Doctors Without Borders volunteer reads from his book at the Nelson Library
By Contributor
During his work as a mental health specialist with Doctors Without Borders in a remote region of Uzbekistan, author Calvin white saw tremendous misery — and as a counterpoint, moments of hope and humanity.
White presents his book Letters from the Land of Fear: Bending to Beauty in Central Asia on Thursday, May 11, 7:00pm at the Nelson Public Library.
Upon arrival in the Karakalpakstan region, White encountered an epidemic of multi-drug- resistant tuberculosis in a societal climate of fear and superstition.
He recounted his 11-month experience through a series of journal entries that describe a frequently demoralizing situation punctuated with moments of courage, love, and transcendence. The result is Letters from the Land of Fear, published by Guernica Editions.
“This is a small story about small people written by a small person so maybe there is no interest in it,” the author writes.
“On the other hand, since most of us on the planet are also small, maybe there is.”
White, a retired educator and school counsellor, is also the author of The Secret Life of Teenagers: Confessions of a High School Counsellor (2013).
He appears with support from the Canada Council for the Arts through the Writers’ Union of Canada.
Photo Caption: Author Calvin white saw tremendous misery during his his 11-month experience in a remote region of Uzbekistan. — Submitted photo
