Now I Am Known Review + Peter Mutabazi Interview by the Ent. This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog.
Know Before You Read
Book: Now I Am Known: How a Street Kid Turned Foster Dad Found Acceptance and True Worth
Author: Peter Mutabazi
Genre: Biographical, Inspirational
Length: 224 pages
Age suggested: 13 and up
Release Date: August 30th, 2022
Warnings: Discussion of abuse (physical, emotional, and sexual), talk of death (to children and adults), discussion of foster care and fostering traumatized children.
Quick Now I Am Known Summary
Peter Mutabazi tells the harrowing story of his childhood, which goes from being abused at home to learning to live on his own on the streets. Through acts of kindness, Peter does make his way into school. The eventually allows him to lead a successful life. He has used his life experience to help foster kids feel love, having fostered 34 children as a single parent.
Now I Am Known Review
Now I Am Known tells the story of Peter Mutabazi. Peter grew up in Uganda, but was exposed to an intense amount of abuse from his father. This led him to flee his home at the age of 10 to live on the streets. This caused a lot more abuse and misery. During an attempted theft opportunity, Peter meets a man named James, who freely offers him some free food. A relationship is born which eventually leads to Peter being invited to attend school. This sends Peter’s life into a completely new trajectory.
Through schooling and college, Peter does great with schooling while also untangling the trauma of his childhood. This leads him to find jobs that allow him to help children by providing funds and foos. Later on in his life, Peter moves to America where he eventually is introduced to the foster care system. Since then, Peter has foster 34 children, adopting one of them. Peter’s story is absolutely incredible and highly inspiring.
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As a foster parent, I found the book relatable in many ways, mostly toward the latter half of the book. Peter does a great job at pointing out the importance of fostering, while also not hiding the difficulty of dealing with traumatized children and the eventual loss of those children (if they are reunified with their bio-family).
This story does delve into much of the darker things of this world and most of it happens to Peter as a child. Although Peter never becomes explicit in his description of the abuse and assaults he experienced as a child, the stories are still quite harrowing and heavy. With that said, Peter’s optimism shines through the story. Even during the darkest parts of the story, there is an underlying hope for the future. This hope does mostly come from hingsight, but it does make the story easier to read knowing that it does get better.
Favorite Now I Am Known Quotes
It’s been a long time since I lived in survival mode, but I have carried some of its lessons with me for a lifetime.
Something inside me craved to be known more than anything in this world.
All my life I had seen the worst in people, but now I actually saw some good.
The sight of two children being happy in the presence of their father was all so new to me.
People who live in trauma do this all the time. We do or say what people want in hope they will give us what we need.
My entire life hinges on receiving undeserved kindness and I want to give what I thought I could never deserve: love without strings.
When you have nothing, even a little looks like great wealth.
Everyone deserves to be seen, heard, and known. And when they are, not only their future can change but the world can change as well.
People who have lived through trauma desperately need someone who cares enough to listen to their stories.
Hurting people need to be heard. They need to know they are not alone.
Forgiveness not only set me free from my past but also took away my fear from the future.
I have seen firsthand the destructive power of hate, but I have also seen the healing power of generosity, acceptance and love. The Latter is our only hope.
We all have the opportunity to help others, inspire others, and love others from a sincere heart.
Every heartache, every struggle, every trauma I suffered changed my heart and opened my eyes to those who suffer just as I did.
How could I ask my church members to sponsor vulnerable children in Africa and then ignore those who are in our own backyard?
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I had made hundreds of trips around the world on behalf of children and families, but had I ever looked around where I lived?
Becoming my father was and still is my greatest father.
While we are all shaped by our past, none of us are chained to it. None of us are predestined to repeat the mistakes of the generations that came before.
But even through the fits, this was a boy who just wanted to be held and I thank God I was there for him.
In all my classes and training to become a foster dad, no one ever taught me how to say goodbye to my children.
Every child needs to know they are chosen and that they are a gift.
We can choose to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable children.
Some people think it takes some sort of special call from God to become a foster parent. I disagree. All it takes is knowing there is a need and knowing you can do something to meet it.
Someone once said that it takes a village to raise a child. Foster families usually feel outside that village. We can change that. Everyone can do something.
There is a world filled with children waiting for you to make a choice. Their lives will never be the same. Choose to be brave. Choose to love.
-Now I Am Known Quotes
Peter Mutabazi Interview
We had the honor to be able to interview Peter Mutabazi. Check out our full Peter Mutabazi interview below where we talk about encouraging single and foster parents and other interesting topics!
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Now I Am Known Discussion Questions
Themes to Discuss: Redemption, Forgiveness, Survival, Acceptance, and Fostering
- Take a moment to reflect on the overarching story of Peter. How is his life different from the beginning of the book to the end? What has led to these changes?
- Are there any parts of peter’s story that you particularly related to? If you feel comfortable sharing, talk through these similarities.
- How did Peter’s upbringing lead him to be such a good father?
- How has Peter’s story affected your view on poverty? On fostering? On other matters?
- What are ways that you could support foster families and kids?
Thanks for reading our Now I Am Know Review with Author Interview!
You can check out Peter Mutabazi’s socials here
–Youtube
–Instagram
–Facebook
–Now I Am Known Foundation
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