Immaculée Ilibagiza

DUNWOODY—Immaculée Ilibagiza, the survivor of the Rwandan genocide and New York Times best-selling author of “Left to Tell,” is returning to Atlanta to host a Weekend of Healing and Hope Retreat at All Saints Church in Dunwoody, Feb. 7-8.

Ilibagiza’s story is one that has captivated people worldwide. Hiding in a cramped bathroom from the Hutu killers with seven other women for 91 days, she was finally liberated from her hiding place only to face a horrific reality. Ilibagiza emerged from that small bathroom weighing just 65 pounds and finding her entire family brutally murdered, with the exception of one brother who was studying abroad. She also found nearly one million of her extended family, friends, neighbors and fellow Rwandans massacred.

After the genocide, Ilibagiza came face-to-face with the man who killed her mother and one of her brothers. After enduring months of physical, mental and spiritual suffering, she was still able to offer the unthinkable, telling the man, “I forgive you.”

During the retreat, she will tell her story and share in that same process of healing and hope.