Ethiopian Orthodox Church Forests: Opportunities and Challenges for Restoration 

by Dr.Alemayehu Wassie

In the northern highlands of Ethiopia, patchy remnants of old-aged Afromontane forests can be found mainly around the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Churches (EOTC). Forests in other areas have been completely destroyed and converted into farms and grazing lands over centuries.

Hence, when a traveler sees a patch of indigenous old-aged trees in the northern highlands of Ethiopia, he/she can be sure that there is an Orthodox Church in the middle. Many indigenous trees and shrubs, which in some places were destroyed completely over the last century, are still found standing in the compounds of churches. The future existence of the woody flora and vegetation characteristic of dry Afromontane areas in Ethiopia depends on effective conservation and sustainable utilization of these remnant natural forest patches.

Excluding cattle interference is a prerequisite to facilitate regeneration in church forests. Interconnecting these remnant forests by vegetation corridors following natural terrain or stream lines, or reducing the distance between them by creating buffer areas and plantations around them, and developing more patches in the landscapes are possible management activities to sustain these forests and help restoring the surrounding landscape.

The post Ethiopian Orthodox Church Forests: Opportunities and Challenges for Restoration first appeared on Addis Books.

In Own It, Miraf Kebede, MSW,LCSW-C shares a deeply personal journey of resilience, self-discovery, and transformation. Raised amid financial hardship and uncertainty, she learned early how to carry responsibilities far beyond her years. Through failed and passed exams, heartbreak, sacrifice, burnout, and breakthrough, she continued moving forward when giving up would have been easier.

As a single mother, immigrant, and helping professional, Miraf navigated the challenges of balancing family, education, career, and personal well-being while confronting self-doubt, ethical dilemmas, and the hidden cost of constantly pushing through. Yet each setback became an opportunity to grow stronger, wiser, and more aligned with her true self.

From surviving to thriving, from burnout to healing, and from external achievement to inner peace, this memoir is a testament to the power of perseverance, courage, and self-leadership.

More than a story of success, Own It is a story of choosing peace over pressure, truth over comfort, and purpose over position.

If you have ever felt overwhelmed, stuck, exhausted, or uncertain about your next step, this book offers hope, perspective, and a powerful reminder:

You are stronger than your circumstances, and you have the power to create a life that truly fits who you are.

The post OWN IT Survival Mode to Emotional Stability and Self-Leadership by Miraf Kebede first appeared on Addis Books.

In 1981, Dr. Ashenafie Tsegaye arrived in America with two suitcases and the weight of the universal immigrant dream—that hard work and dedication would open doors to opportunity. What followed was a three-decade odyssey through corporate America that would test every ounce of his resilience, determination, and faith.

From sleeping on relatives’ couches and working multiple minimum-wage jobs to achieving a thirty-year career at General Motors, Dr. Ashenafie’s story illuminates the often-invisible struggles of immigrant professionals navigating a system built on unwritten rules and cultural codes they were never taught.

This powerful memoir goes beyond a simple success story. It reveals the mentorship gap that exists when leadership lacks diversity, the dual burden of supporting family across continents while building a career here, and the constant negotiation between cultural identity and corporate expectations. Through deeply personal narratives and the stories of those he mentored, Dr. Ashenafie Tsegaye exposes the systemic barriers that keep talented immigrants boxed into supporting roles—and the courage it takes to break through.

The Road to Detroit is a roadmap for immigrant professionals seeking to find their voice, a wake-up call for corporate leaders committed to genuine inclusion, and an inspiring testament to young people considering technical careers. In an industry facing critical skilled labor shortages, Dr. Ashenafie Tsegaye proves that the path from a two-year degree to a six-figure career isn’t just possible—it’s urgently needed.

This is the story millions of immigrants live but rarely tell. It’s time the world listened.

The post The Road to Detroit by Dr. Ashenafie Tsegaye first appeared on Addis Books.

The post Trials of Hope by Dr Yirga Gelaw Woldeyes first appeared on Addis Books.

