Finding Chika A Little Girl, an Earthquake, and the Making of a Family

Mitch Albom — 2019

Chika Jeune was born three days before the devastating earthquake that decimated Haiti in 2010. She spent her infancy in extreme poverty, and when her mother died giving birth to a baby brother, Chika was brought to the Have Faith Haiti Orphanage that Mitch and his wife, Janine operate. Chika's arrival made a quick impression. Brave and self-assured, even as a three-year-old, she delighted the other kids and teachers. But at age five, Chika was suddenly diagnosed with a terminal disease that no doctor in Haiti could help with. Mitch and Janine took Chika to America, hoping that treatment there would enable her to go back home. Instead, Chika became a permanent part of their lives, as they embarked on a two-year, around-the-world journey to find a cure. As Chika's boundless optimism and humour taught Mitch the joys of caring for a child, he learnt that a relationship built on love, no matter what blows it takes, can never be lost. This is Mitch Albom at his most poignant, powerful and personal. Chika is a celebration of a girl, her adoptive guardians, and the incredible bond they formed - a devastatingly beautiful portrait of what it means to be a family, regardless of how it is made.

Reviews

Shrouk Shafie@sunrise

Aug 31, 2022

** spoiler alert ** After finishing this book, I simply hugged it. I wish I could have hugged Chika as well.. Mitch Albom never fails to make my love any of his books. Such a huge experience, and an extremely difficult one. Expressing her life in such details, the suffering she faced, and the journey through treatment cannot be ever easy. Radiation, chemo sessions, endless theories, various doctors, ..Such a tough journey, and such a brave girl. I loved every bit of it! May you rest in peace, Chika.

Christina Rae Lu@ekslu89

Apr 24, 2022

One of the Albom’s greatest novels. Heartfelt.

Stefanie Sugia@stefanie_sugia

Mar 10, 2022

"But none of us are assured of tomorrow. It's what we do with today that makes an impact." It's been 10 years since I read Tuesdays with Morrie, and now Mitch Albom comes back with another memoir about someone very dear to his heart. I picked up this book with no expectation at all—I didn't even know if it's a fiction/non-fiction book at first, but I decided to read it solely because it's written by Mitch Albom. Both Tuesdays with Morrie and Finding ChikaIn this book, the writer shared the lessons he learned through his relationship with Chika; and I'm going to share some parts of this book that struck me in this review."But if prayer is supposed to bring peace, I could not always find it, Chika. I will admit that. I could not understand why a child had to suffer, why the Cologne clinic had so many kids needing help to walk or talk. This does not mean I lost my belief in God. But it was tested."Before reading this book, I didn't know that Mitch Albom and his wife never had a child of their own. Mitch Albom met Chika when he came to help Haiti after a terrible earthquake. Mitch Albom operated an orphanage in Haiti, Have Faith Haiti Mission; and that's where Chika was brought to. Until one day, the director of the orphanage called and reported that there seems to be something wrong with Chika because her face is drooped and she doesn't walk right. Turns out, there's no one in Haiti that could help her and that's when Mitch Albom decided to bring Chika to America for medical treatment. Long story short, the doctor said that Chika had something called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, or DIPG. Chika was 5 years old at that time, and the doctor said she only have around 4-5 months to live. Since then, Mitch Albom and his wife decided to take Chika in as if she's their own child—took care of her and tried all sorts of medication to tackle the disease that's eating her from the inside. It was a bittersweet moment between Mitch Albom, his wife—Janine, and Chika because they get to become a family, but short-lived. ☹️ Among the seven lessons that are shared in this book, the one lesson that struck me was the second one, called Time Changes. Ever since Chika came to live with them, Mitch's life completely changed. His old way of doing things was gone. Even though I haven't experienced having children of my own, I do understand that season comes and season goes. And in every changing season, our lives are changed as well—because we might have a different priority, changed our way of thinking, etc. Through it all, we need to choose what we spend our time on. Giving our time to someone or something is indeed the most precious thing we can give, because we can never get it back. It's a good reminder for me to be mindful of what I'm spending my time on. "The most precious thing you can give someone is your time, Chika, because you can never get it back. When you don't think about getting it back, you've given it in love. I learned that from you." There are plenty of other sweet and heartwarming moments in this book but I don't want to spoil everything here. Overall, I still enjoy Mitch Albom's writing as usual—even though personally I love Tuesdays with Morrie a lot more than this one. This book is about Mitch Albom's journey, how Chika came into his life, and the years that they get to spend together as a family. As I've said earlier, reading these kinds of stories is always heartbreaking; but at the same time, it also gives a certain kind of warmth to the soul. Read the full review here: http://www.thebookielooker.com/2019/1...