Trouble Ahead: Dangerous Missions with Desperate People

These are the stories of a woman’s fifteen solo journeys to places that, for awhile, riveted public attention because of their terrifying and elaborate violence: Rwanda, Darfur, the slums of Kenya.Witness, enabler and critic, the author worked as an outlier, just outside the corporate web of humanitarian aid. Her journals explore ‘what happens after’ a crisis - the grief, resilience, and astonishing aspirations of people struggling to recover. She reveals, through unblinking observations, the nuances of cultures and tragedies unfamiliar to those living in relative peace and prosperity. Out of these missions grew the author’s inspiration for Women’s Centers International, a movement to respond to the global wildfire of women’s needs. Trouble Ahead offers new ways to think about how we can help when it’s needed. And compassionate help is always needed … somewhere.Susan Burgess-Lent is Founder and Executive Director of Women’s Center’s International (WCI), an Oakland-based non-profit that develops resource centers for women surviving conflict and poverty. Events recounted in this book inspired the creation of WCI. Her career in international relief and development spans twenty-five years; she journeyed on fifteen missions throughout East Africa. Her previous works include a novel, In the Borderlands, and short stories published in the Gargoyle and other anthologies.Her blog www.SusanBurgessLent.com offers insights and commentary about the work to be done by today’s women warriors. She’s completing a novel, When all the Girls Stopped Singing, and a collection of short stories.Susan lives in Oakland, California.