Carried By Hope

Carried by Hope is a powerful memoir of grief, faith, motherhood, and the quiet strength it takes to rise when everything familiar is stripped away.

Born in Douala, Cameroon, Paule Yvonne Makanda was raised by a lineage of formidable women; her mother, aunt, and grandmother; who rooted her in discipline, love, and faith. When life carried her across oceans to the United States, it also delivered relentless loss: the death of the women who raised her, a painful road to motherhood, immigration uncertainty, and the weight of surviving far from home.

This is not a story of easy healing or performative faith.

It is the story of a woman who buried her grief quietly while holding a newborn, relearned how to stand after collapse, and chose purpose over despair; eventually making the bold decision to join the U.S. Army not to escape pain, but to transform it.

Through lyrical storytelling and unflinching honesty, Carried by Hope explores:

• Grief that does not disappear-but learns how to stay
• Faith that questions God yet refuses to let go
• Motherhood forged through loss and endurance
• Immigration, identity, and becoming strong in unfamiliar ground
• Rising again; not because life is gentle, but because hope is real

This memoir is for women who carry generations on their backs, for mothers who grieve in silence, for immigrants rebuilding identity, and for anyone learning how to live after loss.

Hope does not erase pain.

It gives you the strength to rise anyway.