SEANNA’s BOOK REVIEWS: FINDING CHIKA
“… He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”
- Mark 10:14
What started out as a simple meme sharing of Seanna in messenger, took a greater turn of events when she was given this book on her birthday titled "Finding Chika" by her "Tita." And the rest, as they say, is history.
Warning to my fellow Filipinos: this is very different from the "chika" or "chismis" you know as "gossip." May y’all read this book with prepared hearts and appreciate it just as you have known this book as a meme.
This memoir book, written by Mitch Albom, recalls the life of Chika before and after she met the Albom couple and the orphanage. "Survivor from birth" may be how this girl may be described. On her 3rd day of life here on Earth, January 12, 2010, she was lucky enough to survive the very devastating and destructive earthquake that happened in Haiti. A country struck once again with tragedy, for it wiped out nearly 3% of its population. Sadly, part of that 3% was her mother. Although she was taken under the care of her godmother after the sudden death of her mother, she was later on brought to Mitch’s orphanage.
However, at five years old, Chika was then diagnosed with a life-threatening brain disease called DIPG, an inoperable stage IV brain tumor that limited her movement and drooped her face. This makes way for the journey of Mitch Albom and his wife, Janine, to find a cure for Chika Jeune’s illness. What began as a hopeful trip to Detroit in search of a cure and a safe return to Haiti has evolved into a two-year long and purposeful journey that is meant to be told in the future. In the book, Finding Chika, you will read about a series of silly, imaginary conversations between Chika and Mitch and special lessons along the way.
"Beautiful, brave, faithful, confident, and optimistic." That’s how I found and viewed Chika. To sum it up, she was a beautiful picture of God’s love and children. She was brave, like Aslan (of Narnia), to overcome strife, poverty, and various medical procedures. A faithful lamb and a lamp of God that guided the couple and their friends until the end. This little girl was confident and proud enough to shout and sing her love for God, and an optimistic human, still able to appreciate the rainbow during the storm. Whatever was standing in her way (especially her disease), she would always fight back using these four characteristics.
Like what they say and as she implied throughout her 7 years of living, "You can never buy faith." I knew that she had gone through much more compared to me, and it made me feel blessed that I was born in a healthier environment compared to Haiti. From childhood up to today, during these teenage years, I never missed out on the latest trends in clothing, travel, gadgets, and food. Sure, I’m richer than she in those materialistic things, yet as a Christian like Chika, I felt much more attached to her very courageous faith and spirit. Her enormous trust in the unseen could be more mature than adults' and mine also.
As I have mentioned earlier, reading this book made me realize all the days of her life were somehow meant to be told in the future. Maybe God lets us see and/or take care of children so we can look at a different perspective in life. That we should not always take everything seriously and be grateful for each new day. A day given is a miracle, a chance to be better and move on from something. That's the thing that stood out to me the most while reading "Finding Chika." Like right now, I’m very thankful that I was given a chance to read Finding Chika and write this book review on Tumblr.
Sadly, in spite of the whirlwind adventure Chika had with the Alboms and her friends, she still wasn’t able to survive DIPG. She would’ve turned 12 last January. I never met her in person, but with the way Mr. Mitch and Ms. Janine recount her life and experiences, she will be terribly missed. Whatever she has gone through here on Earth, I’m sure this child of God is up there in heaven with Jesus, running around and healed from her sickness.
To everyone who wants to get back into reading, please read Finding Chika. It worked for me and gave me many more lessons than the past few books I’ve read. It’s my most annotated one so far. Plus, the profits from this book will go to Have Faith Haiti Orphanage.
I end this review with an acknowledgement to my friend Tita Chabs for gifting me this wonderful book. It gave and taught me many valuable lessons about faith, children, families, and, of course, love. Mwah!
