The Kindness of Strangers

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Travel is supposed to be challenging, you are out of your comfort zone, you are in unfamiliar places, often surrounded by people who don’t speak the same language as you and have a very different culture. It can pay rich dividends and give you an insight into how people live and how different it is to your way of life. These places that you see, the sunsets that you watch and the interactions that you have with other people, shape who you are.

It's an extended 'From our Own Correspondent', really, the Correspondent being Kate Adie, and she's reporting on the Japes that she experienced in her rather exciting and privileged life. Adie's autobiography is an interesting though unsurprising walk through her career, but she keeps her life at arm's length. She leaves you with the impression of a talented, focused journalist (which we knew already) with a sharp mind and rigorous principles.Traveling alone around the world is a daunting task for many people, including myself years ago, but after my own personal experience in solo traveling, I began to slowly and gradually appreciate it, especially when making serendipitous discoveries, coming face to face with unparalleled local hospitality, and experiencing local people's unbridled kindness. It goes against unconventional wisdom, one that is ingrained since childhood in the form of a parent's advice: 'do not trust strangers'. Yet, perhaps counter-intuitively, by closing ourselves towards strangers we learn to forget what it's like to witness unconditional kindness, one that is not bearing any ulterior motive or motivated by self-interest.

As McCullough explains, the explanation lies in our evolving ideas and justifications, guided by reason, for why we should consider the needs of others on par with our own, and with those of our closest kith and kin. Humans have learned, through various historical confrontations with mass human suffering, to expand their own circle of empathy by advancing arguments that break down arbitrary distinctions and divisions that prevent us from caring about the needs of others. Easy to read, McCullough sounds both realistic and upbeat about our chances of, as Peter Singer puts it, "expanding the moral circle." Indeed, McCullough tells a very progressivist story, with various "eras" moving us from the selfish ape of the title to people who more and more help those totally foreign to them. The Kindness of Strangers is a wonderful companion for travel. It enlarges us, reminds us that serendipity is one of the ultimate joys of life's constant journey. - AMY TAN Jordan is the quiet, skinny, pale boy who is best friends with the youngest of Sarah's two sons. Sarah is recently widowed and runs a catering business out of her home. She has catered "parties" for Jordan's parents on numerous occasions. She is close friends with Jordan's mother. When police investigate Jordan's reason for attempting to take his own life, the small town where they all live is thrown into a confusing denial. None more so than Sarah.Lonely Planet. It's on everyone's bookshelves; it's in every traveller's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.' - Fairfax Media (Australia) These characters & this story will stay with me forever, because after all, you can never forget those who have hurt you. if you've read a bit of ev-psych stuff, you'll know the material in the beginning section of this book. I read this book about 8 years ago and it's one of those books that has stayed with me ever since. It will probably always be one of my favorite books. Even though it is also one of the most difficult books I have ever read. It's the book that comes to mind whenever someone asks for a recommendation. I had originally meant to write a review but somehow it slipped my mind. Von diesen Reisen erzählt Katie Adie nur wenig, aber das ist auch nicht nötig, denn das kann man sich in den Archiven der BBC immer wieder ansehen. sie erzählt von einem Mädchen, das schon früh die Dinge zu hinterfragen begann und sich gegen alles auflehnte, was ihre Freiheit einengte. Die als junge Frau fast durch Zufall zur BBC kam und sich dort erst behaupten musste.

This ebook does not contain essays by Pico Iyer and Tanya Shaffer, which were part of the print collection.This isn't an autobiography but more a memoir. Adie shows us round her career, but we walk behind her, not beside her. Adie the journalist is revealed in wonderful detail. Kate the woman is as much a stranger when you've finished the book as when you started. The Kindness of Strangers' explores what it means to be vulnerable and to be helped by someone we've never met before. Someone who could have walked past, but chose not to. Courage in the face of unspeakable cruelty. Courage to do the right thing when the right thing is not always clear. Courage to do the one thing that no one else would do. I honestly don't know how to rate this book because I loved it so much yet disturbed all at the same time. I found myself not being able to put the book down but probably because I wanted to know what was going to happen to each of them. Of course it broke my heart as we know this really does exist every day. I think it was a GREAT approach for the author to show- yes, good things can come out of horrible situations. This book was really difficult for me to read. Being abused as a child and dealing with the questions of "why didn't you tell" have been subjects that I have had to deal with my whole life. I am still and will always be dealing. The love for a parent and the protection of "family" are the strongest bonds a child can have as well as the most desired bonds a person can long for.