I’ll be honest: I did not expect to like this book.
It’s a handsome shiny white doctor dude writing about Africa. I had my doubts this would culturally sensitive.
Why did I pick it up? Guys, it’s a really colorful book with like three different titles and it made me giggle. So it goes.
Luckily for me, good things do come in blue and soon I found myself unable to put this down. Damien Brown, in his first book, weaves an enthralling narrative of life as an MSF (Doctors Without Borders) volunteer in Angola, Mozambique, and Sudan. Despite being on the thicker side, it’s an engaging read that whirls by quickly.
Brown is a naturally descriptive writer, making his memories of Africa a treat to read, while his anecdotes are imbued with a great sense of humor that make you think this would be a pretty fun guy to chat with.
“I look over the fence, at the cracked-earth plains spreading for miles beyond the river. Above it all, a thin crescent of a moon glows; a silver hammock slung lazily between two stars. There’s an immense beauty in the starkness of it all, this place, and this eerie silence. I’m utterly entranced by Sudan.
And intimidated. ”
Though no doubt quite simplified, Brown does us less well-informed readers a service by explaining the political and historical events that influenced his work, such as the civil war in Angola and targeted violence against medical volunteers in Somalia. This book reads like a medical TV drama, balancing heart-wrenching moments with hilarious misunderstandings and encounters that you know could only happen in real life.
As a public health student, I was curious about Brown’s feelings towards MSF. They are a bold and often controversial organization dedicated to providing fair and quality healthcare, with an emphasis on humanitarian aid in conflict zones. MSF adheres to strict guiding principles of neutrality, equity, and bearing witness, or témoignage. Brown is extremely judicious in the thoughts he shares about MSF, admitting that he has both agreed and disagreed with, hated and loved, respected and questioned different aspects of the organization throughout his time with them.
There are some slightly cringe-y moments in Band-Aid. I didn’t need to know the size of their Angolan cook’s breasts (though like, good for her, I guess?) and Brown’s marveling over the differences in melanin amounts in he and his comrades’ skin feels a bit uncomfortable at times. Brown flirts with the concept of poverty porn, with several of those cliched mentions of African children playing in streams.
However, Brown ultimately does something different with his writing. He is unflinching in his recounting of his culture shock, privilege, and naivety. Rather than distancing himself from it, he embraces it; by admitting his shortcomings Brown invites you to learn and grow with him. Indeed, you can almost feel his voice maturing as the story moves along, and at the end of the day, Brown avoids the fatal mistake of writers, humanitarians, and medical workers alike: tying everything up in a pretty bow. Brown admits that he does not have answers: about the medical industry, humanitarian work, MSF, and his own life. It’s incredibly refreshing to see a writer embrace uncertainty with such gusto.
“But such comparisons are futile. Naive at best, self-righteous at worst. Nothing more annoying than the person at the dinner table who notes how many kids could have been vaccinated in lieu of your latte - I’ve long since realized things aren’t that simple - yet here I sit, later in the year, tuning out when colleagues speak of new cars and property renovations, recalling instead images of re-thatched roofs and re-mudded walls…”
Band-Aid for a Broken Leg: Being a Doctor With No Borders (and Other Ways to Stay Single) makes for a great introduction to the life of humanitarian aid volunteers, a crash course in emergency medicine in resource-poor areas, and a great encapsulation of the contradictions of life.
For further reading:
Being a Doctor With No Borders: 10 Tips from Damien Brown by Shanshan Chen, Reuters
MSF, Compassion Fatigue, and Band-Aid for a Broken Leg by Katie Nguyen, Reuters
Band-Aid for a Broken Leg: An Interview with Damien Brown by Rowena Clark of Adventure Medic