Rwandan-German author Judence Kayitesi has once again touched hearts with her new book, ‘Letters to Forever’, a soul-stirring story about love, healing, and hope.
Known for her earlier works A Broken Life, Choosing Resilience, and Unity Quest, which explored survival, strength, and unity, Kayitesi now opens a new chapter one where love becomes the path to healing.
"I am a survivor of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. I survived with a machete wound to my head and carried deep scars both visible and invisible. For a long time, I believed love was something that belonged to others, not to someone who had seen so much pain,” Kayitesi said.
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Yet, from the depths of that pain, Letters to Forever was born, inspired by a real story, and by letters that reminded her that love can still find us, even after unimaginable loss.
"I wanted to show that healing is possible. That even someone who went through genocide and divorce can still believe in love again. This book is not only about romance; it’s about rediscovering hope, trust, and the courage to love again after losing everything,” she explained.
Told through the exchange of letters between two souls, Kayitesi said that Letters to Forever captures a love that grows not through grand gestures but through honesty, patience, and emotional truth.
Asked what lesson she hopes readers can take from the book, she said that love is not about perfection.
"Love is about healing. True love accepts our scars, listens to our silence, and teaches us to live again. One act of love, one letter, one word can heal what years of pain could not,” she said.
Letters to Forever invites reflection on forgiveness and the quiet strength of the human heart.
She hopes for readers to feel inspired to believe in love again, no matter what they have faced. "Love doesn’t erase pain, but it helps us walk through it with grace.”
Kayitesi also dreams of bringing this story to life on screen given that it has a cinematic soul and moves between two hearts, two countries, and two lives that found each other again.
"I would love that, seeing Letters to Forever on screen would be a dream come true, not only for me but for everyone who believes in love after loss,” she adds.
While Letters to Forever unveils her tender, romantic side, it’s also part of a greater journey that began with her earlier books.
She began her journey as an author with A Broken Life, her testimony as a survivor. Then came Choosing Resilience and Unity Quest. Each of these books tells a part of her story from survival to strength, unity, and now, love. Together, they form one message: that no matter what we go through, we can rise, rebuild, and choose to love again.
Now available online and soon in bookstores in Rwanda from November 5, Letters to Forever continues Judence Kayitesi’s mission to heal through words.