A Family from Ethiopia

by Julia Waterlow

$25.64; Raintree

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The vivid photographs of this Ethiopian family, their hut, and many of their possessions help to tell the story of their lives. Of course, it’s a challenge to portray a “typical” family in a country that’s as vast as Ethiopia; while the majority of people make their living as subsistence farmers, like the family in the book, many others live in large cities.

Nevertheless, reading the book and looking at the pictures with Sabella taught me a lot about her life growing up in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia. I learned as much from her comments that, “No, we didn’t do that,” as I did from her admissions that, “Yes, we had one of those in our house.”

Rita Radostitz is mom to 10-year-old twins Hanna and Sabella, adopted from Ethiopia. She works for Adoption Advocates International from her home in Oregon.

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