Brigitte's life unfolds in three starkly different chapters. The first takes place in her native Congo—a life of study, meaningful work, family, four children, economic security. Then comes the fall. Prison, torture, abuse of every kind. By chance, or providence, she arrives in Rome and finds herself on the street outside Termini station. There her slow, painful, gradual rebirth begins with a scrap of paper and an address, handed to her by a friar: Via degli Astalli 14/A.
Mazzucco draws Brigitte's story directly from her own voice. The two women meet, gradually learn to trust each other, and through this human bond we come to understand not only Brigitte's life but the lives of countless refugees—and the daily work of those who labor to help people rebuild after fleeing their countries. Rome itself emerges as a city both unwelcoming and hospitable at once, offering inadequate resources yet extraordinary reserves of humanity and skill.
To enter Brigitte's world and the world of refugees is not to sink into suffering alone. I Am with You introduces us to a world of hope, of strong human bonds, of faith. Brigitte's faith is not resignation. It is trust in God and in human beings. It is tenacity. It is the will to start again, to reclaim her dignity.
Rita Massi, 206