Book Review :: Hope Runs by Claire Diaz-Ortiz & Samuel Ikua Gachagua

Hope Runs is true story that is sure to inspire.

We meet Sammy first - a young Kenyan boy who by the age of 10 has lost his father and mother and has been sent to an orphanage with his brother, separated from his little sister.

Elsewhere in the world, we meet Claire - a 20-something businesswoman and world-traveler who seems to be running (sometimes literally) to find some sort of bigger purpose for her life.

Throughout the book we follow Sammy and Claire - separately at first, and then as their lives overlap and continue to weave together. I don't want to go too much into the content of the book - you should read it on your own - but it truly is an inspiring story.

The book itself is a hardcover book with a dust jacket. The dust jacket has the images you see in the cover preview, while the hardcover is a plain yellow/gold cover with white text on the spine only. There are a few pages of pictures in the center of the book - they are printed full color on semi-glossy pages that are of a similar weight to the text pages in the book. (I appreciate that so they don't interrupt the flow of page turning.)

One small thing I appreciated in a big way was that while this book did mention the author's nonprofit organization, Hope Runs, it did not feel like a book-long sales pitch for the organization. (This is not the case with some other books I've read.)

As I was reading Hope Runs, I kept thinking of how many different groups of people would find this book beneficial. As someone who is hoping to travel to Africa in the next year or so, this was really insightful. It was great to hear the perspective of someone who has traveled internationally, but the real treasure was in hearing the perspective of Sammy - from inside a Kenyan orphanage.

If you are planning a trip to an African country, I suggest you read this book. 
If you are in the process of (or thinking of) adopting, I suggest you read this book. 
If you are at a place in your life where you don't know what to do next, I suggest you read this book. 
If you have a heart for the world, I suggest you read this book. 
If you are looking for a great book to read, I highly suggest you read this book.
FTC Declaration: The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book or advanced reading copy. This does not change the fact that I will give my honest opinion in my reviews.