Waiting for the Monsoon
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2024-03-07 07:22:00
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Rod Nordland
- ISBN：B0BCNX93T7
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Summary
In the tradition of When Breath Becomes Air， the New York Times 's legendary war correspondent delivers his unforgettable final a deeply moving meditation on life inspired by his sudden battle with terminal brain cancer。 Rod Nordland shadowed death for thirty years as one of his generation's preeminent war correspondents， including posts as bureau chief in Kabul and Baghdad。 Then on July 5， 2019， he collapsed in the middle of a morning jog in Delhi's beautiful Lodhi Gardens。 He was taken to the local hospital， where doctors diagnosed a brain tumor that turned out to be terminal cancer。 Confined to a hospital bed after so many vagabond years spent chasing the next conflict across the globe， Nordland discovered a curious side he was gifted the chance to stop， reflect， and reconnect with those he loved but had been apart from for decades。 In the months that passed after his stint in the hospital， he no longer flinched at love and intimacy but exalted in its balm and power。 He and his children made peace and enjoyed a closeness he had once thought impossible。 He repaired a friendship broken twenty years earlier after decades as the best of friends。 Gone was the old arrogance， the certitude that dominated his every action， the combination of which--overweening arrogance and self-confidence--likely helped make him a successful foreign correspondent but denied him the opportunity of becoming so much more。 Nordland writes， "Friends and family members and editors have often raised their eyebrows at my frequent assertions that my tumor was the best thing that ever happened to me， a gift that has enriched my life ever since。" Nordland's account of those first days in the hospital， published in the New York Times two months after his diagnosis， was widely shared and praised by readers for its honesty and beautiful writing。 Now he expands on this piece， sharing the lessons he's learned over the last few years。 Deeply moving and inspiring， Waiting for the Monsoon is a remarkable story about the human capacity to persevere even in the most difficult of times。
Reviews
Stephanie
，
In June of 2019， Pulitzer Prize winning foreign correspondent Rod Nordland was in New Delhi to experience first-hand the “the southwest monsoon， the greatest accumulation of fresh water in the atmosphere anywhere on the planet。” On July 5， he was jogging in Delhi’s Lodhi Gardens when， he writes， “a malignant brain tumor， as yet undiagnosed， struck me down and left me thrashing on the ground。” Nordland was intent on remaining positive， recalling: “I was taken for dead by a mortuary crew， who toe- In June of 2019， Pulitzer Prize winning foreign correspondent Rod Nordland was in New Delhi to experience first-hand the “the southwest monsoon， the greatest accumulation of fresh water in the atmosphere anywhere on the planet。” On July 5， he was jogging in Delhi’s Lodhi Gardens when， he writes， “a malignant brain tumor， as yet undiagnosed， struck me down and left me thrashing on the ground。” Nordland was intent on remaining positive， recalling: “I was taken for dead by a mortuary crew， who toe-tagged me with the following ID: ‘Unknown Caucasian male， age 47 and a half。’ Nothing could have cheered me up more。 It was only days until my 70th birthday。 ‘Well，’ I thought， ‘I could learn to love this tumor。’”His tumor was a glioblastoma multiforme stage 4， the most aggressive of brain tumors， with a life expectancy post diagnosis of fourteen months。 Nordland had reported from 150 countries， most of them going through violent upheavals， and he ran the war-zone news bureaus in six of them。 He had repeatedly faced down his own death。 But his grim diagnosis caused him to lean into the phenomenon of the Second Life， appreciating even more his First Life prior to the terminal diagnosis。 Nordland’s memoir unfolds linerally， starting with his family in Philadelphia — a violent father who routinely beat his mother and a “devoted” mother “determined to protect her children。” Nordland’s mother left her husband， taking with her their six children， divorced him， and found menial work to support her family。 His father was repeatedly arrested， convicted and termed a “predatory pedophile” who died in an Idaho prison。 Nordland bore the burden of his parentage by “gravitat[ing] toward stories about vulnerable people， especially women and children—since they will always be the most vulnerable in any society—being exploited or mistreated by powerful men or powerful social norms。” After having to repeat the eleventh grade， Nordland became the type of overachiever “parents dream of。” He attended Penn State on a full scholarship， shifted his focus from biochemistry to journalism and， after graduating college， started a job as a staff reporter on a major metro daily。 