Find Me Unafraid: Love, Loss, And Hope In An African Slum

Find Me Unafraid: Love, Loss and Hope in an African Slum is a 2015 nonfiction memoir by husband and wife Kennedy Odede and Jessica Posner. The book took the 2016 nonfiction runners-up designation for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and it was also featured and reviewed on Oprah.com as part of the “Soulful Read” series. The memoir tells the story of their meeting, romance, and eventual collaboration to build schools for under-privileged youth and bring change to the slums of Kibera, one of the largest urban slums in Africa. Kennedy, a Kenyan from the slums, and Jessica, a privileged white American from Colorado, first met when Jessica visited Kenya on a study abroad program in college to volunteer for a youth empowerment organization called Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO), founded by Kennedy. The title of their co-authored book is taken from a line in the poem “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley: “And yet the menace of the years / Finds and shall find me unafraid.”

In Part 1, Kennedy and Jessica narrate alternating chapters, and the book begins with Kennedy’s account of his difficult childhood growing up in extreme poverty in Kibera, a slum of Nairobi, Kenya. The systemic poverty in the area perpetuates a cycle of theft, violence, hunger, domestic abuse, and rape. Kennedy grew up in the worst of this poverty, and yet he maintains for what his community could be. This hope, spurred by the reading of black nonviolent scholars, leads him to launch a nonprofit organization that provides a space for youth to learn about alternatives to their current situation through sports, theater, and education. Jessica is a stubborn, eager, and somewhat naive theater student who works and lives alongside Kennedy for a semester abroad. During her stay, she is overwhelmed by Kennedy’s ability to serve his community despite his own impoverished upbringing. They fall in love quickly, attracted to each other’s zest and hope for life.

In Part 2, Jessica returns to the United States intent on helping Kennedy escape the violence and instability in Kenya. Kennedy wins a full scholarship to Wesleyan university and comes to America to study alongside his girlfriend. Now, Jessica and Kennedy must learn how to navigate their relationship outside of the confines of Kibera. Their two worlds collide in the US as Kennedy struggles to figure out how to be Kenyan in America but also how to return home to help his community. As Jessica and Kennedy win more grants, they expand SHOFCO and open a school for young girls, which eventually grows to two schools and more services. They continue to have success in both business and their relationship, eventually getting married. They alternate between America and Kenya, working with SHOFCO.