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    Finding Chika: A Little Girl, an Earthquake, and the Making of a Family
    Finding Chika: A Little Girl, an Earthquake, and the Making of a Family
    Finding Chika: A Little Girl, an Earthquake, and the Making of a Family
    Audiobook4 hours

    Finding Chika: A Little Girl, an Earthquake, and the Making of a Family

    Written by Mitch Albom

    Narrated by Mitch Albom

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Best-selling author Mitch Albom returns to nonfiction for the first time in more than a decade in this poignant memoir that celebrates Chika, a young Haitian orphan whose short life would forever change his heart. Performed by Mitch Albom with Chika’s voice featured throughout.

    Chika Jeune was born three days before the devastating earthquake that decimated Haiti in 2010. She spent her infancy in a landscape of extreme poverty, and when her mother died giving birth to a baby brother, Chika was brought to The Have Faith Haiti Orphanage that Albom operates in Port Au Prince. 

    With no children of their own, the 40-plus children who live, play, and go to school at the orphanage have become family to Mitch and his wife, Janine. Chika’s arrival makes a quick impression. Brave and self-assured, even as a three-year-old, she delights the other kids and teachers. But at age five, Chika is suddenly diagnosed with something a doctor there says “no one in Haiti can help you with.” 

    Mitch and Janine bring Chika to Detroit, hopeful that American medical care can soon return her to her homeland. Instead, Chika becomes a permanent part of their household, and their lives, as they embark on a two-year, around-the-world journey to find a cure. As Chika’s boundless optimism and humor teach Mitch the joys of caring for a child, he learns that a relationship built on love, no matter what blows it takes, can never be lost. 

    Told in hindsight, and through illuminating conversations with Chika herself, this is Albom at his most poignant and vulnerable. Finding Chika is a celebration of a girl, her adoptive guardians, and the incredible bond they formed - a devastatingly beautiful portrait of what it means to be a family, regardless of how it is made.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateNov 5, 2019
    ISBN9780062952424
    Author

    Mitch Albom

    Mitch Albom is the author of numerous books of fiction and nonfiction, which have collectively sold more than forty million copies in forty-seven languages worldwide. He has written seven number-one New York Times bestsellers – including Tuesdays with Morrie, the bestselling memoir of all time, which topped the list for four straight years – award-winning TV films, stage plays, screenplays, a nationally syndicated newspaper column, and a musical. Through his work at the Detroit Free Press, he was inducted into both the National Sports Media Association and Michigan Sports halls of fame and is the recipient of the 2010 Red Smith Award for lifetime achievement. After bestselling memoir Finding Chika and “Human Touch,” the weekly serial written and published online in real-time to raise funds for pandemic relief, his latest work is a return to fiction with The Stranger in the Lifeboat (Harper, November 2021). He founded and oversees SAY Detroit, a consortium of nine different charitable operations in his hometown, including a nonprofit dessert shop and food product line to fund programs for Detroit’s most underserved citizens. He also operates an orphanage in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, which he visits monthly. He lives with his wife, Janine, in Michigan. Learn more at www.mitchalbom.com, www.saydetroit.org, and www.havefaithaiti.org.

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    Reviews for Finding Chika

    4.5/5

    282 ratings35 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      The discovery and journey which love affords, ensures there was just an “Is” in the protection Chikah was blessed to have been provided by both M&J.
      Much continued success in educating the world about acts of loving kindness.and the fact that the world is a little better place for the family created Thankful for your sharing and writing. Ari

