The Twenty-Third Psalm

The Rwandan Genocide has been mostly portrayed as a sudden plague of insanity, like a natural disaster that came out of nowhere and had no explanation. But in The Twenty-Third Psalm, Elise, a Tutsi survivor, reveals how for almost two decades while she is growing up in Rwanda, the Hutu-dominated government is methodically laying the groundwork for the genocide, fueling hatred for her people through propaganda and discriminatory policies, dehumanizing the Tutsi minority.

As a result, Elise endures cruelty and abuse from both peers and teachers at school. As a teenager, she is harassed by a Hutu gang, who knows they can act with total impunity. Elise's family, adhering to a survival strategy of silence and denial, offers her little solace. When Elise breaks this silence in an act of defiance, she is forced to flee for her life, embarking on a perilous journey of survival across half of Africa.

Years later, Elise finds that she is still surviving the genocide. Despite efforts to rebuild her life, horrific memories and nightmares threaten her peace of mind and her relationships with her children. Keough's novel explores the lasting impact of survival, confronting the themes of trauma, resilience, and the courage to face a painful past that refuses to stay buried.