When Elephants Fly: One Woman's Journey from Wall Street to Zululand

Wow, what a story! This light little book packs quite a punch. Carol's account is uplifting, exhilarating and sprinkled with enough humor that this serious story does not weigh you down. Reading about Carol's journey from The Big Apple to rural South Africa is almost like being on the voyage yourself. The sights and smells and sounds described are vivid, yet the detail is never overbearing. Self-reflection. Seizing the moment. Challenging yourself to the farthest reaches of imagination. Being outside your comfort zone. Achievement. Sadness. Happiness. Fear and overcoming it. Seeing people without prejudice. - - - All of that and more will be found in these pages.

This book is an inspiration! I am an inveterate reader of travel literature. When I saw this book in my local independent book dealer I was intrigued by the subtitle--One womans journey from Wall street to Zululand!~ Once I picked it up I couldn't put it down. Carol is a marvelous story teller and her honesty and transparency are thoroughly disarming. She lets the reader into her life and into daily life in Zululand. I learned so much that I decided to adopt it as a supplementary text in my University level class in the business school. Students need to learn that they can do well by doing good and that they can, as Carol Batrus does so graciously, overcome life's challenges. When I came the end of the book, I did not want it to end--so I read the acknowledgements page. There I discovered the name of a former student and colleague--who I immediately wrote and asked her to put me in touch with the author. A few month's later Carol Batrus came and spoke with my class at the University and I discovered that she is as charming in life as in her book!

South Africa was far removed from everything businesswoman executive Carol Batrus knew: so what led her to move from her high-powered, successful job on Wall Street to the heart of Zululand to help the tribe's economic development? WHEN ELEPHANTS FLY: ONE WOMAN'S JOURNEY FROM WALL STREET TO ZULULAND is a moving memoir of her journey, which was to help the tribe economically without destroying the environment. Her decision and journey is inspiring and provides plenty of insights into South African and local environmental issues.

This book will be of interest to anyone going to a Third World Country. Whether one is a casual traveler or an NGO professional, Carol Batrus' experiences become lessons that will make the journey more effective. She shows that the steps needed to accomplish organizational priorities remain similar in large companies, family life, or in the bush. If her entertaining prose is motivational, you will be glad that she went first.

For those of us Wall Street women warriors who dream of change, Batrus details her odyssey from Wall Street to Zululand with such humor, poignancy and intelligence that it makes those dreams seem attainable for us. This fact-filled charmer of her personal growth and self-discovery set into an African backdrop endorses notions of happiness and fulfillment that can be achieved by acting for the good of community. She is a gifted storyteller with courage to face her fears and let her heart be her guide. When will she write her next book?