Left to Tell opens with a preface and introduction that contextualize the book as a spiritual tale of faith, told through the unique and subjective perspective of Immaculée.

The foreword introducing the book is written by Wayne Dwyer, a self-help author and spiritualist who came to know Immaculée Ilibagiza during a motivational speaking tour. Dyer was profoundly moved by Immaculée’s story: “To me, Immaculée was not only left to tell this mind-blowing story, but more than that, she’s a living example of what we can all accomplish when we go within and choose to truly live in perfect harmony with our originating Spirit” (xiv).

The Preface is a brief word by Immaculée, stressing that Left to Tell is “not intended to be a history of Rwanda or of the genocide, it is my own history” (xvii). She emphasizes that the book is an account of the Rwandan genocide, subjectively written from her own unique perspective: “This is my story, told as I remember it [...] I believe that our lives are interconnected, that we’re meant to learn from one another’s experiences. I wrote this book hoping that others may benefit from my story” (xvii).