“የትዝታዬ ማኅደር” በደራሲ ጌታቸው በለጠ የተጻፈ የግለ ታሪክ መጽሐፍ ነው። መጽሐፉ የኢትዮጵያ ታሪክ፣ ሥነ ምግባር፣ እምነትና ህይወት በአንድ የተያያዘ ትምህርታዊ እና ስሜታዊ መንገድ ያቀረበ ነው። ደራሲው ከልጅነቱ ጀምሮ እስከ ዛሬው ድረስ ያደረገውን ጉዞ፣ እንቅስቃሴ፣ አሳብና ተሞክሮ በአዋቂ ቃላትና በአስተማሪ ተረኛ ቅርጽ አቀረበ።

መጽሐፉ በብዙ ዘርፎች ላይ ይዘርጋል፣ ከፖለቲካና ኢኮኖሚ ጀምሮ እስከ ሃይማኖታዊ፣ ማኅበራዊ፣ ትዝታዊና ባህላዊ ጉዳዮችን ይጠቅማል። ከዚህ በላይ መጽሐፉ ከኢትዮጵያ ውጭ በተወዳጅ መጽሔቶችና በታሪክ መዝገቦች የተነሳ የሕይወት ጉዞ እንደ መተርጎም ያቀረበ ነው።

እንደ የግለ ታሪክ መጽሐፍ፣ “የትዝታዬ ማኅደር” ለሚያነቡት ሰዎች ሁሉ የሕይወት ትምህርት፣ የእምነት ጸንታና የኢትዮጵያ መንፈስ እንዴት እንደሚገነባ የሚያሳይ የተለየ ስራ ነው።

The post Memoir የትዝታዬ ማኅደር by Getachew Belete first appeared on Addis Books.

Written with such clarity for every passing moment of his travel from DC to Addis Ababa and to Axum, Essayias opens up the discussion about Ethiopia in this book. After 30 years of exile, he visited his motherland and had the opportunity to see it. It was one of the wonderful experiences, and as an author, he sparked conversation with his readers through his book.

This book is a must-read. And it appeals to us on many levels. Our yearning for freedom and expansion, a need for companionship, and the protection of a common identity as Ethiopians. The book reminds us that while change is constant, progress is slow and difficult. It evokes a strong need to see our country in a different light. Also compelled us to explore the biggest humanity.

The post Selasa Besost Memoire of an Immigrant Traveler by Essayias Lesanu Bezabeh first appeared on Addis Books.

ካገር እንደወጣን በፈረንጆቹ አባባል እንደሚጠራው ዳያሪ አዘውትሬ መፃፍ መጀመሬ የእዚህ መፅሀፍ ስር መሰረቱ ሊሆን ይችላል ብዬ እገምታለሁ።

በሗላም ከመፅሀፉ እንደምታነቡት አርት ለማጥናት ወደ ዩኒቨርስቲ ስገባ የምሰራው አርት አገሬንና የራሴን ማንነት የማስተዋወቂያ መድረክ አድርጌ ያዝኩት። ምክንያቱም ያኔ እኔና ቤተሰቤ ወደ አሜሪካን ከመጣንበት ዘመን ጀምሮ እስከ አሁን የእዚህ አገር ህዝብ ስለ እኛ አገር እና ስለ ሕዝባችን ያላቸው አመለካከት በጣም እጅግ የወረደ ነው።

የአገራችን ሕዝብም ለዘመናት በረሀብ፣ በእርስ በእርስ ጦርነት፣ በመፈናቀል እንደታመሰ ሁሌ ስለሚታወቅ አብዛኛውን ግዜ ስለ አገራችን ከተወራ ስለ እኛ ድህነት መታረዝ እና መጎሳቆል ብቻ ነው ወሬው። ሰለጠኑ የሚባሉት አገሮች እኛን የሚያውቀን መናጢ ድሆች ሁሌ በጦርነት የምንታመስ የምንበላው እንኳን የሌለን እዚህ መጥተን ሁሉን ነገር ለመጀመሪያ ግዜ ያየን አድርገውን ነው የሚቆጥሩን። እንኳን መኪናና ትላልቅ ህንፃ ማየት ይቅርና ዝናብ እንኳን ለመጀመሪያ ግዜ አሜሪካ ስገባ ያየሁ የመሰላቸውም አጋጥሞኝል።

ታዲያ እንዲህ ባለ ሁኔታ ቅስሙና ሞራሉ ተከስክሶና ተፈጭቶ ላለ ሰው ብናኙን ወኔ ይዞ መነሳት አማራጭ የሌለው ግዴታው ነው ብዬ አስባለሁ።

ስለእዚህ አጋጣሚ ባገኘሁ ቁጥር አገሬን ለማያውቁ ስለ አገሬ የምተርክበት መንገድ እፈልግ ገባሁ። ቅርፅ ከሰራሁ፣ አጭር ትረካ ካለኝ፣ ያገሬን ምግብ ሰርቼ ካበላሗቸው፣ ብና ቆልቼ ካጠጣሗቸው፣ ሁሌ አገሬ የት እንደነበረች የማውራበት መድረክ በመሻት ነው።

The post Ye Dengay Anagariw Mastawesha የድንጋይ አናጋሪው ማስታወሻ by Daniel Kebede first appeared on Addis Books.

