” …a rich story that gives a wonderful, raw awareness of what we are as humans…” – The Vancouver Sun

Maskalyk never minimizes that truth, nor does he offer the consolation that he made a difference. There was nothing he could have done to change the reality for thousands. Indeed, Six Months in Sudan is a bleak story.

On the other hand, it’s a rich story that gives a wonderful, raw awareness of what we are as humans. We are those who suffer and we are those who care and we are those who do our best to help.

Maskalyk’s commitment to telling it as it is serves to liberate the reader. Our hopes and illusions are stripped away, yet we are left not with despair but with a deeper appreciation and a sense of wonder.

This is a rare memoir, blending compelling scenes of Abyei with the thoughts and feelings of a volunteer doctor, all done with genuinely brilliant writing. I’m sure Maskalyk is a fine doctor, but he’s an even better writer. Just as in the field blog that preceded this book (see Sixmonthsinsudan.com), his aim is to pull readers into his experience, to make them as much witnesses to the truth there as he was. It is all about intimacy.

Read full review here.