In Harm’s Way: : A View from the Epicenter of Liberia’s Ebola Crisis

When long-time American missionary Nancy Sheppard volunteered to work with her friend Nancy Writebol in ELWA Hospital’s Ebola ward, she did not know what to expect. Night after night she worked, suiting up and disinfecting the medical personnel and helping wherever needed. While it was difficult, she recognized she was witnessing something extraordinary. Author Nancy Sheppard writes, What am I seeing here? I asked myself. It was invisible to all but me. This dying woman was perhaps the most untouchable person in the world and yet Dr. Brantly was touching her. And he was not just touching her physically, but emotionally and spiritually as well. Who was I that I should be granted the privilege of witnessing this? It was somehow both utterly tragic and supremely glorious. When, despite following protocols to the best of their abilities, Nancy Writebol and Dr. Kent Brantly were diagnosed with Ebola, she knew how they would suffer as they fought this deadly disease. But, In Harm’s Way is more than a book about ELWA Hospital’s Ebola ward, it is the story of Liberia itself. Told in the sympathetic voice of one who cares for the country and her people, Nancy explains the multiple societal and cultural factors that have exacerbated the Ebola crisis in her adopted home. Warm and human, this book takes you into Liberia’s epicenter of the war against Ebola. You will not emerge the same.