Dr. Oryem’s poetic memoir, though profoundly personal, it is conversely touching every grieving heart grappling with loss, depression, trauma, anxiety and any threat to human wellbeing. Losing one’s beloved and partner in life is tragic. This is an elegy and tribute by the poet to his beloved wife, Abili. It is an account of struggle, surviving after sudden demise of a young mother and life’s partner whose young kids are left behind under the care of their father. Over the years, and step by step, Oryem and Abili planted and watered the seed of their relationship. It blossomed as they formed their own family after the poet left the Catholic priesthood following independence of his homeland, Republic of South Sudan in 2011. The memoir is an expression of deep love coated with trust, faith and hard work clad in personal commitment to each other.
Reading every verse of Abili: Unblemished Life soothes grieving hearts, allowing them to move on instead of being bogged down by the loss encountered. The elegy will inspire those who struggle daily with pain within families and across societies.