I GIVE YOU HALF THE ROAD

Writer Carol Spindel recounts the recent history of Ivory Coast by interweaving the lives of five people she has known since they were children -- a schoolteacher in a crowded, fast-growing city; an HIV-positive widow trying to hide her illness and support her sons; a diviner who speaks with spirits and sells bulletproof shirts; a scrap iron dealer who is successful despite being illiterate, and a young man who joins an armed rebellion and learns that war is a business.

This is also an American writer's memoir of the long-term relationship between her family and the Ivorian community she loves and learns from. Even in the most difficult of times, as politicians urge division, the ordinary people in this book hold fast to Ivorian cultural values — tolerance for religious and ethnic difference, forgiveness, and a deep commitment to hospitality.

“Spindel has crafted a beautiful tale of West Africans as they live through bittersweet history. Her memorable story not only captures the joys, challenges, and aspirations of a small remote rural community but also bears witness to the profound struggles of a nation in political turmoil.”

—Phillip Carter III, former US Ambassador to Ivory Coast