Oh the Books I Read

 

What does one do to prep for going and living abroad in a foreign country, so different from their own and so far from their own? I'm not entirely sure what other people do but I know what I did. As I have discussed before I talked with my friend about his country and his culture. These conversations have actually started long before I knew I was going there. However, just like talking to my friend I started reading about the culture and the country years ago. 

Above is the photo of some of the books that I have read or am in the process of reading about South Sudan. Most of them are non-fiction, with the exception of maybe 5. Most of them focus primarily on the history of the most recent civil war, particularly the Lost Boys. Most focus on the Dinka tribe in particular but not all of them. Most of the books are written by non-American authors, save a few. Several are about Africa as a whole or other countries in Africa. Others focus on living through war, being a soldier, surviving after a war, and life after a war.

So, let’s talk about a few of my favorite books. The first would be “What is the What”. This is not a traditional memoir as it was written by a professional author, one whom I really like, but the memoir pieces themselves come directly from the main protagonist who is himself a Lost Boy. The story was well written and pulled at my heart in many areas. I felt lots of various emotions reading this book. Another reason I loved this book was because Dominic was an actual character in the book. Getting to see a little of his life from another person’s perspective was pretty cool. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

            Another favorite book of mine is “The Long Walk” which I read in undergrad. It is part of the reason I became a nurse and part of the reason I am interested in holistic nursing. Meeting the author and hearing his story impacted me a lot, and while this is a story about a US soldier returning from war there is some of it that I think will help me to understand what I might encounter and how mental health can be impacted by a post-war life and society.

            “Dead Aid” helped me understand more about aid work and how important the correct form of aid work is and how aid work can be both harmful and helpful. I hope to use what I learned in this book to guide how I approach my coming work to make sure I am not harming those I am trying to help. The book could be dry at points but the content seemed pretty important and I tried to take in as much as I could.

            “Running for My Life” hits close to home as the author spent the later part of his teen years living in the town next to mine. He went to the same church as I did. He and other Lost Boys ran track against my team. I remember watching them run track while I was on the throwing pitch. They were so fast. I didn’t know much of the story of the Lost Boys growing up but now I have more of an appreciation for what it might have been like for someone to come to the US thanks to this book and others like it.

               I could go on and on about each of these books. All of them have value to me and each one gave me more information and more of a perspective on what I will be encountering once I get to South Sudan. They give me a little more of the history, especially the more recent history, from those who actually lived it.  By no means did reading these books fully prepare me for what is to come but I hope that they give me a little more insight and a little more understanding of some of the things that I will encounter and the people I will be interacting with.