I was captivated by "Footprints in tbe Dust" from the first page. It is a memoir of a nurse who offers humanitarian aid first in Pakistan and Afghanistan and later on to Iraq and countries in Africa.

In the book the author writes, "It is my hope that once you’ve read these pages, those footprints will linger in your thoughts and remain there—tiny, precious pearls that help to remind us that we are all more alike than we know, that whatever separates us, we are ultimately joined by the common thread of humanity."

That is exactly what this book does. It reminds us we are all human despite our differences. This is a very timely book considering the situations in the world today. I would recommend this book to everyone.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the Publisher for providing me with a copy of this book for free. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

First of all thank you Pegasus Books for forwarding me advanced copy of this book.
Footprints in the Dust is a memoir of Roberta Gately, a nurse who went on many medical humanitarian missions with aid agencies to deliver help in places that have been war torn for decades such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa. In this book she details her experiences first hand in working with refugees with short stories. Intertwined are her experiences of living in a third world countries far from amenities in developed world that most of us take for granted. The emotional depth is not too much so no need of those tissue papers by your side to wipe of your tears. With current up rise in nationalist movements around the globe flamed by rhetoric of anti-immigration it is worth knowing that very few refugees actually want to leave their country. Most want to live peacefully where they have always lived where they can get access to basic needs of life such as food, shelter, safety, healthcare and education. Very few would actually game the system and want to migrate to developed countries and leave their loved ones behind. All in all, this book is an interesting quick read. The story does seem to get repetitive with different characters but same plot because the problems faced by people/refugees are all the same. Oh and by the way, Ms. Gately loves her wine and lipstick. :-).

I knew I would like this book as soon as I read it's description on Netgalley. It is exactly the sort of memoir that I find interesting. I also think it is a very important book at a time when there is much prejudice around immigration and a lack of understanding relating to asylum seekers - in other words, a lack of understanding about what is actually going on in other parts of the world.

The book begins with the author describing her background and path into working for humanitarian aid agencies. This is followed by chapters describing her work firstly in Afghanistan and Pakistan in the late 1980's followed by placements in Africa, Macedonia, Afghanistan again, Iraq and finally Sudan. The work is initially nursing in a clinic setting, but as the author became more experienced in humanitarian aid settings she began to be sent to war zones very early in the humanitarian effort to assess needs and recommend how aid agencies should proceed in the area. I found it to be a fascinating read throughout - not only are the needs of the people described but also the settings and living conditions.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review