"Over the years I have followed some of what [Caroline] was doing to help the people of Oshika. Her sheer tenacity and determination left me in awe of her and her achievements, but it wasn't until I read this wonderful memoir that I really understood exactly what it took to provide such brilliant assistance to the Japanese people who needed help following their traumatic experiences. This book is such an effortlessly exquisite account of personal and incredibly human accounts of just what long-lasting effects the earthquake and tsunami wrought on the people of Tohoku. I found myself increasingly invested in the lives of the individuals who came into Caroline's life as she did what she could to provide help. I think there are lessons to learn from how Caroline approached her vocation to help this remote region of Japan, by listening to people in order to help them in a way that suited them best, rather than deciding what they needed, and it just seemed to be the most perfect way to help the people rebuild their lives in the face of the adversity they had faced. I must confess I shed more than a few tears at the losses experienced by the people Caroline met and befriended, their tsunami stories were simply unimaginable, but in perfect balance to that aspect of this book, the humour and love shared between Caroline and the people of Oshika was so heart-warming, and in parts hysterically funny that there were a fair few tears of laughter too! I even learned a few useful words in Japanese reading this book! This book was such a moving account of Caroline Pover's experiences in helping a large group of people who needed help. It made me face up to the fact that when aid is provided for a natural disaster, when the majority of charities eventually pull out of the area, help may still be vitally important, and without someone as tenacious as Caroline fighting their corner, it is hard to imagine how the people of Tohoku would have fared over the years. This book is a tribute, not only to the lives lost, but also to the lives lived, and how love and friendship can make all the difference in the most difficult of circumstances.

" -- Book Mad Jo https: //bookmadjo.wordpress.com.