Customer Reviews

On That Day, Everybody Ate: One Woman's Story of Hope and Possibility in Haiti

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This extraordinarily sensitive rendering of a place and a people will move the hardest hearts and the most cynical of your acquaintances. It correctly depicts Haitians as intelligent, inventive, courageous, generous and dignified peope and thus gives Haitians the respect they are due. Author Margaret Trost's insights provide the reader with new ways of viewing the relationship between the wealthy world and the poor world. Trost is never condescending to the reader, is never self-promoting, is always honest. The Haitians Trost describes will raise the reader's hope for humanity. I'm going to gift it to everyone I know.

Like the author I travel regularly to a country where the poverty can be overwhelming. Her experiences and dilemmas rang true with mine, page after page. But amid the sadness and friends and desperation, the book finds enough hope and inspiration to keep it from being depressing. Even better, the author found a way to make a difference.

As I read the book, I thought about whether it would be good for my high-school age niece, who is starting to explore questions of global inequality and poverty. At the beginning I feared it would be too depressing for her, but it is not. It is also a quick read- well-written, not long, and with a compelling personal story. I'll be giving the book to my niece and to other friends and family members who want to understand poverty in the world, or are struggling with the contrast between our wealth and their poverty.

I LOVE THIS BOOK! I am so inspired by this moving story. This book is a moving account of how one woman made a commitment that has changed the lives of many children and families in the impoverished country of Haiti. It is about the inspiration that many of us are seeking - to provide meaningful contribution to others through our lives. Her inspirations led Margaret to Haiti and to search for meaning; she connected with the most incredible pastor Fr. Jean Juste (Gerry) - a visionary of the caliber of King and Ghandi - a visionary who refuses to see anything other than light for his people...This story is of how she manifested his vision of food for the hungry children of his parish. I cried often reading what was for me a very moving and compassionate account of a woman's love for others. From a simple beginning, the "What If? Foundation" that Margaret Trost selflessly built out of her vision, provides children food and education that would otherwise not get even one meal each day. Basically Margaret brings hope to this forgotten part of the world being torn apart by politics.

I love this book and how inspired I feel when I read it. I highly recommend it as a book club/reading group selection, and for anyone that wants inspiration in their own lives. One doesn't need to be interested in politics or in Haiti in order to enjoy it. Beautifully written.

This is a gem of a book. In these times of rising global poverty and starvation, Margaret Trost has created hope and vitality in an impoverished Haitian community by establishing a food and education program. Her story is beautifully written, bringing the reader into the one of the world's bleakest corners, and yet finding a people full of love and faith. Everyone I know who has read this book has wept. There are tears of sadness and joy, and I came away from reading this book inspired to do more to help those in need. Reading Margaret's book gives hope that the world can indeed become a better place.

Here is a book of great beauty in the truest sense, a brave story with a big heart. Responding to a passing invitation to visit Haiti, the author's "heart spoke and said yes." Her heart had already been blown open by tragedy, which frames this deeply honest and vivid journey into the roots of compassion, and the balance between giving and receiving, as she puts it. The author is called not haunted, and this makes all the difference. Her heart "leaps at [Fr. Gerry's] vision of a food program," which she brings to fruition.

The concept of a "reverse mission" is powerful, since helpers often feel that they have better answers to the big questions than those they are helping. It seems one's heart must be open to appreciate the wisdom in the full range of the human condition, and Margaret's heart truly is.

She has a rare gift to see from different perspectives, with an eye for vivid detail. Sometimes her images are heartbreaking and indelible, like all the scenes from Son Fils, like Cité Soleil mothers giving clay biscuits to their children, like the child playing peek-a-boo amidst chaos and hunger. Some images convey most forcefully the differences between our culture of abundance and waste and the Haitians' respect for their scarce resources: the cotton ball split into quarters, the single jellybean "licked and carefully chewed," the humble paintbrush broken in two used to paint the mural of Christ. Other images are just lovely, like her brother Paul's renaissance-style paintings, the jewel-like fruit salad, and for that matter, all the descriptions of food preparation (what better name for a dessert than poudre d'amour?). In my favorite scene, the women are dancing under the stars. Margaret sees the whole in the broken and the not-yet-built ' in the Mass at the open-air chapel of St Jude's, in the strong voice of the butterfly lady, in the satisfaction on the faces of the children being fed. That she also describes her son Luke's experiences adds even more meaning and roundness to the account.

