Travel Narratives
People fascinate me. Perhaps that is why I love working as a GP. When I travel, I always want to ask questions and know what life is really like for everyone I meet. Sadly, I am not much of a linguist but I smile and gesticulate a great deal and make the effort to communicate. Given enough time, it is remarkable how connections can be made
I explore, try to understand and write about difficult issues including corruption, prejudice, exploitation, caste and poverty. I know that for some this makes uncomfortable reading and even risks demystifying and undermining the image some travellers have of the simple natural existence of the rural poor in emerging nations. Nevertheless I fervently believe these issues should be understood by all who travel so my aim is to present the facts as sympathetic engaging stories about real people. I am frustrated by the look-and-point approach to travel, but I hope I don't preach. I write of my adventures and enthusiasms and of colour and beauty so that my readers can enjoy my travel experiences as much as I do.
Travel Health Guides
Within minutes of arriving in the sleepy town of Khairpur in Sindh, I was faced with a medical crisis. I'd been qualified as a doctor for a few years but was new to expatriate life, and I was travelling with my firstborn, three-month-old son. A guy who was expecting to work with my husband announced that he needed to be evacuated because he was desperately ill. I introduced myself as a GP and offered help. Quickly I realised that my new friend was not suffering from some horrendous tropical pox but that he just had a nasty attack of sinusitis. It made him feel awful with frontal headache that recalled having a screwdriver rammed into his eyeball. Labelling it with a diagnosis made it less scary, though, and we found that the correct antibiotics were readily available over the counter in the local bazaar. By the next day my patient was well on the way to recovery.
That was the first time I really had to think about travel health. What this, my first real travel medicine ‘case’, made me realise is that even the calmest and most sensible of travellers will nearly always become disproportionately worried about themselves when taken ill. In my friend’s case, he didn’t know much about the local health service and didn’t know where he could find a doctor he could trust. He just wanted to get home to his friendly British GP. That experience showed me how liberating and empowering information can be and motivated me to start writing accessible straightforward travel health advice. I began work on a manual that was distributed amongst expatriate engineers, and soon after wrote my first travel health feature for Wanderlust magazine. It was - of course - on diarrhoea.
A Glimpse of Eternal Snows
A Glimpse of Eternal Snows captivated us all and within days of receiving the manuscript, we knew that we simply had to publish this book. Jane writes beautifully and while her account of her son's life is very poignant, it is not in any way self-indulgent. We simply get to know her and her family so well, that the choices that they make, heart
rending though they may be, make perfect sense to us. In addition, Jane's huge love of Nepal, the people, the scenery, the culture and language is spell binding. I am the last person in the world who would consider a trekking
holiday in Nepal to be a fun thing to do, but after reading this book, I was ready to pack my bags and head for the airport.
It is a rare experience in publishing, to begin a manuscript and to be so captivated by it that you know that you simply have to have it. I had that experience, and so did everyone at Murdoch Books and we are truly thrilled and delighted to have this wonderful book on our Pier 9 list.
Juliet Rogers CEO Murdoch books
Staying Healthy When You Travel
“at once attractive, user friendly and a good read.”
Discovery – Cathay Pacific
Your Child Abroad: a travel health guide
The updated and expanded second edition of the classic traveling parents' guide Your Child Abroad covers everything from tropical jungles to a visit to Europe, offering tips on how to handle both minor problems and emergencies and including the latest medical updates for countries and problems. From handling a child's allergy problems overseas to new antimalarials and a regional risk analysis. Your Child Abroad provides plenty of precautions and risk assessments to make for informed parents.
Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
How to Shit Around the World
Ook als je niet van plan bent om een reis door de tropen te maken is het een boek dat je in een keer uit leest, omdat je in een hele andere wereld terecht komt. Zeer de moeite waard! Het boek schrikt niet af, maar maakt juist nieuwsgierig naar verre landen.