A compelling and moving memoir about saving lives in one of the most dangerous regions in the world
James Maskalyk set out for the contested border town of Abyei, Sudan, in 2007. The newest Médicins Sans Frontières' doctor in the field, he arrived with only his training, full of desire to understand this most desperate part of the world.
He returned home six months later profoundly affected by the experience. Six Months in Sudan is an illuminating and affecting account of saving lives in one of the most harrowing and dangerous places on Earth.
"
Gripping and humane . . . brave and intelligent.
" - * Daily Mail *
"Honest and fluently written . . . An absorbing insight into international medicine." - * Financial Times *
"Carefully crafted, often poetic, always deliberate . . . a visceral account." - * The Scotsman *
"
A moving, sometimes beautifully written, account of a young doctor's time in the Sudanese town of Abeyi . . . The book is very well written and consequently easy to read, despite the subject matter. The
juxtaposition of the blog entries and the text works particularly well . . . The book serves as a timely reminder that saving people's lives is worth doing, even in a recession. We are also saving ourselves.
" - * Irish Times *
"Visceral and immediate . . . As medical literature this book excels; as an insight into that exhilarating, life changing step into chaos his account can hardly be bettered." - * British Medical Journal *
"
Through a narrative both personal and provocative, Maskalyk succeeds in animating the quotidien struggles of life in Sudan in ways news reports never will - 'for those who think life is too short, come to Abyei.'
" - * Sunday Business Post *
"Searingly unwrapped the truth about serving as a medecin sans frontiers. I quote from it almost every week, for its profound truthfulness." - * Sunday Herald *
"Heartbreaking scenes are recounted with searing honesty and without a trace of self-satisfaction or self-congratulation . . . although the situation was depressingly sad, and at times he despaired, it was also a privilege for him to be involved, he says. It is a privilege for us to read about that involvement." - * Irish Times *
