Evolving Through Adversity: How To Overcome Obstacles, Discover Your Passion, and Honor Your True Self

by Seconde Nimenya

Finalist of the 2014 International Book Awards in Nonfiction. Evolving Through Adversity is a brilliant, inspiring and unforgettable memoir from an African talent about the life lessons one learns from adversity, and the sheer determination to overcome and use life’s challenges to be the best version of yourself. A debut memoir of great ambition, Seconde Nimenya’s Evolving Through Adversity tells a story of her family and her fight to get an education in one of Africa’s poorest countries, Burundi. This is the story of a woman’s struggle against her cultural hindrances, and that of a resilient girl who left home to attend boarding school and dreamed of a better life in a culture that considered girls and women as second class citizens. In the 1990s, Seconde Nimenya immigrated to North America, starting out as a refugee in Canada, as a result of a civil war in her native country. In 2004, she moved to the United States, pursued and obtained her MBA. In Evolving Through Adversity, readers will be delighted by Seconde’s childhood stories told with humor and wit, and yet, profoundly impactful no matter where you are in life. In the second part of the memoir, Seconde shares her immigration story, the challenges of being uprooted and leaving her family and everything she knew behind, and she had to adjust to a new country and a new culture. Throughout the book, you learn how to overcome adversity no matter what they are, find your passion, and ultimately honor your true self. Evolving Through Adversity is a brilliantly written memoir of place, culture, race, and the internalized shame that often comes from being a refugee and having to start over. This book is a transformative, deeply moving story from an unparalleled new voice of inspiring clarity, leadership, and poise. Today, Seconde Nimenya is a diversity and inclusion leadership advocate, coaching organizational leaders on the topics of race relations, cultural competence, and overcoming unconscious bias in the workplace and our communities.For more information about Seconde Nimenya’s work,

276 pages, Paperback

First published July 31, 2013

About the author

Seconde Nimenya is the author of five books and the founder and chief diversity trainer at Common Purpose Training Services®. She has spent more than a decade as a thought leader on diversity and inclusion in a world of differences. Through her leadership development programs, she advocates for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace, education, and communities. Seconde speaks at various conferences and seminars, inspiring and empowering her audiences to use their life experiences to better themselves and others. She works with business owners and organizational leaders who want to build inclusive workplaces and communities where everyone feels accepted for who they are and what they bring to the world to make it a better place for all.

With more than fifteen years of experience as a professional in the field of global diversity and empowerment, Seconde brings practical insights and perspectives into discussions of various cultural and ethnic groups that form the basis of our contemporary global society. In addition to her work on diversity, she provides specialized work in the areas of leadership resilience and character-building.

Seconde Nimenya immigrated to North America in the 1990s, starting out as an immigrant in Canada, where she lived more than ten years before moving to the United States. In the United States, she furthered her education and earned her MBA. She blends her varied educational and cultural backgrounds to create dynamic presentations, using a unique approach that is both inspiring and empowering.

Seconde is a TEDx speaker, and her talk on race and other identity constructs, “We Are Not All That Different,” has been hailed by many viewers as the most inspirational talk of our time. She has received recognition for her contributions to the work on diversity and inclusion leadership, including being the recipient of the 2017 Seeds of Hope Award and the 2019 Bold and Resilient Woman Award, both recognizing her work in bridging the gaps between diverse, multicultural communities, and inspiring people with her personal and professional insights.

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book about growing up in Burundi in central Africa and ending up in the United States as a young mother. She explores the cultural differences between the two countries as she explores who she is as a wife, mother and a woman. Throughtful questions at the end of each chapter help you to explore your own life.