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Waiting for the Monsoon
In the tradition of When Breath Becomes Air, the New York Times's legendary war correspondent delivers his unforgettable final dispatch: a deeply moving meditation on life inspired by his sudden battle with terminal brain cancer.
Rod Nordland shadowed death for thirty years as one of his generation's preeminent war correspondents, include posts as bureau chief in Kabul and Baghdad. Then on July 5, 2019, he collapsed in the middle of a morning jog in Delhi's beautiful Lodhi Gardens. He was taken to the local hospital, where doctors diagnosed a brain tumor that turned out to be terminal cancer.
Confined to a hospital bed after so many vagabond years spent chasing the next conflict across the globe, Nordland discovered a curious side effect: he was gifted the chance to stop, reflect, and reconnect with those he loved but had been apart from for decades.
In the months that passed after his stint in the hospital, he no longer flinched at love and intimacy but exalted in its balm and power. He and his children made peace and enjoyed a closeness he had once thought impossible. He repaired a friendship broken twenty years earlier after decades as the best of friends. Gone was the old arrogance, the certitude that dominated his every action, the combination of which--overweening arrogance and self-confidence--likely helped make him a successful foreign correspondent but denied him the opportunity of becoming so much more.
Nordland writes, "Friends and family members and editors have often raised their eyebrows at my frequent assertions that my tumor was the best thing that ever happened to me, a gift that has enriched my life ever since."
Nordland's account of those first days in the hospital, published in the New York Times two months after his diagnosis, was widely shared and praised by readers for its honesty and beautiful writing. Now he expands on this piece, sharing the lessons he's learned over the last few years. Deeply moving and inspiring, Waiting for the Monsoon is a remarkable story about the human capacity to persevere even in the most difficult of times.
Rod Nordland shadowed death for thirty years as one of his generation's preeminent war correspondents, include posts as bureau chief in Kabul and Baghdad. Then on July 5, 2019, he collapsed in the middle of a morning jog in Delhi's beautiful Lodhi Gardens. He was taken to the local hospital, where doctors diagnosed a brain tumor that turned out to be terminal cancer.
Confined to a hospital bed after so many vagabond years spent chasing the next conflict across the globe, Nordland discovered a curious side effect: he was gifted the chance to stop, reflect, and reconnect with those he loved but had been apart from for decades.
In the months that passed after his stint in the hospital, he no longer flinched at love and intimacy but exalted in its balm and power. He and his children made peace and enjoyed a closeness he had once thought impossible. He repaired a friendship broken twenty years earlier after decades as the best of friends. Gone was the old arrogance, the certitude that dominated his every action, the combination of which--overweening arrogance and self-confidence--likely helped make him a successful foreign correspondent but denied him the opportunity of becoming so much more.
Nordland writes, "Friends and family members and editors have often raised their eyebrows at my frequent assertions that my tumor was the best thing that ever happened to me, a gift that has enriched my life ever since."
Nordland's account of those first days in the hospital, published in the New York Times two months after his diagnosis, was widely shared and praised by readers for its honesty and beautiful writing. Now he expands on this piece, sharing the lessons he's learned over the last few years. Deeply moving and inspiring, Waiting for the Monsoon is a remarkable story about the human capacity to persevere even in the most difficult of times.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published March 5, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
March 16, 2024
A foreign correspondent, diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, looks back at a remarkable life of overcoming adversity and reporting from war zones. Nordland has already outlived his surgeon's prognosis by more than three years, taking advantage of what he calls his "Second Life" to cultivate gratitude and healthy habits, and, of course, to write this. Growing up in poverty with a physically abusive father encouraged self-sufficiency. Much of the book is given over to stories from the field. Nordland thrived on excitement, and conveys the thrill and danger to readers. Part II, "After the Monsoon," marks an inevitable change of pace as the author considers the setbacks of the past few years. Overall, I was more interested in his upbringing and cancer journey than in his wartime experience, but others will feel differently. By virtually anyone's standards, though, he has lived a fascinating life, full of hardship but consistently hopeful. (More of a 3.5, really.)
