Book Review, Ana's Story: A Journey Of Hope

Jenna Bush's book, Ana's Story: A Journey Of Hope tugged on my heart with its message of hope.



The book is based on on work Jenna Bush did with UNICEF, but names and places have been changed to protect their identities. Part of the book is in the author's point of view and the other part is in Ana's point of view.



Ana was born with HIV, she transmitted it from her young mother, who died from AIDS when Ana was three years old. Her father has AIDS, but he died later, when Ana was in sixth grade. Ana had a sister who had AIDS and died when she was a month old. Ana also had another sister, Isabel, who luckily wasn't infected with the disease. The only family who could afford to take care of Ana and Isabel was their abuela. Life with their abuela is terrible, the girls encounter abuse. So they get moved around from home to home. Sadly the sisters get separated for a few years. Meanwhile Ana falls in love, and becomes pregnant. The book goes into great detail about her struggles.



Most of the story takes place in a poor area of the city, often referred to as the barrio. Bush really gives a good depiction of how the neighborhoods look, when she talks about the tin houses and dirt roads. Also when she talks about how dogs, chickens and horses roamed freely on the streets.



This story really hit home with me. Even though no one in my family has HIV/AIDS, I'm from Africa and that is a huge problem there. So this story just made want to help make educate people about the virus.



I would recommend this book to anyone. I feel like females would enjoy it more. I believe that there millions of Ana's in the world. So this book really gave them a voice, and let their story be heard.