Book Review: Gary White & Matt Damon's The Worth of Water

Thank you to LibroFM and Penguin Random House Publishing Audio Group for a copy of Gary White and Matt Damon’s The Worth of Water.

The Worth of Water follows engineer Gary White and actor Matt Damon on their mission to make clean water accessible in the poorest parts of our world through their non-profit, Water.org.

The book alternates between White and Damon, each giving their own backgrounds and perspectives on the issue. I listened to the audio version, where White and Damon provided the narration for their respective chapters. White and Damon were both raised by activist parents, who instilled in them the need to try to understand cultures different than their own and to give back. White became involved in the water crisis while working towards his engineering degree and felt a strong pull towards developing solutions to help those in need. Damon became involved after his friend, Bono from U2, who is also involved in relief work, urged Damon to travel to see first-hand the desperate situation in other countries. Although the trip showed Damon a variety of issues, he focused on water after meeting a young girl who had to travel a long distance to gather daily water.

Damon and White both saw how access to water affects other aspects of life. If you have to spend so much time and energy to gather water, you don’t have that time and energy for other activities, such as school or employment. Lack of water leads to disease and affects development. When people make efforts to pay to have plumbing or clean water access, it can be outrageously or prohibitively expensive.

The Worth of Water gives many examples of how the concept of not having water is difficult for those of us who have it, to understand. One example that surprised me, was a true story of two American men who got lost on a hike. They were lost for a few days and ran out of water. One of the men became extremely distraught, certain that he would die of thirst and was so upset, that he convinced his friend to kill him, rather die of thirst. When the autopsy was performed, it revealed that he was dehydrated, but not in immediate danger of severe dehydration. His friend was found alive. Damon tells this story to illustrate how people who normally have access to water, don’t realize the boundaries of dehydration, certainly not to the point of danger. We rarely experience true thirst or dehydration. Even if we live somewhere that is in a draught and where we must conserve water, most of us living in places like the United States, do not truly appreciate how precious water can be.

The Worth of Water is a call to action. A call for people living in privileged countries to help those who live in developing areas. I found the section on micro-loans to be the most interesting, as it illustrated the way in which ordinary citizens can help. White and Damon clearly show the enormity of the water crisis, yet them keep optimistic that the situation can be fixed, but to fix it will necessitate the care and involvement of everyone, not just big organizations, governments, or those impacted, but everyone.

Book Review- Karen Thompson Walker's The Dreamers

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group for providing me with a copy of Karen Thompson Walker’s novel, The Dreamers, in exchange for an honest review.

In California, the small college town of Santa Lora has been struck with an unusual and highly infectious disease. Its citizens are falling into a deep sleep, lasting from weeks to over a year. No one knows why it is happening, how to cure it, or how to stop it from spreading. It afflicts all age groups and strikes so suddenly, that those whose bodies go undiscovered, quickly die of dehydration. Karen Thompson Walker’s novel follows several citizens of Santa Lora, who are desperate to keep from becoming infected, as they are stuck within the city limits during a mandatory town quarantine.

The Dreamers is a force of a novel. I could not put it down. I was most struck by the way in which Walker imagined this catastrophic situation, creating a range of scenarios and human emotions. For example, how would a new father trying to protect his newborn react when the two young girls from next door need his help? How would college students, sensing that their lives might soon end, interact when thrown together in an intimate situation? How do two children survive, when their father falls asleep? One character, a college student who is an early victim, takes ill shortly after becoming pregnant. She doesn’t even realize that she is pregnant, yet her baby grows while she is asleep. Even if she survives the disease, how will it affect her baby?

I loved The Dreamers, but I do have a criticism. The story is too short to contain all of the intriguing scenarios that Walker mentions. It’s as if she had too many great ideas and could not flesh them out in the space. For example, little attention is paid to a storyline in which a nursing home patient with memory loss temporarily regains his memory. This whole scenario could be an entire story. It’s fascinating and made even more compelling when we realize the result of this temporary memory issue. I don’t want to give any spoilers, as it is such a great twist with where this character and his spouse go next. Truly, it could have been the plot for another book and I wish that Walker had explored it more deeply. I felt the ending in general was rushed, when we learn about the dreams that the victims had been experiencing. It was so compelling and unexpected, that I wish Walker had expanded on her ideas.My disappointment all stems from wanting more.

The Dreamers is intense and unlike any book that I have read. Walker is an excellent storyteller. Her novel has quick pacing that kept me glued to the book. I read it in a single sitting. She has created characters and scenarios that will easily allow readers to empathize and imagine themselves in a similar situation. The Dreamers is a wonderful pick for book clubs and discussion groups, bringing up ideas of health, public safety, and morality. With the recent measles outbreak and debates over mandatory vaccinations, this is a timely novel.

The Dreamers is one of the best books that I’ve read in a long time and I can’t recommend it enough. I had not previously heard of Walker, but I can’t wait to read her first novel, The Age of Miracles and I look forward to her future works.