the kind of life other teens are leaving. I had a chance to interview her about the experience and to my surprise it impacted her so much that she changed her way of thinking and started using any opportunity that she has here in this Country. She reforcused her life and made 180 degrees turn .

It got me thinking about teenagers here and what other help they can get other than bootcamp. I have been thinking about putting a program for teenagers and other kids from the US to visit Africa and walk in the shoes of the African kids for a week or two. It will be an eye oponer for our teenagers here to realize how much they are blessed and they don't know. To appreciate what they have and long to make a difference in their lives. Please help me to start this program and it will make a different.