ማዕበል የውኃ መናወጥ ነው። ነውጡ በሐይቅ ፤ባሕር ወይም ውቅያኖስ ላይ ተደጋግሞ ይታያል። እንደ ቀድሞ መርከበኛ ማዕበልን ከነግርማው አውቀዋለሁ። እሹሩሩ ከሚለው ለስላሳ የውኃ ንቅናቄ ጀምሮ በታላቅ ድንፋታ እስከሚገፋተረው ወጀብ ድረስ እስኪበቃኝ ቀምሼዋለሁ። የዚህች መጽሐፍ ዓላማ ግን ውኃው በመርከቦችና በውስጡም ባሉ ሰዎች ላይ የሚያደርሰውን እንግልት መተረክ አይደለም። ይልቁንም እንደ ማዕበል ስለሚያንገላታን ምድራዊ ኑሮ ግንዛቤን ማስጨበጥ ነው። ከምንም ይልቅ የዚህች ጥራዝ ተልዕኮ የማዕበል መንገደኞች መሆናችንን ማስታወስ ነው።ስለሆነም በማዕበል የተመሰሉትን ስደትና መከራን ሌሎቹንም ተመሳሳይ አሳቦች በተነጻጻሪ ለመተንተን ሞክሬያለሁ። ተዛማጁን እውነታም ከባሕርያቸው ጋር አዳምሬ ዳስሻለሁ። ማዕበሉ የሚያመጣውን ንጦሽ ብቻ ተርኬ አላቆምኩም። ይህም አለ እንዴ ካላሰኘ በቀር ጥቅማጥቅሙንም በጥቂቱ ጨለፍ አድርጌያለሁ። በመጨረሻም ማዕበሉ መምጣቱ ሞገዱም መነሣቱ ካልቀረ አልፈነው ለመሄድ እሚረዱንን ጥቂት ነጥቦች አንስቻለሁ።

The post የማዕበል መንገደኞች Ye Maebel Mengedegnoch by Alemayehu Mammo first appeared on Addis Books.

“I” – The self in Psychology and Philosophy

The book titled “I” explores the complex relationship between psychological concepts and personal philosophy, offering a profound reflection on our understanding of the “self”, how it shapes our identity, influences our behavior, and directs our interactions with the world around us.

Drawing from foundational psychological research and timeless philosophical insights, “I” examines fundamental questions: What does it truly mean to know oneself? How does our self-perception affect our mind and behavior? By raising such questions and through engaging narratives and practical exercises, the author encourages readers to deeply contemplate what it means to be oneself and invites them to reflect on their personal experiences.

This book is valuable for both seasoned psychology enthusiasts and those simply curious about human experience. It challenges conventional wisdom and provides insights that promote personal growth and self-awareness. Overall. “I” is a book that helps readers discover the power of self-knowledge and appreciate the profound depth of life.

(Dr. Yonas Bahire Tibeb, Associate Professor and Consultant Psychiatrist at Tikur Anbessa Hospital, Addis Ababa University)
*****
“እኔ” በሥነ ልቦና እና በፍልስፍና አተያይ ውስጥ ያለው የራስ መስተጋብር

“እኔ” የተሰኘው መጽሐፍ በስነ ልቦና ንድፈ ሃሳብ እና በራስ ፍልስፍና መካከል ያለውን ውስብስብ ግንኙነት የሚያጠና ብሎም ስለ “ራስ” ያለን ግንዛቤ ማንነታችንን እንዴት እንደሚቀርጽ፤ በባህሪያችን ላይ ተጽዕኖ እንደሚያሳድር እና በዙሪያችን ካለው አለም ጋር ያለንን ግንኙነት እንዴት እንደሚመራ ይዳስሳል።

