How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child is a 2017 memoir by Sandra Uwiringiyimana. It recounts Sandra’s life in the volatile Democratic Republic of the Congo, her immigration to America, and her dedication to activism. This nonfiction autobiography is the winner of multiple awards, including the New York Public Library’s Best Books for Teens; Chicago Public Library’s Best of the Best Books for Teens: Nonfiction; and Bank Street’s 2018 Best Books of the Year.

This guide is based on the Katherine Tegen Books 2018 reprint edition.

Plot Summary

When she was 10 years old, Sandra and her family fled from their idyllic home in Uvira, a small city in the Congo, and went to a refugee camp in Burundi. Sandra’s entire tribe, the Banyamulenge, was under siege by Congolese soldiers. The army was determined to drive the itinerant tribe of Rwandan origin from the country. The Banyamulenge people were under attack since the 1880s, when the Belgians colonized the region, and were frequently forced to move as a mode of survival.

Life at the refugee camp was dull most of the time and then harrowing in other moments, such as when Sandra had to fight with other refugees just to obtain water. Sandra’s life changed forever after her beloved little sister, Deborah, was murdered during a raid of the camp. Sandra and Deborah’s mother, Rachel, was also shot during the attack, leading Sandra to think she was dead. Sandra wandered through the camp and its environs after the massacre in search of her mother. She watched the sun rise, enraged that life would dare to go on, though her family was no longer intact. This moment of rage inspired the title of this memoir.

After finding her mother and other relatives, including her father, Prudence, and older brothers, Alex and Heritage, the family left the camp and found some degree of safety in nearby countries. For Sandra, these environments were not always safe. While staying with one friend of the family, she was nearly raped. Things changed again after Prudence heard about a United Nations relocation program for refugees. After overcoming Rachel’s initial skepticism, the entire family submitted to a series of interviews as part of the application process. Officials accepted their request and soon relocated them to Rochester, New York.

Moving to a new country with a national language that Sandra’s family did not speak, as well as a climate that was snowy and freezing when they arrived, was shocking. Sandra struggled to adjust to her new schools, where the kids made fun of her hair and questioned her racial identity. She enjoyed some relief when she won a scholarship to Our Lady of Mercy, a private Catholic high school in a Rochester suburb. Despite the class differences between her and the other students, as well as being thrust in a predominantly white environment, Sandra thrived.

Meanwhile, her family joined a new church where Prudence started a choir comprised of refugees. The choir traveled throughout the Northeast, singing and telling the story of the Banyamulenge. After Sandra’s elder sister, Princesse, who normally introduced the choir, fell ill, Sandra gave the speech. This led to the beginning of her public speaking career and her commitment to sharing what happened to her people in the Congo. Her efforts led to her being invited to the Women in the World Summit and other notable events, where she came in contact with Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama, Angelina Jolie, and other celebrities devoted to activism.

Despite the ostensible glamour of Sandra’s new life, she still struggled to fit in at school; now, both her race and her new fame set her apart. She also struggled with matters at home, such as being responsible for helping her non-English-speaking parents decipher bills; watching her mother labor at hard, menial jobs; and observing her father’s recovery from an accident that nearly killed him.

By the time Sandra reached college, where she encountered more racism and was unable to resolve her feelings of alienation, the pressure became too much. She left school and went to New York City to find out who she was and what she wanted out of life. The journey led her to her first love, more work in activism, and a decision to start a new life in New York, where she transferred to Mercy College and arranged to major in International Relations. Though she and her mother became estranged temporarily due to Sandra’s choices, they soon reconciled. They got to know each other beyond their prescribed roles as mother and daughter and became acquainted as women.