The Worth of a Soul — Kristen McKendry

You will be inspired by the incredible true story of Ayse Hitchins and her life of constant change. When this shy Turkish girl was only six years old, her loving father abruptly dropped her off at an expensive boarding school -- out of the reach of her violent, mentally ill mother. Five years later her family removed her from the school she had grown to think of as home. She was no longer a privileged citizen of Istanbul and had to begin a new life as an impoverished child of total strangers. When she was finally allowed to move back to the city, one more seemingly insurmountable blow was dealt to the young girl. As a young woman, Ayse's years were shadowed by turmoil, desperate poverty, depression, and alcoholism. She abandoned her Muslim faith for atheism and Marxist philosophy and planned a future with her Nigerian fiancé -- but when Ayse met a Mormon man named Ross, her path took an unexpected turn. With poignant pain and rich redemption, this unforgettable memoir describes this woman's amazing journey from Turkey to Canada, from Muslim to Mormon, from riches to rags to riches, from adopted child to mother of an adopted child. After following Ayse through her wrenching early years, you will take heart as she seeks reconciliation in her homeland, marvel as she becomes a translator of sacred scripture into her native tongue, and rejoice as she finally raises her voice in gladness to God.