Catching Ricebirds
A Story of Letting Vengeance Go
Catching Ricebirds
A Story of Letting Vengeance Go
This remarkable autobiography is a journey from terror, violence, and despair into freedom, peace, and joy. Catching Ricebirds: A Story of Letting Vengeance Go is Marcus Doe’s true story as a Liberian refugee who lost his family and fled his country, and ultimately learns to forgive and find peace again.
In this gripping autobiography, Marcus Doe recounts his journey from fear, violence, and despair into freedom, peace, and forgiveness. Marcus Doe was born in Liberia, West Africa, in 1979. Affectionately nicknamed “Jungle Boy” by his family, he reveled in his childhood life and was hardly aware of the dangerous political climate swirling around him. But by mid-July 1990, a violent civil war erupted and Liberia was thrown into a time of fear, starvation, and death. Separated from his family, Marcus embarked on a remarkable journey to escape the war-ravaged country he loves and the wounds that he carried in his memory. But God’s light reached him in this darkness. Where he had been filled with hatred, Marcus slowly learned to forgive. Now his mission is to bring the hope and the peace of Christ to others.
Marcus’s life unfolds in four movements: first as a young boy living in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, during a period of growing unrest; second as a refugee fleeing from rebel forces that would kill him and his family without a second thought; third as a wanderer in foreign countries—Ghana, the United States—unable to return to his childhood home; and finally as an adult, coming to grips with the loss he experienced and longing to see his own healing extend to others still haunted by Liberia’s suffering.
Marcus Doe came to the United States from Liberia, West Africa, in 1993. He currently lives in Massachusetts with his wife, Annie, where he is earning a Masters of Divinity from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. His calling is to see his own healing extend to his fellow Liberians around the world. Learn more about Marcus.
“Having gotten to know Marcus before reading this book, I was shocked to discover the horrors of his childhood…the transformation is that stark. He is a living testament to the power of the gospel to pillage the storehouses and vestiges of bitterness and rage, and to loosen the levees of sweet forgiveness. If you’ve been wounded by others, you’ll find “Catching Ricebirds,” to be the medicine you need to venture down your own path to healing.”
“A captivating story that moves from war, loss, and revenge to peace, hope, and forgiveness. Marcus Doe’s journey from war-torn Liberia to reconciliation with God and with perceived enemies is compelling and heart-warming. Today Marcus has emerged as a servant-leader with a vision for holistic healing in his country of origin.”
“Catching Ricebirds is a gripping firsthand account of one person’s struggle to survive unfathomable tragedy and dislocation. If this were not a true story, we would find it hard to believe. This is more than a fascinating story of a boy who survived unthinkable trauma; it offers hope and inspiration . . . a clarion call to hunt down those who have earned our hate and offer them our greatest blessing.”
“Marcus Doe has written a deeply compelling and engrossing book. From the very first pages you will be drawn into a story of childhood joys, unimaginable pain and loss, anger, and finally, amazingly, perhaps even surprisingly, hope and forgiveness. In this immensely readable and vividly written book you’ll find one of the more powerful testimonies of the reconciling grace of the gospel you could hope to encounter.”
“For most of us in the USA, the news we read about refugees might provoke prayer or a donation, but they fail to take us into the pain, loss and long-term suffering of the people involved. Catching Ricebirds takes us there, but not to create despair but rather hope - that God can take us through the deepest hurts and bring us to joy and forgiveness. Marcus Doe’s testimony challenges any reader who lives imprisoned in bitterness to understand the forgiveness of Jesus and find release.”