See my full review at BookBrowse. (See also my related article on terminal illness memoirs.)
See my full review at BookBrowse. (See also my related article on terminal illness memoirs.)
January 12, 2024
Waiting for the Monsoon is the autobiography of Rod Nordland from his surprising childhood to his recent glioblastoma diagnosis, but it's mainly focused on his experience as an international war correspondent, which clearly gave him a lot of pride and fulfillment. This book is filled with unbelievable tales from Nordland's travels, like little untold articles about his perspectives and adventures behind the scenes of the stories he's published. His diagnosis has changed how he views his life and relationships and he presents this matter of factly, with optimism, realism, and grace, without leaving out the highs and lows, celebrations and laments of the amazing life he's lived. Through the blending of these two lives, pre and post diagnosis, Nordland shares his own unique perspective of life.
I received this book as part of a Goodreads advanced printing giveaway.
I received this book as part of a Goodreads advanced printing giveaway.
January 23, 2024
I received this UP from the Goodreads Giveaway program on 12/19/2023. I always like books written by journalists they always have great stories and tell them so well. To be honest I had never heard of Mr. Nordland before but his life and adventures were worth reading. Defiantly an amazing story well worth reading. I was educated on the way conflict news reporting works and you have to respect a person who would go to such dangerous lengths to get the story and tell it so clearly and concisely. If you only read one memoir this year make it this one you won't be disappointed.
April 4, 2024
A diagnosis of glioblastoma – a virulent, incurable brain cancer that is guaranteed to eventually kill – will buckle the knees of most people. After all, this lethal cancer infamously ended the lives of Senator John McCain and Beau Biden and, mysteriously, as many as 6 Philadelphia Phillies. But when Rod Nordland, an award winning foreign war correspondent, was diagnosed with the disease in the summer of 2019, his trademark spunk took over and, as he explains in his latest book, “Waiting for the Monsoon,” his Second Life began built on gratitude, love, and hope.
Nordland’s book takes us through the formation of his defiant spirit. If the ability to live well in the face of a mortal threat is the ability to live with uncertainty, Nordland learned to do that very early. His book shares how he grew up with an abusive, predatory father, but a kind and devoted mother. When the siege between his parents finally ended, teenaged Nordland had experienced more injustice, physical violence, terror and turbulence, hunger and poverty than any child should. His upbringing not only explains why he became one of the trouble-making tough kids in and out of school but also how he became ruggedized for his future career and primed for his eventual confrontation with brain cancer.
Fueled by anger at the injustices of his youth and his compassion for the vulnerable, Nordland found writing for a living was a way to hold reprehensible characters accountable. Before his diagnosis, “Waiting for the Monsoon” chronicles his important, historical work writing news stories for Newsweek, the New York Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer. The book recounts his sometimes breath-stopping escapades dodging journalist-hating governments, bullets and rocket fire while covering conflicts and their human consequences in places like Afghanistan, Sarajevo and dozens of hot spots in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. The book is punctuated with some of his memorable news articles; it also includes some eye-opening backstories we rarely see.
“Waiting for the Monsoon” follows Norland’s book “The Lovers: Afghanistan’s Romeo and Juliet, the True Story of How They Defied Their Families and Escaped an Honor Killing”, - the story of an Afghani couple’s forbidden, life-risking love. The 2016 publication of “The Lovers” coincides with a change in Nordland’s own romantic fortunes and recounts his meeting of Leila, his kindred spirit, a caring woman with considerable literary talent who would be there when the bottom fell out of his life.
“Waiting for the Monsoon” was written 2 years after Nordland’s doctor-forecasted shelf life had expired. The book remembers his sudden collapse, his diagnosis of glioblastoma (GBM) and dealing with some of its nasty co-conspirators: seizures, blood clots, “chemo brain”, and medication-induced emotional outbursts. He describes the extensive rehab process to cajole stubborn neural networks, angered by necessary surgical and radiation assaults, to direct again simple, everyday acts such as buttoning shirts, typing, and even walking with balance.