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Heart warming book giving us hope and more hope and faith.
    • 5/5
      Wow! Such a heart wrenching story! Mitch Albom and his wife, Janine, operate an orphanage in Haiti. Chika, comes to live at the orphanage after her mother dies unexpectedly and her aunt can no longer care for her. Poor little Chika develops serious health problems and is unable to receive the necessary medical care in Haiti. Mitch and Janine openly welcome Chika into their home and hearts. How the story ends is of no surprise, as Mitch tells the reader in the very beginning. The joy and suffering endured during such a short amount of time are immeasurable. I admire their strength and love for one another. An excellent reminder of what is most important in life.
    • 5/5
      Wonderful, sad, uplifting, and joyful. A true definition of family.
    • 5/5
      It’s so beautiful!!! Tuesdays with Morrie is a super favorite book but this one surpasses it. It’s so heartfelt that I would laugh and cry while listening to it. I love the audio clips of Chika’s voice. It’s something that one doesn’t get from a hard copy. Thanks, Mr. Mitch for sharing your life and your family’s with us.
    • 5/5
      Albom brings life to the meaning of parental love. Unforgettable.
    • 5/5
      Amazing story and so strong a person to be able to write this. Made me cry at the end my thoughts and prayers are with you
    • 5/5
      Cried 3 times,learned alot.thanks mitch for the wonderful journey with chika
    • 5/5
      An incredibly beautiful and moving story. I loved the little moments and interactions of Chika that the author shared with us! It feels like we're meeting Chika personally in addition to learning about her through the story; I loved it. Thank you for this wonderful audio book.
    • 5/5
      I just listened to a few mins and already in love with it. Thank you Mr.Mitch for your words
    • 5/5
      Such an amazing, deep and spiritual book! I’ve loved every one of his books!
    • 5/5
      This was heartbreaking and glorious! The best part of this audio book was including voice recordings that made my heart melt , laugh out loud and break into tears ♥️
    • 5/5
      When you reach out to hep and touch someone, you can’t imagine how that relationship then reaches out to touch you and love you.
      Thanks for sharing this beautiful story!
    • 5/5
      Moving and touching! A tale that is sad and uplifting at the same time
    • 4/5
      Heartwarming story about how it is to live, take a chance and love families. Mitch Albom’s biography is truthful and emotive (and enjoyable) like all his writings. To have him reading this audiobook is a bonus — I could hear the love in his voice.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book. It really makes you appreciate the small moments that you have with the children in your life. You do not need to be a parent to enjoy this book. All you need is a heart.
    • 5/5
      This story was very moving,sad, spiritual and uplifting if that’s even possible in such circumstance. I grew in Haiti and was very familiar with the poverty that plagued our specially children. I didn’t understand too much then but I remember my Mom generosity to many young mothers who could not afford to provide basic needs for their children let alone medicines to make them well. Thank you so much for your generosity
    • 5/5
      This was such a beautiful story, a true reminder of the love we fight and find in one another during difficult times.
    • 5/5
      Such an inspiring book of love, time and parenthood ❤️
    • 5/5
      The book is amazingly narrated and is full of emotion. I would say people who have children could relate better to it
    • 5/5
      crying. feeling moved. this book inspires one to make another smile and to hold so close those who matter. thank you mr. mitch for yet another timeless piece of art?
    • 5/5
      As always, Mitch Albom’s books speak deeply to the heart and make me both smile and cry. Another rich story that won’t be forgotten.
    • 5/5
      Wow. As an a father who has adopted a little girl, this book was heart wrenching and inspirational. Laughs and tears were let lose as I read these pages. I cannot imagine the struggle it must of been to write this book, but I appreciate every single word. We are defined by what we carry. And our effort is what our legacy will be. Thank you Mr. Mitch for writing this book.
    • 5/5
      Mitch Albom, as always, can turn something sad into a meaningful, heartfelt story. Through his creative writing, we experience the comfort in between heaven and life. I finished this audio book during covid-19 season, and the tears fell brings relief and comfort. ❤
    • 5/5
      Well, this is a very well written book.
      I was really moved by the life of Chika. Very short and meaningful way to live.
      And the whole thing changed the way I look at my three daughters. To see how blessed we are to watch them happily growing up.
      May Chika soul continue to rest in perfect peace.
    • 5/5
      Excellent read full of love and commitment! Thanks for writing such a beautiful read
    • 5/5
      So heartwarming and heartbreaking. A definite must listen to book.
    • 5/5
      So beautifully written! The audio version -superb I thoroughly enjoyed it! I felt as if I was present.
    • 5/5
      This is an amazing book. It really shows the spirit of a child and the heartbreak of losing a child. Mitch does an amazing job of telling this young girl's story and what she did for the life of him and his wife.
    • 3/5
      After the earthquake in Haiti, Mitch Alborn found himself becoming the director and financial organizer of an orphanage in Haiti.One of the little girls, Chika, was found to have a brain tumor that no one in Haiti can help. So Mitch and his wife, bring the little girl to their home in Michigan to seek help in the United States.Unfortunately, it’s a type of tumor where nothing can be done in the US, either, although the Alborn’s seek out many types of experimental treatments in the US and abroad.We know from the first page that the little girl dies. Alborn’s writing style is quite polished and I did like the device of the little girl’s ghost helping to focus the book. I will remember details of this book because, when emotions are engaged, I remember more than from books that are strictly cerebral.But once again, I feel emotionally battered at the end. Recommended? No. Not unless you need a good cry.