Finding Chika: a little girl, an earthquake, and the making of a family: A Review

Four loving stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ for Finding Chika: a little girl, an earthquake, and the making of a family. Mitch Albom’s book, Tuesdays with Morrie was, by way of books that most touched my heart and soul, one of my life time favorites. Finding Chika is not the second coming of Tuesdays..., but it was pretty damn close. That these two people, Morrie Schwartz and Medjerda “Chika” Jeune came into the life of Mitchell David Albom was in itself a miracle. That Albom was able to translate his experiences with Morrie and later with Chika into books was a glorious gift to the world. In Tuesdays With Morrie Mitch Albom says about Morrie that he was able to “pull out of me a better, previous version of myself,” which he goes on to use 22 years later to help this young Haitian child almost as much as she helped him. 

There are so many moments of wonder throughout this small book of 235 pages that it made this agnostic reader think twice about god and prayer, both of which are staples in Chika's and her new family's lives. The central figure in this story is of course Chika. She is born into an earthquake in Haiti which kills her mother and she thankfully lands in the Have Faith Haiti Orphanage in Port-au-Prince, operated by Mitch Albom and his wife, Janine. Chika gets diagnosed with a rare, debilitating and deadly disease, DIPG. “Mr. Mitch”, which is how Chika refers to him, and Miss Janine,  become her "adoptive guardians", bringing her to the United States and their home, for treatment. Chika in her characteristic ways wins them over head over heals. Chika was wise beyond her years, brave, stubborn, resilient, extremely cheerful and playful and hopeful and often exuberantly loud and exuberantly loving. Chika was born tough. She was funny, brash, loud, bossy and she would wind up needing all of that to fight the insidious disease she had and so she did. Albom writes, “ no matter how engrossed we got in the medical struggle, you were indefatigable when it came to fun. You awed us with your spirit.” My recommendation is, read Finding Chika, before or after reading Tuesdays With Morrie. Then sit back and let it all soak in. I can guarantee you, you will be a better person for the experience.