The book is chock full of history, insights for thumbing one’s nose at GBM, plus comments about the meaning of life grounded in a new found clarity and realism. A riveting read, “Waiting for the Monsoon” is written by a man, a fugitive from a preeminent disease that now stalks him, who describes his extraordinary life and its struggles as brutal fact, not a cry for pity. Instead, for anyone who knows Nordland, admires his work, or wants to understand how the human spirit is able to transcend a mortal threat and rise resilient, this book is a gift and an occasion to stand up and cheer as Nordland takes a victory lap.
- Channah Piscioneri, editor of “The Brain Tumor Guide for the Newly Diagnosed” and brain cancer patient advocate.
Nordland’s book takes us through the formation of his defiant spirit. If the ability to live well in the face of a mortal threat is the ability to live with uncertainty, Nordland learned to do that very early. His book shares how he grew up with an abusive, predatory father, but a kind and devoted mother. When the siege between his parents finally ended, teenaged Nordland had experienced more injustice, physical violence, terror and turbulence, hunger and poverty than any child should. His upbringing not only explains why he became one of the trouble-making tough kids in and out of school but also how he became ruggedized for his future career and primed for his eventual confrontation with brain cancer.
Fueled by anger at the injustices of his youth and his compassion for the vulnerable, Nordland found writing for a living was a way to hold reprehensible characters accountable. Before his diagnosis, “Waiting for the Monsoon” chronicles his important, historical work writing news stories for Newsweek, the New York Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer. The book recounts his sometimes breath-stopping escapades dodging journalist-hating governments, bullets and rocket fire while covering conflicts and their human consequences in places like Afghanistan, Sarajevo and dozens of hot spots in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. The book is punctuated with some of his memorable news articles; it also includes some eye-opening backstories we rarely see.
“Waiting for the Monsoon” follows Norland’s book “The Lovers: Afghanistan’s Romeo and Juliet, the True Story of How They Defied Their Families and Escaped an Honor Killing”, - the story of an Afghani couple’s forbidden, life-risking love. The 2016 publication of “The Lovers” coincides with a change in Nordland’s own romantic fortunes and recounts his meeting of Leila, his kindred spirit, a caring woman with considerable literary talent who would be there when the bottom fell out of his life.
“Waiting for the Monsoon” was written 2 years after Nordland’s doctor-forecasted shelf life had expired. The book remembers his sudden collapse, his diagnosis of glioblastoma (GBM) and dealing with some of its nasty co-conspirators: seizures, blood clots, “chemo brain”, and medication-induced emotional outbursts. He describes the extensive rehab process to cajole stubborn neural networks, angered by necessary surgical and radiation assaults, to direct again simple, everyday acts such as buttoning shirts, typing, and even walking with balance.
The book is chock full of history, insights for thumbing one’s nose at GBM, plus comments about the meaning of life grounded in a new found clarity and realism. A riveting read, “Waiting for the Monsoon” is written by a man, a fugitive from a preeminent disease that now stalks him, who describes his extraordinary life and its struggles as brutal fact, not a cry for pity. Instead, for anyone who knows Nordland, admires his work, or wants to understand how the human spirit is able to transcend a mortal threat and rise resilient, this book is a gift and an occasion to stand up and cheer as Nordland takes a victory lap.
- Channah Piscioneri, editor of “The Brain Tumor Guide for the Newly Diagnosed” and brain cancer patient advocate.
March 6, 2024
In June of 2019, Pulitzer Prize winning foreign correspondent Rod Nordland was in New Delhi to experience first-hand the “the southwest monsoon, the greatest accumulation of fresh water in the atmosphere anywhere on the planet.” On July 5, he was jogging in Delhi’s Lodhi Gardens when, he writes, “a malignant brain tumor, as yet undiagnosed, struck me down and left me thrashing on the ground.” Nordland was intent on remaining positive, recalling: “I was taken for dead by a mortuary crew, who toe-tagged me with the following ID: ‘Unknown Caucasian male, age 47 and a half.’ Nothing could have cheered me up more. It was only days until my 70th birthday. ‘Well,’ I thought, ‘I could learn to love this tumor.’”
