Waiting for the Monsoon
- Downloads：8995
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2024-03-07 03:21:45
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Rod Nordland
- ISBN：0063096226
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Stephanie
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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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