My Wild and Precious Life, Susanne Rheault
My Wild and Precious Life, Susanne Rheault
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My Wild and Precious Life
A Memoir of Africa

Author: Susanne Rheault

Narrator: Sara Sheckells

Unabridged: 9 hr 33 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 12/17/2020

Synopsis

From walking with lions in the bush to dodging bombs in Tanzania’s largest city, psychologist Susanne Rheault recounts with candor and humility the hard lessons learned during a life working to help impoverished communities in Africa. The daughter of a Green Beret, Susie has lived a transient life ever since she was a young girl. In her engaging memoir, we come to discover her fierce spirit as she seeks out a life of purpose, never shying away from adventures that often carry unseen dangers.After grieving the sudden death of her first husband, Susie begins to explore Africa, quickly falling in love with the continent, where she starts by running AIDS prevention programs for the Clinton Foundation. Ultimately, she focuses on her last ten years transforming a small two-room orphanage in rural Tanzania into an NGO that boasts a home, an organic farm, and a primary school for 350 children. Throughout her journey Susie forges lifelong connections with her African partners who teach her about local culture and traditions.With raw authenticity, My Wild and Precious Life shares the tough realities of living alongside families in desperate poverty, while also highlighting the extraordinary warmth of the African people Susie and her colleagues have come to know. This is a story of people working together as they strive for a common goal, always persisting with hope.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jill on October 14, 2020

I was more in love with the author's project than with her book. The first half of it was based pretty much on how she became involved with the Precious Project. For me, the exciting part of the book was reading about life in Tanzania and her work helping to build a school and better life for the ch......more

Goodreads review by Meesh on August 22, 2019

When Susanne Rheault began working with the Clinton Foundation to stem the tide of the HIV epidemic in Africa, she had no idea how meaningful and gratifying this work would become for her. Over a period of years she visited Ethiopia, Tanzania, Malawi, Lesotho, and Swaziland multiple times, working w......more

Goodreads review by Gil on August 05, 2019

Susanne Rheault has written a thoroughly engaging book that not only gets one's attention but holds it to the last page. Each chapter paints a truthful and vivid picture of what it means to live a life of purpose. She also accurately describes Africa with all its complexity and challenges. This is a......more

Goodreads review by Joan on August 06, 2019

A splendid read, it transported me to Africa as Rheault works to improve women's health outcomes and is instrumental in the transformation of a one-room "school" in Tanzania into a campus that includes a primary school for 350 children. She shares honestly the successes and the learnings from the mi......more

Goodreads review by Martha on February 22, 2020

Rheault bases the title of her book on a poem by Mary Oliver and it's a perfect choice. She explicates her evolution from being a professional consultant for the Clinton Foundation, living in New England, helping varied African groups build AIDS prevention teams. Her connection to Africa begins with......more

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