A young woman follows her fiancé to war-torn Congo to study extremely endangered bonobo apes-who teach her a new truth about love. In 2005 Vanessa Woods accepted a marriage proposal from a man she barely knew and agreed to join him on a research trip to the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo. Settling in at a bonobo sanctuary in Congo s capital Vanessa and her fiancé entered the world of a rare ape with whom we share 98.7 percent of our DNA and who live in a peaceful society in which females are in charge war is nonexistent and sex is as common and friendly as a handshake. A fascinating memoir of hope and adventure Bonobo Handshake traces Vanessa s self-discovery as she finds herself falling deeply in love with her husband the apes and her new surroundings in this true story of revelation and transformation in a fragile corner of Africa.