ከመሠረታዊ ሥነ-ልቦናዊ ምርምር እና ጊዜ የማይሽረው የፍልስፍና ግንዛቤዎች በመነሳት “እኔ” ወሳኝ ጥያቄዎችን ይመረምራል። ራስን በትክክል ማወቅ ምን ማለት ነው? ለራሳችን ያለን ግንዛቤ በአእምሮዋችን ላይ ምን ተጽዕኖ ያሳድራል? የሚሉ ጥያቄዎችን በማንሳት በአሳታፊ ትረካዎች እና በተግባራዊ ልምምዶች፤ ደራሲዋ “እኔ” መሆን ምን ማለት እንደሆነ በጥልቀት እንዲገነዘቡ በማበረታታት አንባቢዎች የራሳቸውን ተሞክሮ እንዲያጸባርቁ ትጋብዛለች።
ይህ መጽሐፍ ልምድ ላካበቱ የስነ-ልቦና አድናቂም ለሆኑ ወይም በቀላሉ ስለሰው ልጅ ልምድ የማወቅ ጉጉት ላለው “እኔ” የተለመደውን ጥበብ የሚፈታተኑ የግል እድገትን የሚያነሳሱ ጠቃሚ ግንዛቤዎችን ያቀርባል። በአጠቃላይ “እኔ” እራስን የማወቅ ሃይል እና በህይወት ላይ ያለውን ጥልቅ አንድምታ እንድናወ ወይም እንድንረዳ የሚያደርግ መጽሐፍ ነው።

ዶ/ር ዮናስ ባህረ ጥበብ- በአንዲስ አበባ ዪኒቨርሲቲ ጥቁር አንበሳ ሆስፒታል ተባባሪ ፕሮፌሰር እና ኮንሰልታንት የአእምሮ ሃኪም

The post እኔ I by Mistre Aderaw first appeared on Addis Books.

ከርሞ ልጅነት (The Echoes of Childhood): Yitbarek offers a deeply moving and spiritually resonant memoir that traces the arc of a life shaped by hardship, migration, identity, and faith. With emotional clarity and cultural richness, the author reconstructs a childhood rooted in the outskirts of Addis Ababa and extends it across oceans to Cuba, weaving together memory and meaning with striking honesty.This is not merely a story about poverty or displacement; it is a meditation on becoming. Yitbarek revisits the fragile terrain of boyhood – loss, longing, silence, resilience – and transforms it into a universal reflection on manhood and spiritual awakening. His narrative voice is intimate yet restrained, allowing readers to feel the weight of experience without excess sentimentality. Each chapter carries the echo of lived truth.One of the book’s greatest strengths lies in its layered identity. As an Ethiopian child shaped by early struggle, and later as a young student navigating life in Cuba, Yitbarek bridges continents without losing the emotional thread of home. The cultural transitions feel organic rather than dramatic. They deepen the memoir’s central question: Does childhood ever truly leave us, or does it quietly return in different forms?Faith plays a subtle but steady role throughout the narrative. Rather than preaching, the author reflects. Rather than dramatizing belief, he reveals it through endurance.

The result is a spiritual undercurrent that feels authentic and earned.Stylistically, the prose is reflective and sincere. The work carries the cadence of oral storytelling – intimate, contemplative, occasionally tender, occasionally firm. The emotional maturity of the adult narrator gently converses with the innocence of the child he once was.ከርሞ ልጅነት stands as both personal testimony and cultural documentation. It contributes meaningfully to Ethiopian diasporic literature while remaining accessible to a global audience. Readers who value memoirs grounded in memory, identity, and quiet spiritual resilience will find this book deeply rewarding.

From a fragile childhood marked by loss and struggle to the demanding realities of adulthood and responsibility, the narrative reveals the unseen battles that quietly shape a human soul. Throughout the book, the author shows-at every stage of life-how faith, hope, and love are bound together in a continuous struggle to transform life’s challenges into opportunities for the future. With honesty and depth, he explores the meaning of manhood, the weight of family obligation, the silence of unanswered prayers, and the stubborn hope that refuses to die.

ከርሞ ልጅነት is not only a personal story but also a mirror for every reader who has ever questioned their purpose, their pain, and their place in the world. This is a story of suffering that leads to wisdom, of faith that survives doubt, and of a life that rises-quietly but firmly-from broken beginnings. More than a story of survival, this is a story of return – to childhood, to memory, to faith, and ultimately, to self.

The post ከርሞ ልጅነት The Echoes of Childhood by Yitbarek Mengistu first appeared on Addis Books.