Mitch Albom, a prominent author, journalist, and philanthropist, dedicated his memoir, Finding Chika, to his adopted daughter, who sadly passed away of a brain tumor.
In the memoir, the author has summed up his daughter’s story and the heartbreaking truth of losing a young daughter to the deadly disease.
Story of Chika
The catastrophic earthquake of 2010 in Haiti, which killed over a hundred thousand people, still shivers hearts.
Chika was born just a few days before the devastating earthquake. Her family, however, survived the calamity, but they were left homeless after their house collapsed due to the earthquake.
Unfortunately, two years later, Chika’s mother died during childbirth. Following the misfortune, Chika was taken in by an orphanage, Have Faith Haiti Mission, run by Albom.
A couple of years later, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Talking to Fox 2, Albom said,
The report came back - two sentences - she has a mass on her brain and whatever it is there's nobody in Haiti who can help her.
With no hope of saving her life in Haiti, the author took her to the USA in search of a cure. During the whole process of treatment, Albom said that they had bonded like a family, and Albom and his wife, Janine, adopted Chika. The family of two then expanded to three, Chika being their first child.
The pair spent almost two years looking for a cure, but sadly, nothing could save Chika, and she passed away on April 7, 2017, when Chika was only seven.
Further, in conversation with People, Albom shared that Chika taught him to prioritize his kids above himself.
“I miss her spirit, her curiosity. I miss the way that she’d yell out the window at the squirrels she saw in the trees...I miss the way that she would make up lyrics to songs.” Albom said missing his daughter dearly.
Penning down the sentimental story of his daughter’s life, the joy of her childhood, Albom published a book, Finding Chika, on November 5, 2019.
Mitch Albom's Instagram post of his daughter, Chika (Source: Instagram)
Mitch Albom’s Married Life
Throughout the journey of his life, one of the most valuable support has been from his wife, Jenine Sabino, who follows and assists him in every walks of life, from professional to personal life affairs.
Janine and Albom have been married since 1995. And, they are biological parents to two children, Siem and Manno. Their two kids were sophomores at Madonna University in 2019.
Seeing their parents devoted to saving helpless children’s lives, Manno and Siem also developed their parent’s trait of helping others. On that note, Manno told CBS,
I wanna go back to Haiti. I've seen kids, you know, who are in the streets just living on the floor. And this breaks me. But kinda give me the strength to go hard and to do whatever I can here.
Mitch Albom and Jenine Sabino posing with her daughter, Chika (Source: Instagram)
More About Albom and His Net Worth
Albom, aged 63, was born to Rhoda Albom and Ira Albom. The New Jersey-born, who grew up with two siblings, lost his mother in 2015. Then, devastatingly, after a couple of years, Albom lost his father.
As for his education, the author graduated with a degree in sociology from Brandeis University in Massachusetts. Later developing a passion for journalism, he worked as a columnist for SPORT magazine, GEO, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Parade magazine, and many more.
Moreover, Albom has authored ten books, having sold more than thirty-nine million copies globally. Albom is assumed to have accumulated a net worth of 10 million dollars from his inspiring professional journey.
