Overview

Damien Brown thinks he's ready when he arrives for his first posting with Medecins Sans Frontieres in Africa. But the town he's sent to is an isolated outpost of mud huts, surrounded by landmines; the hospital, for which he's to be the only doctor, is filled with malnourished children and conditions he's never seen; and the health workers - Angolan war veterans twice his age who speak no English - walk out on him following an altercation on his first shift. In the months that follow, Damien confronts these challenges all the while dealing with the social absurdities of living with only three other volunteers for company. The medical calamities pile up - leopard attacks, landmine explosions, performing surgery using tools cleaned on the fire - but as Damien's friendships with the local people evolve, his passion for the work grows. Written with great warmth and empathy, Band-Aid for a Broken Leg is a compassionate, deeply honest and often humorous account of life on the medical frontline in Angola, Mozambique and South Sudan. It is also a moving testimony to the work done by medical humanitarian groups and the remarkable, often eccentric people who work for them.

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9781743316658

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A young man's boldness is accompanied by a lack of sentimentality and a genuinely questing spirit, and these keep you turning the pages, wondering, as in all the best books, what is going to happen next. * Daily Mail * He writes with empathy and energy, pulling no punches about African cultural anomalies and social animosities, while fear and farce, seasoned with humour and humanity, give a mouth-drying edge of adrenaline to the entertainment value of his stories. * Saga * An honest, unpretentious account... capturing the moments of sublime joy that livingand working in such extremities can provide. * Sunday Herald Sun * A pleasure to read. * Sunday Telegraph (Sydney) * An honest, sometimes funny and insightful account of the rewards and heartbreak of life in extreme circumstances * Herald Sun * A searingly honest and gripping account of working in remote African hospitals, told with self-deprecating humour and powerful characterisation...To have such great stories entwined with robust insight into humanitarian aid makes this, for me, the travel book of the year. * Irish Times *

A young man's boldness is accompanied by a lack of sentimentality and a genuinely questing spirit, and these keep you turning the pages, wondering, as in all the best books, what is going to happen next. * Daily Mail * He writes with empathy and energy, pulling no punches about African cultural anomalies and social animosities, while fear and farce, seasoned with humour and humanity, give a mouth-drying edge of adrenaline to the entertainment value of his stories. * Saga * An honest, unpretentious account... capturing the moments of sublime joy that living and working in such extremities can provide. * Sunday Herald Sun * A pleasure to read. * Sunday Telegraph (Sydney) * An honest, sometimes funny and insightful account of the rewards and heartbreak of life in extreme circumstances * Herald Sun * A searingly honest and gripping account of working in remote African hospitals, told with self-deprecating humour and powerful characterisation...To have such great stories entwined with robust insight into humanitarian aid makes this, for me, the travel book of the year. * Irish Times *

A searingly honest and gripping account of working in remote African hospitals, told with self-deprecating humour and powerful characterisation...To have such great stories entwined with robust insight into humanitarian aid makes this, for me, the travel book of the year. * Irish Times * An honest, sometimes funny and insightful account of the rewards and heartbreak of life in extreme circumstances * Herald Sun * A pleasure to read. * Sunday Telegraph (Sydney) * An honest, unpretentious account... capturing the moments of sublime joy that living and working in such extremities can provide. * Sunday Herald Sun * He writes with empathy and energy, pulling no punches about African cultural anomalies and social animosities, while fear and farce, seasoned with humour and humanity, give a mouth-drying edge of adrenaline to the entertainment value of his stories. * Saga * A young man's boldness is accompanied by a lack of sentimentality and a genuinely questing spirit, and these keep you turning the pages, wondering, as in all the best books, what is going to happen next. * Daily Mail *

A young man's boldness is accompanied by a lack of sentimentality and a genuinely questing spirit, and these keep you turning the pages, wondering, as in all the best books, what is going to happen next. Daily Mail He writes with empathy and energy, pulling no punches about African cultural anomalies and social animosities, while fear and farce, seasoned with humour and humanity, give a mouth-drying edge of adrenaline to the entertainment value of his stories. Saga An honest, unpretentious account... capturing the moments of sublime joy that living and working in such extremities can provide. Sunday Herald Sun A pleasure to read. Sunday Telegraph (Sydney) An honest, sometimes funny and insightful account of the rewards and heartbreak of life in extreme circumstances Herald Sun A searingly honest and gripping account of working in remote African hospitals, told with self-deprecating humour and powerful characterisation...To have such great stories entwined with robust insight into humanitarian aid makes this, for me, the travel book of the year. Irish Times

A young man's boldness is accompanied by a lack of sentimentality and a genuinely questing spirit, and these keep you turning the pages, wondering, as in all the best books, what is going to happen next. * Daily Mail * He writes with empathy and energy, pulling no punches about African cultural anomalies and social animosities, while fear and farce, seasoned with humour and humanity, give a mouth-drying edge of adrenaline to the entertainment value of his stories. * Saga * An honest, unpretentious account... capturing the moments of sublime joy that living and working in such extremities can provide. * Sunday Herald Sun * A pleasure to read. * Sunday Telegraph (Sydney) * An honest, sometimes funny and insightful account of the rewards and heartbreak of life in extreme circumstances * Herald Sun * A searingly honest and gripping account of working in remote African hospitals, told with self-deprecating humour and powerful characterisation...To have such great stories entwined with robust insight into humanitarian aid makes this, for me, the travel book of the year. * Irish Times *

Author Information

Damien Brown is a South African-born doctor based in London. He began writing seriously after his last humanitarian posting, encouraged by readers of a blog he kept while working in Africa. When not treating patients or writing, Damien can be heard playing drums with his old university band, or toying with an overpriced piece of camera equipment. For Damien's 10 tips for surviving an MSF posting click here: http://vimeo.com/77060365 Damien answers Booktopia's Ten Terrifying Questions here: http://bit.ly/LeUyFb

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