Synopses & Reviews
"I want to be in a house without shame. I am tired of the bruises that cover my body and the darkness in my heart. I wish my parents were here. Protect me, Dios."
This is Ana's hope for the future. Her mother, father, and youngest sister all died from AIDS. Ana is seventeen, a mother, and HIV-positive. But Ana is bravely living with HIV not dying from it. With incredible spirit, strength, and determination, she struggles to break the cycles of silence, abuse, and fear. She wants a brighter future for herself and her child. This is Ana's story.
Based on her work with UNICEF in Latin America and the Caribbean, Jenna Bush has written a powerful and personal nonfiction account of a girl who fights against all odds to survive. But Ana's experience is not unique. She symbolizes many children in peril and puts a face on the shocking statistics according to UNICEF, 2.3 million children worldwide live with HIV/AIDS. Millions more suffer from abuse, poverty, and neglect. Jenna's message of hope and call to action will inspire you to make a difference for children like Ana. This book also includes resources for helping others and where to get help if you need it.
Review
"Bush's narrative is too earnest for its own good....The book tells an important story, but it ignores the debate over how much U.S. support should go to organizations that distribute condoms as opposed to conservative religious groups that promote only abstinence." USA Today
Review
"[T]he wrenching story, illustrated with a few photos, effectively sends an urgent message." Booklist
Synopsis
Ana's life is a collection of bits and pieces of her past. Infected with HIV at birth, she's unaware of many details of her early childhood and barely remembers her mother. Living with her strict grandmother, she learns how to keep secrets – secrets about her infection and about the abuse she endures at home. But after Ana falls in love and becomes pregnant at seventeen, she begins a journey of hope – a journey of protecting herself and others. She is living with HIV, not dying from it.
Jenna Bush tells of Ana's struggle to break free from the cycle of abuse, silence, and illness with passion and eloquence. But this is not just Ana's story. It is also the story of many children around the world who are marginalized, neglected, and mistreated.
About the Author
Jenna Bush is the daughter of President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2004 with a degree in English. Jenna was an elementary school teacher in Washington, D.C., for a year and a half before embarking on an internship for UNICEF in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Mia Baxter graduated from University of Texas with a degree in photojournalism. She has worked as a freelance editorial documentary photographer in New York before interning for UNICEF in Latin America and the Caribbean.