Of course she has a keen ear for language too, beginning in the book in the introduction (Osekouuu!), the refrain of the message piti piti n a arrive, and translations of Creole phrases (Have a good moment). When the passage arrives where the title of the book occurs (p. 109), it resonates beautifully. The idea of "what if everybody could eat everyday" has already been ringing throughout the whole book.

Margaret's story grows organically, like her food program. Miracles
aren't "rare and mysterious events that you might miss if you aren't watching closely." They arise from deep kindness in action, and I feel honored to have read such a book.

I rarely find time to read but when I do, I prefer to read real stories about real people. This is one of the most, if not thee most, inspirational real life stories I have read.

When I sat down to read the book, I told myself I had time to read about 30 pages. But, I could not put the book down and ended up reading it from cover to cover. That hasn't happened since I was a child. In addition to being inspirational, I also found the author's thoughts on how one comes to grips with living in abundance while so many live in extreme poverty, to be very insightful and thought provoking.

The book arrived on Saturday morning and I finished it by the afternoon. I couldn't put it down. How beautiful. How well Margaret articulates the conflicting emotions of our American wealth and the despair and immense poverty in Haiti. The amazing hope and the miracles along the way. The beautiful friendships. I loved the photos. What a gift this book is to open our hearts, minds and resources to our neighbors. I am buying copies to give to my friends. Especially as I coordinate the food pantry effort at our church, I want to share our common mission - it is our "world" community not us and them. I got that so clearly from this moving and intensely personal book. Loved it Must read for all who want to make a difference with others.

This is narrative journalism at its best: clear, clean unsentimental writing with memorable characters, vividly drawn settings and a storyline that won't let go of your heart. "On That Day Everybody Ate," will bring tears to your eyes, but it may also give you the courage to do something you've never done before -- help someone less fortunate. For those of us who have never seen real poverty or felt real hunger, this book is a revelation. You feel the intense heat of the Haitian sun and the children's pains of hunger, but because of Ms. Trost's faith and the beautiful people she encounters there, you also feel the hope.

"On That Day Everybody Ate" puts the reader in the experience. When you put the book down, you will feel as though you've been to Haiti yourself. It's an emotional journey, yet it leaves you uplifted and inspired because -- as the author is transformed by the Haitians, so are we.

Just as the children of Haiti need the What if? Foundation for their weekly hot meals, so do we all need Margaret Trost to serve us her wisdom: The meaning of life reveals itself when we give to those who need us most. This is a treasure of a book.

What a terrific little book!! With great sensitivity Margaret Trost captures the daily lives of people as they manage to survive with almost no material objects. While I read I felt as if I too was in that small settlement in Haiti experiencing the comradery and compasssion the inhabitants have for one another. In spite of no electricity, running water, a school or adequate food they find ways to enjoy life that escape many of us. I hope you'll read "On That Day, Everybody Ate" and that it will inspire you as much as it did me.

Most people consider the tragic, the upheaval, the untowardness of life as unfair, as a time from which they will possibly never recover. Stepping into this unwelcomed space is Margaret Trost.
She didn't want her husband to die in her arms. She didn't want to be a single mother to a five-year-old. She wanted the American dream with perhaps additional children, secure jobs and a future so bright she had to wear sunglasses.
She didn't get it. At least the expectation. But she did get the reality that Good Fridays don't win. Instead of wandering in a wilderness of hurt and pain and fear, she went to a land she knew little about, visited with people whose body language spelled need and decided her life could be more than a good idea. It could be a mission to help others--as basic as feeding the hungry--and the best result of all, help herself.
On That Day Everybody Ate has healthy transparency to the joy and fulfillment that comes from caring. A warning, however. Margaret's reflection, her enthusiasm and energy, are contagious. Don't read this book if you want to keep distance from growing.
A second warning. Once you finish her journey you will most likely lay the book down. Then, because of its power and poignancy and vitality, you'll go back, pick it up, and read it again. This is not a single-read book.

Dr. Mark Henry Miller
Lewisville, Texas