His tumor was a glioblastoma multiforme stage 4, the most aggressive of brain tumors, with a life expectancy post diagnosis of fourteen months. Nordland had reported from 150 countries, most of them going through violent upheavals, and he ran the war-zone news bureaus in six of them. He had repeatedly faced down his own death. But his grim diagnosis caused him to lean into the phenomenon of the Second Life, appreciating even more his First Life prior to the terminal diagnosis.
Nordland’s memoir unfolds linerally, starting with his family in Philadelphia — a violent father who routinely beat his mother and a “devoted” mother “determined to protect her children.” Nordland’s mother left her husband, taking with her their six children, divorced him, and found menial work to support her family. His father was repeatedly arrested, convicted and termed a “predatory pedophile” who died in an Idaho prison. Nordland bore the burden of his parentage by “gravitat[ing] toward stories about vulnerable people, especially women and children—since they will always be the most vulnerable in any society—being exploited or mistreated by powerful men or powerful social norms.”
After having to repeat the eleventh grade, Nordland became the type of overachiever “parents dream of.” He attended Penn State on a full scholarship, shifted his focus from biochemistry to journalism and, after graduating college, started a job as a staff reporter on a major metro daily. His big break occurred when his newspaper won a Pulitzer Prize for their reporting on the Three Mile island disaster. That lead to a posting to Bangkok, Thailand to cover “everything east of Afghanistan,” and a life of “wandering around different foreign countries, where I didn’t speak the language or know the culture but managed to find stories.”
Each chapter of his stirring memoir begins with an “interlude,” a dispatch Nordland sent from around the globe, followed by his recollections of stints reporting from far flung locales — Darfur to Zimbabwe, Cambodia to Syria, and Bahrain to Sarajevo. The second part of the memoir focuses on Nordland’s effort to fight back against his health crisis and to embrace his Second Life. He reconnects with his former wife and their three children, with whom he had been estranged since the divorce. Years into his diagnosis, with no new cancer and occasional, manageable seizures, Nordland writes with gratitude for the time he has remaining and provides a clear-eyed perspective on his own mortality. Thank you Mariner Books and Net Galley for an advanced copy of this moving and inspiring memoir.
His tumor was a glioblastoma multiforme stage 4, the most aggressive of brain tumors, with a life expectancy post diagnosis of fourteen months. Nordland had reported from 150 countries, most of them going through violent upheavals, and he ran the war-zone news bureaus in six of them. He had repeatedly faced down his own death. But his grim diagnosis caused him to lean into the phenomenon of the Second Life, appreciating even more his First Life prior to the terminal diagnosis.
Nordland’s memoir unfolds linerally, starting with his family in Philadelphia — a violent father who routinely beat his mother and a “devoted” mother “determined to protect her children.” Nordland’s mother left her husband, taking with her their six children, divorced him, and found menial work to support her family. His father was repeatedly arrested, convicted and termed a “predatory pedophile” who died in an Idaho prison. Nordland bore the burden of his parentage by “gravitat[ing] toward stories about vulnerable people, especially women and children—since they will always be the most vulnerable in any society—being exploited or mistreated by powerful men or powerful social norms.”
After having to repeat the eleventh grade, Nordland became the type of overachiever “parents dream of.” He attended Penn State on a full scholarship, shifted his focus from biochemistry to journalism and, after graduating college, started a job as a staff reporter on a major metro daily. His big break occurred when his newspaper won a Pulitzer Prize for their reporting on the Three Mile island disaster. That lead to a posting to Bangkok, Thailand to cover “everything east of Afghanistan,” and a life of “wandering around different foreign countries, where I didn’t speak the language or know the culture but managed to find stories.”
