A Message from Russom
First and foremost, I thank the Almighty for giving me the courage and patience to write my life journey under the title “From Seven to Seventy-Seven”. It narrates my life path that includes my dreams, aspirations, and challenges. The book is divided into sections with details about the hardship, fun, sadness, wisdom-learned, and experiences over 70-years of my lifetime.
To see my memoir coming out as a book forced tears to my eyes and joy to my heart.
A Message from Our Family
While working on this book project, we are learning so much about our parents’ backgrounds and our family history beyond our parents. We thought our dad’s book would start with his memories from childhood, but in reality, it includes stories that were passed down from his grandparents.
While this story is mainly about the life journey of our father Russom Keflezighi, it spans generations in time and continents in location. When we first came to the United States over 32 years ago, our father would wake the older kids up at 4:30am in the morning to learn English from a dictionary. As much as he wanted us to learn the English language and the system in the United States, it was also very important to him that we not forget our roots and family in Eritrea.
In Support Russom's Most Cherished Causes
All proceeds from the sale of From Seven to Seventy-Seven will go to support Russom's most cherished causes. If you would like to provide additional support, please consider donating below.
My family is my legacy. I am proud of my children and our family.
We have been blessed with so many opportunities and resources, and it is our duty to support others who haven’t had the same opportunities.
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For me, the families of Eritrean veterans who died in the war of Independence and border dispute with Ethiopia are very close to my heart. These heroes sacrificed their lives for our ability to say we are proud Eritreans and Eritrean-Americans. Their families lost fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, sons, daughters, and providers. My wish has always been to support these families who have lost so much. With this book project, I am so thankful that I can support this cause that is so close to my heart.
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Secondly, my family has benefited tremendously from generations of leadership and sacrifices by Black Americans. In recognition of this, I would like some of the proceeds of this project to support African Americans achieve their goals in education.
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There is so much work to be done. I just want to do my part. I am thankful to everyone who purchases the book or otherwise supports these causes.
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- Russom Sebhatu Keflezighi
All donations are appreciated, however do not result in a book purchase. To purchase a copy of From Seven to Seventy-Seven, please click here.