His big break occurred when his newspaper won a Pulitzer Prize for their reporting on the Three Mile island disaster。 That lead to a posting to Bangkok， Thailand to cover “everything east of Afghanistan，” and a life of “wandering around different foreign countries， where I didn’t speak the language or know the culture but managed to find stories。” Each chapter of his stirring memoir begins with an “interlude，” a dispatch Nordland sent from around the globe， followed by his recollections of stints reporting from far flung locales — Darfur to Zimbabwe， Cambodia to Syria， and Bahrain to Sarajevo。 The second part of the memoir focuses on Nordland’s effort to fight back against his health crisis and to embrace his Second Life。 He reconnects with his former wife and their three children， with whom he had been estranged since the divorce。 Years into his diagnosis， with no new cancer and occasional， manageable seizures， Nordland writes with gratitude for the time he has remaining and provides a clear-eyed perspective on his own mortality。 Thank you Mariner Books and Net Galley for an advanced copy of this moving and inspiring memoir。 。。。more
Kirsten
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https://www。nytimes。com/2024/03/04/we。。。 https://www。nytimes。com/2024/03/04/we。。。 。。。more
Joyce
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Nordland's ability to express his experiences succiently allows the reader a glimpse into his most interesting life。 The importance of relationships and maintaining them throughout one's life makes a very rich life。 Sad， funny， inspirational and educational all at the same time as one reads this extraordinary book。 Kudos to Nordland and many more good days ahead。A very， very good read。 Nordland's ability to express his experiences succiently allows the reader a glimpse into his most interesting life。 The importance of relationships and maintaining them throughout one's life makes a very rich life。 Sad， funny， inspirational and educational all at the same time as one reads this extraordinary book。 Kudos to Nordland and many more good days ahead。A very， very good read。 。。。more
Deanna
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Waiting for the Monsoon is the autobiography of Rod Nordland from his surprising childhood to his recent glioblastoma diagnosis， but it's mainly focused on his experience as an international war correspondent， which clearly gave him a lot of pride and fulfillment。 This book is filled with unbelievable tales from Nordland's travels， like little untold articles about his perspectives and adventures behind the scenes of the stories he's published。 His diagnosis has changed how he views his life and Waiting for the Monsoon is the autobiography of Rod Nordland from his surprising childhood to his recent glioblastoma diagnosis， but it's mainly focused on his experience as an international war correspondent， which clearly gave him a lot of pride and fulfillment。 This book is filled with unbelievable tales from Nordland's travels， like little untold articles about his perspectives and adventures behind the scenes of the stories he's published。 His diagnosis has changed how he views his life and relationships and he presents this matter of factly， with optimism， realism， and grace， without leaving out the highs and lows， celebrations and laments of the amazing life he's lived。 Through the blending of these two lives， pre and post diagnosis， Nordland shares his own unique perspective of life。 I received this book as part of a Goodreads advanced printing giveaway。 。。。more
Susan Walker
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Interesting read if one man’s near death experience。
Marvin Fender
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I received this UP from the Goodreads Giveaway program on 12/19/2023。 I always like books written by journalists they always have great stories and tell them so well。 To be honest I had never heard of Mr。 Nordland before but his life and adventures were worth reading。 Defiantly an amazing story well worth reading。 I was educated on the way conflict news reporting works and you have to respect a person who would go to such dangerous lengths to get the story and tell it so clearly and concisely。 I I received this UP from the Goodreads Giveaway program on 12/19/2023。 I always like books written by journalists they always have great stories and tell them so well。 To be honest I had never heard of Mr。 Nordland before but his life and adventures were worth reading。 Defiantly an amazing story well worth reading。 I was educated on the way conflict news reporting works and you have to respect a person who would go to such dangerous lengths to get the story and tell it so clearly and concisely。 If you only read one memoir this year make it this one you won't be disappointed。 。。。more
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Reference
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