A Cruel Paradise

I will be forever amazed at the bravery of this young nursing professional. Leanne previously lived and worked in a prosperous, secure, Canadian city and hospital before deciding that she wanted to dedicate a portion of her life and nursing expertise to residents in devastatingly war torn nations, most of them developing African nations. I am a registered nurse who encounters the day to day nuisances of working in a big city hospital; having to wait short periods of time for back ordered supplies, waiting minutes!!!! for a delivery from pharmamcy for life saving intravenous meds., working "short" because of call-outs or because of unplanned admissions and so on. BUT.... never could I imagine needing to be equipped with a bullet proof vest, traveling 3 hours to a nutrition center (one way)to get to work, crossing a raging river alone in a Save the Children loaner raft to get to that work destination, and traveling home again the very same way at day's end. Leanne had essentially NO medical supplies, no IV fluids, no anibiotics, no dressing care supplies, few vaccinations, and rarely physicians. (at times she didn't have food for herself) Everyday she was stopped at road blocks and was harassed by rebels, soilders, etc.. She was routinely placed in harms way in nations that most of us can't find on a map. She put her life on the line everyday. She fell in love with the nationals, she gave so much, but she writes of receiving so much in return. I will never complain about running out of supplies again or having to walk a couple of blocks to get to work. Leanne has easily earned my respect and admiration. She is undoubtedly one of the bravest women I have read of. The book doesn't provide a lot of detail regarding clinical care and practice, diseases, or treatment modalities, but is a must read for any nurse!!!!! or anyone wanting to know the true nuts and bolts of international relief work. Much of the book is in journal, diary format!!!! GO GIRL!!!!! YOU ARE ONE IN A MILLION!

A cruel paradise does a very good job presenting a day to day picture of the lives and activities of humanitarian aid workers. The picture the author paints is not trying to make her life more spectacular than it is, nor does it try to present humanitarian aid work as anything overly romantic or adventurous. What it does do is give an insight in the reasons and motivations, the problems and difficulties, as well as the joy, happiness, saddness and tears of humanitarian aid workers who with a healthy dose of idealism and enthusiasm, as well as professionalism and realism, try to contribute to improving the world that we live in.

A Cruel Paradise records Leanne Olson's time with two humanitarian aid agencies ... Doctors Without Borders (Nobel Peace Prize 1999) and MERLIN. This book has three distinct styles: diary entries, letters home to a friend and her own bare narrative. This pushes the author into three voices. Her brief attempts to describe local political situations are simple but do set the context of the conflicts within each country. Much more interesting is the daily, moral battle to remain professionally neutral despite the obvious excesses of one side, or the other the next day. Olson focuses on the frustrations of deals with corruption, warlords and petty bureaucrats, while trying to deliver aid to innocent human beings in immediate need. She describes short holidays away from the crowds and intense pressures. It's not surprising that the destination is always a remote island with isolated, beautiful beaches.The most revealing scene takes place within the safety of the Nairobi airport. Weeks after witnessing the aftermath of a brutal massacre of civilians at a Trappist monastery in Zaire, alone she finally breaks down waiting for her connection to Amsterdam and is comforted by a complete stranger. The nurse is nursed. The irony is overwhelming. For years I've watched aid workers on TV standing in their T-shirts in those inevitable circles of refugees, but only after reading this book, did I finally begin to understand.Olson freely admits she didn't have a clue what she was getting into on that first assignment. She is also honest enough not to sugar-coat what she considers occasional, poor operational decisions by Doctors Without Borders head office and country managers. From a recruit too shy to squat beside her first rural African bus to a woman implementing diverse programs for an entire country three years later, she writes a remarkable history of growth.Shortly after reading the Canadian edition of this book, I also read Anthony Loyd's My War Gone By, I Miss It So. The two authors' times in Bosnia overlap. Although working under different ethnic controls, armies, random militiae and ballistics, they share the same war. As Olson and her team are evacuated when conditions become too dangerous, Loyd inches ever closer to the front-line. He watches the wound open. She tries to fix it. Perspectives differ but together they ride the exact excitement of being "on the edge", realizing the gradual, hard estrangement of family and friends at home who can't understand these new, formed worlds and motives. They share the grit and grime and blood-flows of violence. And the grace of a single humanity.Although later brief chapters are snapshots of evaluations of possible projects in a number of countries (Albania, Angola), the earlier chapters are fully-formed portraits of specific missions (Liberia, Bosnia, Burundi, and Zaire after the trauma of Rwanda). Not one minute is easy or safe here.The publisher should consider rudimen

A Cruel Paradise is one of the most moving books that I've ever read. A book that should be read by everyone who lives in a safe world, without war, without hunger and without despair. Leanne Olson takes you by the hand and leads you to places we only see on tv in documentaries and newsitems. But unlike the documentaries, Leanne Olsons story stays with you. The book is fast paced, reads like a dream and manages to give you a deep insight in what it is that doctors, nurses and logisticians do in these troubled wartorn countries and why they are doing it. Why she herself chose this path. And why we should support them. Always. Apart from that, this book is also a moving story about the authors personal growth, her coming to terms with things no one of us should ever have to see, let alone experience. Still, it is a story about hope and the sheer strength of people. And finally this book is a love story. About how she met (during the war in Bosnia), fell in love with and married the logistician that she worked with and has been working with ever since. This book made me evaluate my own life and very grateful that I live in a peaceful country. It also made me say a prayer every night for the reliefworkers who are out there, and yes, taking risks, because the work is getting more and more dangerous. Please Oprah, if you pick a book for your selection, pick this one.