Six Months in Sudan: A Young Doctor in a War-Torn Village

An unsentimental account of a young doctor's experience and psychological memoir as a volunteer in Sudan with MSF. What moved me was his account of how small and seemingly unending and fruitless yet absolutely necessary the work of the NGOs and volunteers are, and how more of us must awaken to our obligation to engage at that level despite (or because of) the toll it would exact on us. Maskalyk spells out eloquently the price and obligations of being a part of humanity.

Over winter break, I read a book entitled Six Months in Sudan, by Dr. James Maskalyk. I am a Field Partner of Doctors without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres), and was introduced to this book via Dr. Maskalyk's blog on their site. I am grateful that I learned of it, and that I had the opportunity to read through the memoirs of this caring physician. Six Months in Sudan isn't a book written in a formal style with proper grammer and formatting throughout. Instead, it contains the honest memoirs of a Canadian emergency medicine physician who recorded his thoughts and experiences of serving in Sudan while they were still fresh and raw in his mind. It is a collection of memories, experiences, and emotions. He wrote while angry, depressed, anxious, and grieving. He discusses intimate moments and shocking injuries. He holds nothing back as he bares even his most private thoughts prior to his departure and during his term. He also discusses the isolation that he felt upon his return. This is, perhaps, the most honest book I've ever read. It isn't a difficult read, and it is the kind of book that you don't want to put down once you've begun reading. If you're interested in medicine, public health, international affairs, or policy, you'll definitely appreciate this book. Even if you're not, you probably will. Beware, however, as this book is not edited for content that may make you realize that you take the comforts of your life for granted. It made me realize that I do so, and that the hardships I experience really are petty as compared to those of others throughout the world. When you purchase Six Months in Sudan, Dr. Maskalyk donates a portion of the proceeds to Doctors without Borders and to a fund that will help students from Abyei, Sudan to access education, if the schools there are ever rebuilt.

This book took me on a daily basis to somewhere I could never visit, facing hardships and losses that would overwhelm me. But, he did so in an honest way that forced me ,in my comfortable existence, to face and embrace the daily struggles of those in Sudan. Dr. James and his team, and some Sudanese patients felt like friends by the end of the book.

Many thanks to Dr. Maskalyk for going to Sudan and for writing about it. This is a moving and troubling account of life without the many safety nets that hold us. Clean water, reliable electricity, access to medical care, more food than we need, education--these are all sorely lacking in Abyei. Dr. Maskalyk shares what he sees and experiences, and by omission, how troubling what he witnesses is to his soul. I couldn't put this book down and am so grateful for the opportunity to learn about a part of the world I knew very little about.