Once in awhile I come across a book that should be on everyone’s “must read” list. Kris Holloway’s Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years with a Midwife in Mali is such a book. Unfortunately it was published by a small educational press—Waveland Press—and I couldn’t even find it on their website because everything is listed by academic discipline and there is no search function. I say “unfortunately” not because I have anything against Waveland Press—I don’t—and at least they had the wisdom to publish this book, but in today’s extremely competitive publishing industry it is essential to have some market-saavy promotional tools to draw attention to special books that might otherwise just fade away.
Author Kris Holloway spent two years as a Peace Corp volunteer in 1989-1991, in the small village of Nampossela in Mali, West Africa. Her hostess, 24-year-old Monique Dembele, ran the village medical clinic and served as midwife to the community. In a region where most women are married by the age of 18 and have 7 children on average, maternity mortality rates are among the highest in the world. In this world of mud huts, complicated cultural and religious customs, and little material resources, Holloway spent her days and nights at Monique’s side learning how to make do with little, the realities of childbirth when faced head on, the natural beauty of a night sky without electricity to dim its display, and the amazing bond that can build between two women from extremely different backgrounds. It is a unique and moving tale of friendship and love that you will long remember. If you enjoyed Three Cups of Tea, you will LOVE Monique!
The good news is that you CAN find Monique and the Mango Rains on major bookselling sites and, hopefully, on their shelves. Let’s lend our efforts to making this book the bestseller it deserves to be.
For more about the author, the book, and Mali: http://www.moniquemangorains.com/
To listen to NPR’s Robin Young interview with the author: http://www.here-now.org/shows/2007/01/20070122_17.asp
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