Each chapter of his stirring memoir begins with an “interlude,” a dispatch Nordland sent from around the globe, followed by his recollections of stints reporting from far flung locales — Darfur to Zimbabwe, Cambodia to Syria, and Bahrain to Sarajevo. The second part of the memoir focuses on Nordland’s effort to fight back against his health crisis and to embrace his Second Life. He reconnects with his former wife and their three children, with whom he had been estranged since the divorce. Years into his diagnosis, with no new cancer and occasional, manageable seizures, Nordland writes with gratitude for the time he has remaining and provides a clear-eyed perspective on his own mortality. Thank you Mariner Books and Net Galley for an advanced copy of this moving and inspiring memoir.
March 8, 2024
Rod Nordland, an accomplished Pulitzer Prize winning foreign correspondent, has crafted a memoir of both gratitude and fortitude. He traveled to over 150 countries including those struck with ongoing wars, internal strife, natural disasters, and famine. His road to the story was never an easy one, but always a rewarding one. Rod’s focus has always been the human side of the story, not battles or their logistics. So, it was surprising to him, approaching 70, that he would be the focus of his own story – an aggressive brain tumor, with a poor prognosis. His memoir tracks his disease and his accomplishments. His fortitude comes from his rough upbringing with a loving mother and siblings, but a father with criminality and abuse. From an early age, he sets his course to overcome and receives help from mentors who can see his potential in achieving and succeeding, professionally and personally. His gratitude unexpectedly comes from his disease. He realizes that the bonds he has formed as a journalist, colleague, friend, father, family member and with a new late-in-life lover, will support and see him through his ordeals to come. To them he is more than his illness – he is a man in full, ready to share his journey from the scientists and physicians who help him navigate the effects of the disease that is intent on limiting him. Emotional, informative, inspiring – highly recommended. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this title.
April 1, 2024
I checked this book out of the library after listening to the author's interview with Terry Gross on NPR. He has been a life long foreign correspondent for several respected news organizations, covering war zones around the world. Of primary interest to me was his diagnosis of glioblastoma about 5 years ago, as a good friend of mine was diagnosed with the same about a year ago.
As might be expected from a person earning their living thru the written word, the book is very well written and compelling. The stories he tells about his years in conflict zones is really interesting, as well as the years of his youth and growing up with a devoted mother and abusive father. But the crux of the book is his reaction to his diagnosis that he has been given a second life and how that has enriched his relationships with family and friends.
Mr. Norland is definitely one of the lucky ones, as only 6 percent of people diagnosed with the disease survive 5 years. And unlike other cancers, even those that survive that long cannot breath a sigh of relief as this type of cancer can come back at any time. He notes that Ted Kennedy, John McCain and Beau Biden all were victims of the disease as well. I learned a lot about GBM from this book, and a lot about how a patient's attitude can make a huge difference.
As might be expected from a person earning their living thru the written word, the book is very well written and compelling. The stories he tells about his years in conflict zones is really interesting, as well as the years of his youth and growing up with a devoted mother and abusive father. But the crux of the book is his reaction to his diagnosis that he has been given a second life and how that has enriched his relationships with family and friends.
Mr. Norland is definitely one of the lucky ones, as only 6 percent of people diagnosed with the disease survive 5 years. And unlike other cancers, even those that survive that long cannot breath a sigh of relief as this type of cancer can come back at any time. He notes that Ted Kennedy, John McCain and Beau Biden all were victims of the disease as well. I learned a lot about GBM from this book, and a lot about how a patient's attitude can make a huge difference.
January 22, 2024
Nordland's ability to express his experiences succiently allows the reader a glimpse into his most interesting life. The importance of relationships and maintaining them throughout one's life makes a very rich life. Sad, funny, inspirational and educational all at the same time as one reads this extraordinary book. Kudos to Nordland and many more good days ahead.
A very, very good read.
A very, very good read.
