The experiences of one woman among many that were thrust into the hardships of civil war in South Sudan during the violent struggle for independence from 1983 to 2011, explore the question: What becomes of a good person when placed in the worst circumstances imaginable? As refugees in Ethiopia, Abuk Makuac and her young son are plunged without warning into hunger and homelessness, far known. She must fight daily to feed her son, gives birth in exile, and tries to keep alive hope where there is none. She finds solace in community with other women and emerges with her goodness intact, but not without paying a heavy price. This book invites us to witness, in both picture and story, the power of female resilience not only in one life but also in the life of a nation.

"We are women. Our work has always stretched beyond the lines of sunrise and sunset. Do not think us weak because we do not fight by killing. We fight by giving birth to life, we feed our young from our own bodies, we raise up new life from our own ashes. For this, one must be stronger than death itself. We are such women. We are not victims, but proud bearers of the wisdom of generations, we are every country's lifeline of hope for the future."

—ABUK JERVAS MAKUAC