Abstract

This is a nonfiction book by a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) pediatrician who treated children infected with Ebola in Sierra Leone, West Africa (he later became president of Médecins Sans Frontières Japan), describing his own epic four-week battle.

The author once suffered from the current situation in South Sudan, where newborn babies were dying one after another during his medical work there. After returning to Japan, he suffered from PTSD and lost the meaning of life. He participates in the Ebola relief efforts, but many lives cannot be saved, and he also suffers from the selfish reactions of the international community. Nevertheless, he desperately fights Ebola, and after recovering, he meets children who are like nursing another patient, and gradually leads him to rebirth. The book was also selected as a finalist for the Ken Kaiko Nonfiction Award sponsored by Shueisha, and was highly praised by the selection committee members, including Kang Sang-jung. This is a book that is needed in this day and age of war and conflict. It is a work of universal value that will make you think about what humanitarian aid and altruism really mean.

Author’s Information

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