“Between Gorillas My Mother, Her Dreams, and Me A Memoir” by Edwin Sabuhoro
with Maribeth Shanley (Dorrance Publishing Co. 2024) is 295-pages of Edwin Sabuhoro’s
painful and triumphant experiences from his birth in Uganda in 1976 through 2023. For
his first 18 years, Edwin was immersed in war, suffering, poverty, abuse by relatives,
educational disruption, discrimination and life-threating experiences. On the brighter
side during those same years, Edwin and his four siblings were inspired and graced by
their Mum, Jolly Boonabaana, to never give up, to move on with hope, to become
college educated one day, and to forgive those who may have wronged you. His Dad,
Mpama Titen, who Edwin first met in his memory when he was 13-years-old, was loved,
nonetheless, by Edwin despite his Dad’s absences and shortcomings.
I have personally known Edwin since December of 2018 when he had just returned from
Rwanda to Clemson, South Carolina, where he, my wife, and I attended the graduation
of a Tanzanian friend who received his Ph.D. degree from the same Parks, Recreation
and Tourism Management Department at Clemson University where Edwin had
received his Ph.D. only 7 months earlier in May 2018. We formed a close relationship
with Edwin through his departure in August 2020 to become an Assistant Professor at
Penn State University’s Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism Management.
During the above 20-month-jobless time in Clemson, Edwin wrote his Memoir along
with Maribeth Shanley. He asked me to edit an early draft. Knowing Edwin’s story, I
asked him in a few words to describe his Mum. He said without hesitation, “hope, faith,
love, and forgiveness”. I then asked him to likewise describe his Dad. He paused and
said, “Dad struggled with those same four virtues”. I sensed in my relationship with
Edwin that there was an invisible, yet perceptible, cloak of those four virtues about him
which took on a warrior’s demeanor, not of combat, but of resilience and determination
to forge ahead no matter what befalls you and to make the world a better place.
In the winter of 2020, I arranged a meeting with Edwin, a local Lutheran Pastor
Emeritus, Frank Honeycutt, who was a regular columnist in the “Living Lutheran”
magazine, and myself. Pastor Frank was so taken by Edwin’s life story that he soon
wrote an article in the fore mentioned magazine entitled “Surprise, You’ve Died
Grounded in Grace” (February 2020) that contained some of Edwin’s story. He states in
this article: “I left that lunch thinking any advice shared between us should flow the
other way as I was unable to recall meeting anyone who has encountered so much
suffering but still exhibits such an enviable demeanor of calm spiritual depth.”

African Silverback Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park and as well as
all wildlife large and small, all vegetation and fellow humans in villages surrounding that
Volcanoes Park are featured prominently toward the end of Edwin’s Memoir. From
2004 to 2018 with back-and-forths between the United Kingdom in 2005-06 (MS) and
the US in 2015-18 (Ph.D.), Edwin worked tirelessly to prevent gorilla and wildlife
poaching in the Volcanoes Park by local economically impoverished villagers, who
surrounded the Park. A statistical decrease in poaching numbers was obtained in large
measure by Edwin’s contributions of his money, time, and expertise in building the
Gorilla Guardian Village outside the Volcanoes Park which gave villagers income
opportunities in agriculture, conservation and tourism instead of poaching in the Park.
For this work, Edwin has received international acclaim and notable awards which are
stated in his Memoir.
Included in this Memoir are 43-pages of photographs and documents that include
photos of Mum, Dad, Edwin, Edwin’s 4 siblings, 3 children, and many friends.
I highly recommend Edwin Sabuhoro’s Memoir with Maribeth Shanley: “Between
Gorillas My Mother, Her Dreams, and Me” and give this Memior a 5-star rating!.