Audiobook7 hours
We Are All the Same: A Story of a Boy's Courage and a Mother's Love
Written by Jim Wooten
Narrated by Alan Sklar
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this audiobook
The extraordinary story of the little South African boy whose bravery and fierce determination to make a difference despite being born with AIDS has made him the human symbol of the world's fight against the disease, told by the veteran American journalist whose life he changed.
Five million more people contracted HIV last year alone. We've all seen the statistics, and they numb us; on some level our minds shut down to a catastrophe of this scope. As with other such immense human tragedies in the past, it can take the story of one special child's life to make us open our minds and our hearts.
While the majority of all AIDS cases occur in Africa, a South African boy named Nkosi Johnson did not become "an icon of the struggle for life," in Nelson Mandela's words, because he was representative but because he was so very remarkable. Everyone who met Nkosi Johnson was struck by his blinding life force, his powerful intelligence and drive, his determination to make something of his short life. By the time of his death, the work he had done in his eleven years on earth was such that The New York Times ran his obituary on the front page, as did many other papers, and tributes appeared on the evening news broadcasts of every major network.
Nkosi Johnson did not live to tell his own story, but one writer whose life he changed has taken up the work of telling it for him. Luckily for the world that writer is Jim Wooten. In his hands, We Are All the Same is a powerful testament to the strength of the human spirit, even as it bears witness to the scope of the tragedy that is unfolding in Africa and around the world, cutting down millions of boys and girls like Nkosi Johnson before they can reach their promise. Written with the brevity and power of a parable, We Are All the Same is a book that is meant to be read by all of us, of all ages and walks of life. Its beginning and ending are terribly sad, but in the middle is the extraordinarily inspiring story of a very unlucky little boy who said, Never mind. I'm going to make my life matter. And he did.
Five million more people contracted HIV last year alone. We've all seen the statistics, and they numb us; on some level our minds shut down to a catastrophe of this scope. As with other such immense human tragedies in the past, it can take the story of one special child's life to make us open our minds and our hearts.
While the majority of all AIDS cases occur in Africa, a South African boy named Nkosi Johnson did not become "an icon of the struggle for life," in Nelson Mandela's words, because he was representative but because he was so very remarkable. Everyone who met Nkosi Johnson was struck by his blinding life force, his powerful intelligence and drive, his determination to make something of his short life. By the time of his death, the work he had done in his eleven years on earth was such that The New York Times ran his obituary on the front page, as did many other papers, and tributes appeared on the evening news broadcasts of every major network.
Nkosi Johnson did not live to tell his own story, but one writer whose life he changed has taken up the work of telling it for him. Luckily for the world that writer is Jim Wooten. In his hands, We Are All the Same is a powerful testament to the strength of the human spirit, even as it bears witness to the scope of the tragedy that is unfolding in Africa and around the world, cutting down millions of boys and girls like Nkosi Johnson before they can reach their promise. Written with the brevity and power of a parable, We Are All the Same is a book that is meant to be read by all of us, of all ages and walks of life. Its beginning and ending are terribly sad, but in the middle is the extraordinarily inspiring story of a very unlucky little boy who said, Never mind. I'm going to make my life matter. And he did.
Related to We Are All the Same
Related audiobooks
Secret Daughter: A Mixed-Race Daughter and the Mother Who Gave Her Away Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Finding Samuel Lowe: China, Jamaica, Harlem Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Greyboy: Finding Blackness in a White World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Any Known Blood Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Color of Life: A Journey toward Love and Racial Justice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mental Health Poetry For The Homies Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Invisible Man Got the Whole World Watching: A Young Black Man's Education Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When You Lie about Your Age, the Terrorists Win: Reflections on Looking in the Mirror Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Think Black: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Love Prison Made and Unmade: My Story Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Girl Named Lovely: One Child's Miraculous Survival and My Journey to the Heart of Haiti Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All Our Names Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'm Down: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Just Like Us: The True Story of Four Mexican Girls Coming of Age in America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMother Daughter Me Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5And Now I Spill the Family Secrets: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Life Sucks: How to Deal with the Way Life Is, Was, and Always Will Be Unfair Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlack Card: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Drop of Midnight: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Harlem Is Nowhere: A Journey to the Mecca of Black America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5She Matters: A Life in Friendships Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5My Long Trip Home: A Family Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Between the Bliss and Me Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Twelve Years a Slave: The Autobiography of Solomon Northup Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Girl in the Middle: Growing Up Between Black and White, Rich and Poor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beer Money: A Tale of the Iowa City Beer Mafia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Compton Cowboys: The New Generation of Cowboys in America's Urban Heartland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5We Were Beautiful Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Don't Fight Mad: A Black Belt's Quest to Recapture Joy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Wellness For You
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Vanishing: Mortality, Dementia, and What It Means to Disappear Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5ADHD is Awesome: A Guide to (Mostly) Thriving with ADHD Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Roxane Gay & Everand Originals: Built for This: The Quiet Strength of Powerlifting Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Struggle Better: Navigating Difficult Times with Self-Compassion Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Moneyzen: The Secret to Finding Your ""Enough"" Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Happiness Makeover: Overcome Stress and Negativity to Become a Hopeful, Happy Person Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Switch on Your Brain: The Key to Peak Happiness, Thinking, and Health Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Do the Work Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Outsmart Your Brain: Why Learning is Hard and How You Can Make It Easy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Glucose Revolution: The Life-Changing Power of Balancing Your Blood Sugar Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Well-Lived Life: A 102-Year-Old Doctor's Six Secrets to Health and Happiness at Every Age Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Radical Love: Learning to Accept Yourself and Others Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Plant Paradox: The Hidden Dangers in ""Healthy"" Foods That Cause Disease and Weight Gain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How Am I Doing?: 40 Conversations to Have with Yourself Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Easy Way to Stop Smoking Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lifespan: Why We Age—and Why We Don't Have To Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Stress-Proof Brain: Master Your Emotional Response to Stress Using Mindfulness and Neuroplasticity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for We Are All the Same
Rating: 4.0178571142857145 out of 5 stars
4/5
28 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Those with an excellent memory for the waning years of the last millennium may recall the sad story of Nkosi Johnson, the black South African lad who was born with AIDS, raised by a white mother and gained international fame when he spoke at an AIDS conference. The author covers Nkosi's life, and particularly through the woman that raised him. If there is a just and benevolent God, this lady (sorry, I don't have the book in front of me) will hold a special place in heaven. "We are all the same" covers the conflicts of early 1990s South Africa as the nation's white people wrestle with their history and as Nelson Mandela and the ANC took their first steps in power. But it is Johnson to whom we are drawn.