I was riveted by this book. Jessica Alexander had such rich descriptions that I nearly felt the sweat trickle down my forehead in one scene and deeply felt the love of her mother in another. Though it was heartbreaking (since I and most people perceive humanitarian aid the way she describes in the beginning of the novel) it was also hopeful and uplifting. I believe every anthropology professor should include this book on their reading list! Does have language though so beware. ( )

This book was fascinating. Such an interesting memoir. Was happy to hand it to a college senior who was making Peace Corps plans when I was done - best audience for this book. ( )

Wow. I haven't come across such a compellingly readable non-fiction book in a while. The author really brought the crises of Rwanda, Darfur, Banda Aceh and Haiti to life with the locations almost as intriguing as the people she met while there. Naive do gooders, cyncial burned out career NGO workers, voluntourists. None of those solely describes humanitarian aid workers, but the field is made up of all of them and together they tell the stories of worldwide disaster relief. Especially when Polyanna turns jaded and finds herself nearly stoning the locals.
I'm about the same age as the author and like her, the word genocide first entered my life's vocabulary with the Hutu and Tutsi in Rwanda. That was happening here & now, not far in the past like Hitler & the Jews. This book follows Alexander's journey from Rwanda as an intern to the last full time long gig in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. She also took us to places like Darfur and Sierra Leone and helped me get to know the people like Claudetta, Charles and Ishaq who I came to want to know more. I like how she made a point to differentiate between those disasters with a compelling media clip vs. the chronic problems that don't have the easy funding, yet kill just as many.
Reads like a novel, but incredibly eye-opening especially with regard to how to best help when the next disaster hits. ( )

Famine, typhoon, earthquake, civil war. Jessica Alexander runs toward the very world catastrophes that most westerners would run away from. In a quick-read memoir, Alexander catalogs the far-flung locales she has called home as she exposes the gritty side of international aid and development work. Unflinchingly, she points to the capitalist truth behind the service: the workers of the international aid community rely for their livelihood on a constant stream of "others" losing theirs. A good read for public policy and international development students with starry eyes planning to Make A Difference. ( )

Reflections of a humanitarian worker from a newbie idealist to an office based realist. Interesting information about what we try to do that does not help anyone: donate clothes not worn, send food no one eats, take a week for a "mission trip" that ends up as a "photo op" for the person who does it. ( )