Book #5
You Will Not Have My Hate
By Antoine Leiris
Terror & Tenderness
My experience with this book can be summarized in one sentence: there were tears running down my face. It is a short book but incredibly powerful. It is written by a French man whose wife- the mother of his young child, was killed in a terrorist attack.
There is a picture of her holding her infant son at the back of the book. It is such a sweet photo and puts a face to the unfortunate subject of this book: Hélène.
The juxtaposition between the violence of Hélène’s death and the sweetness of the moments she shared with her child is enormous. With her big, brown doe eyes, cradling her sleeping baby, she looks the picture of gentleness. A new mom and a sleeping baby.
A Momentary Tragedy for Us, a Lifelong One For Them
The brevity of this book also adds to its poignancy.
For the reader, this story is a brief moment in time. But for Hélène’s family, it is a life sentence.
Normally I try to stay away from books like this. I find these sorts of books can make a reader more fearful, more angry.
But this book connects.
Finding Connection in Sadness, Not Isolation
You can feel the humanity in the situation. It is a rare gift for an author to detail a tragic event and connect a reader more with their humanity, not less.
Just a few days ago, I wrote a blog post about how I am not ready to forgive… and then I read this book.
Forgiveness doesn’t typically happen all at once. There is no miracle formula. But I think this book cracked open the door a little further for me.
I don’t want to hate anyone. I want to live a full and beautiful life for my own sake and for the sake of those who care about me.
I think what You Will Not Have My Hate did was shift my perspective from what someone else did to what I deserve. I don’t want to hate anyone. I want to live a good life… I don’t want to hate anyone.
Messy Bun Book Lover
(Originally posted on Mar. 18, 2025)
Read You Will Not Have My Hate by Antoine Leiris → https://amzn.to/43k2yPQ
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