Author and sports journalist Mitch Albom is best known for his 1997 memoir, “Tuesdays with Morrie” (Broadway Books). Albom’s new memoir, “Finding Chika: A Little Girl, an Earthquake and the Making of a Family”(Harper), tells the true story of a young Haitian orphan named Chika Jeune, her losing battle with brain cancer and her life-changing impact on Albom and his wife, Janine Sabino.
At once heartbreaking and uplifting, the book explores what it means to create a family. Albom, 61, a New Jersey native who lives in Detroit, will speak about “Finding Chika” at the Phyllis and Louis Friedman Community Lecture at Chizuk Amuno Congregation, 8100 Stevenson Road in Pikesville, on Dec. 8 at 5 p.m. All proceeds from book sales will support the Have Faith Haiti Mission in Port-au-Prince.
How did Chika come into your life?
I watched the 2010 earthquake [in Haiti] on TV like everyone else. A Detroit pastor came to me seeking help. He was worried the earthquake destroyed an orphanage there. I helped organize a trip to Haiti. I took him and a couple of other people, and we arrived about 2½ weeks later. When I went there and I saw [the aftermath], I was so moved that I just kept bringing people back — roofers, plumbers, contractors, electricians. We were rebuilding the orphanage, and then the pastor admitted he had no money to run the place. So I took it over. About two years later, when her mother passed away, Chika was brought to the orphanage. When she was 5, Chika was diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, a type of brain tumor. My wife and I took her to America to find a cure. We went on a two-year journey … but Chika passed away on April 7, 2017.
What was it like to write this book?
It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever written. It was personal, and at times it was painful to remember. But it was also cathartic to relive certain conversations with Chika. There was a choice between joy and sadness, and I chose to remember Chika with joy.
You’ve said this is the best thing you’ve ever written. Why?
I love “Tuesdays with Morrie” but in terms of writing, I think this is my best work. It’s because it mattered so much to me, and I’m honoring Chika’s legacy. She only lived for seven years, and I’m creating a second life for her [by sharing her story].
Throughout the book, you remember Chika through dreamlike “conversations” with her. Why did you use that technique?
I knew I didn’t want it to be a sad book or to chronicle the story of a child getting sicker and sicker. So I said, “Let’s just blow the whole idea up.” The reader knows from the first page that she’s gone, but then she comes back [through the conversations]. Besides, you can’t do a book about Chika without having conversations. That’s who she was.
Biggest takeaway from “Finding Chika”?
There’s no wrong way to make a family. As long as there’s love, it’s a family.
For information about Albom’s talk at Chizuk Amuno, visit chizukamuno.org.
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