March 21, 2024
I loved this book. So interesting to hear about Rod’s experiences as a war correspondent and his journey with cancer. I think he is a terrific writer and was definitely inspired by his book. I hope he does a a signing in Arizona ..hint..hint
March 25, 2024
Very well written, poignant topic, remarkable jorney with GBM, that is woven with stories from many years as a war correspondent.
April 10, 2024
Written with such love and poignanacy. He is walking towards death with grace and dignity. Very courageous
April 12, 2024
This book was a recapitulation of a war correspondent’s many adventures at the expense of a meaningful family life. This book seemed an attempt at redemption. The author’s reckoning with his brain tumor and the realizations it has brought of what is important were well written and provocative. I wish him many more years of health to enjoy what he didn’t realize he had until glioblastoma opened his eyes.
March 12, 2024
I ordered this book when my husband emailed me an article he'd written for the Times. In it, he talked about getting diagnosed with GBM-4 (a deadly brain cancer) at age 70, after a lifetime as a foreign war correspondent, but how he embraced his Second Life, and everything positive that happened to him after that diagnosis. Spoiler alert: It's been 5 years since his diagnosis and he's still alive -- so that's a pretty good sign. I bought the book hoping he was going to talk more about his Second Life and what a terminal illness taught him. Instead, it was more the memoir of a foreign war correspondent. All of that was really fun to read, though. I felt the cancer stuff was kind of glossed over. I guess I wanted him to share his wisdom with me as a cancer survivor -- and all I really took away was Keto Diet. Positive Attitude. Believe in Yourself. I think I just thought it was going to be a slightly different book, but overall I still enjoyed it a lot.
March 26, 2024
"Waiting for the Monsoon" delves into Rod Nordland's life journey, spanning from his surprising childhood to his recent glioblastoma diagnosis, with a primary focus on his role as an international war correspondent, a source of immense pride and fulfillment for him. Within its pages, readers encounter an array of captivating tales from Nordland's travels, akin to untold articles that offer glimpses into his perspectives and adventures behind the scenes of his published stories. Nordland's diagnosis has prompted a shift in his outlook on life and relationships, which he presents with a matter-of-fact demeanor, imbued with optimism, realism, and grace, while authentically portraying the highs and lows, celebrations, and laments of his remarkable life. By weaving together narratives from both his pre and post-diagnosis lives, Nordland offers readers his unique perspective on life itself. This book was received through a Goodreads advanced printing giveaway.
March 25, 2024
I had thought, given the author, that this would be a bit more interesting with better prose. All that said it is an uplifting story about life's hard lessons. Maybe a bit triggering for those who suffered abuse during a miserable childhood...but when you're that person you have your whole life to get used to the emotions inevitably triggered. His childhood made him who he is, and this is really true for everyone in their own ways. His story is profound in that it is real and truly not profound at all. "42" is a humorous cop-out, the meaning of life is to know yourself and know love. I wanted to love this book, but for me these are thing I had already figured out.
March 11, 2024
There are a lot of interesting stories in here about his career as a war correspondent, starting in the 70's, up thru the 2010's. He used those to tell the story of his brain tumor and how he reacted to it to begin a "second life", with those closest to him. Very interesting book and a fairly quick read.
April 4, 2024
An amazing story of a journalist who was diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor when he was 70. The story of how he saw and dealt with is amazing. The story details his childhood as well as family relationships which give insight into how they have changed during his battle to live/survive. A very moving story that encourages as well as inspires. A great read! I won this book in a GoodReads Giveaway.
April 12, 2024
I was expecting to hear much more about facing death, but this focused a bit more on the life of Nordland. Even though it was more of a memoir of his life and not so much of an excestencial focused book, I found it very interesting and worth the read.
December 31, 2023
Interesting read if one man’s near death experience.
March 13, 2024
The best part of this book is his recounting of he time as a war correspondent.
April 17, 2024
Interesting - war correspondent dealing with terminal disease looking back and forward
April 11, 2024
After a heartbreaking childhood and an incredible career, Rod Nordland writes a memoir that will stay with you for a long time after finishing it.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews