Two Years of Wonder: A Memoir

By Ted Neill

September 25, 2012, Ted Neill picked up a knife to cut his wrists open and kill himself. Post hospitalization and treatment for major depressive disorder, he wrote Two Years of Wonder, a memoir based on his journey towards recovery. In it, he examines the experience that left him with such despair: living and working for two years at an orphanage for children with HIV/AIDS in Nairobi, Kenya.

Neill interweaves his story with the experiences of Oliver, Miriam, Ivy, Harmony, Tabitha, Sofie, Nea, and other children, exploring their own paths of trauma, survival, and resilience. In prose that is by turns poetic, confessional, and brutal, Neill with the children he comes alongside, strive to put the pieces of their fractured lives back together as they search for meaning and connection, each trying to reclaim their humanity and capacity to love in the face of inexplicable suffering and loss.

About the Author: In addition to his time living in Kenya, Ted Neill has worked for CARE and World Vision International in the fields of health, education, and child development. He has written for The Washington Post and published multiple novels. This edition has been updated to reflect the 2023 Washington Post investigation uncovering twenty years of child abuse that occurred at the orphanage.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 154658188X
• ISBN13: 9781546581888
• Release Date: October 2018
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 296 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Two Years of Wonder is a Bold and Truthful look at subjects most look away from.

It is not often one comes across a book where the author shares their own personal challenges, the hard truths of the challenges of those they are writing about and still also challenge the readers perceptions all in such a way that breaks your heart while keeping you so engaged that you can’t put the book down. Can’t recommend highly enough.