Book dossier

The Uncherished Gift

by Martha Amdeselassie Jembere

From the author: What if you were born sharing a brain with others causing you to share actions and decisions collectively? What if right or wrong, those collective decisions define you because of this bond? I have been so grateful beyond words for many things, even for being thankful. I can't list those things, so I'll focus on why I am finally compelled to write a book. It took me a long time debating with myself why I should write a book and why I would waste someone's time, money, and consideration to buy it. I have finally convinced that my perspective could help someone cherish the greatest gift that lies within them, a gift that has been taken for granted by many people. Accepting that none of us has a say in how we came into this world, each one of us went with the most valuable gift; an individual brain and not a collective brain. Although I started life with comfort without my involvement and choice, I went through many tests and obstacles since my teenage years. I made a life-changing decision as early as I was eight and saved a five-year-old girl from street life. I faced many obstacles and had to make critical decisions, including leaving my country when I was just a teenager to receive a scholarship in the former Soviet Union, then leaving the Soviet Union to seek asylum in Germany to come to the USA, facing false imprisonment while living as a refugee in Germany and much more. For all those experiences, I had and still have to make difficult decisions. I am grateful beyond words for my God-given gift that allowed me and allows me always the ability to make my own decisions and actions when I went through all those life experiences. Maybe sometimes not the best decisions but I am responsible for all the decisions I made because I made them in ways I want to be defined. What if I shared a brain with someone not grateful, or a criminal, or selfish, or racist, or self-absorbed, or hard-hearted etc? I would be someone else today, I would be defined by someone else.