38 ratings | 4 reviews | avg rating:3.84

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Kwan Kew Lai

Goodreads Author

Born

Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia

Website

https://www.kwankewlai.com

Twitter

KwanKew

Genre

Memoir, Nonfiction, Fiction

Influences

https://www.facebook.com/kwankewlai.a... ...more

Member Since

March 2017

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Originally from Penang, Malaysia, Kwan Kew Lai received a full scholarship from Wellesley College. She is a Harvard Medical Faculty Physician with a specialty in infectious disease. In 2005, she left her position as a Professor of Medicine to dedicate time to humanitarian work; in HIV/AIDS in Africa and provides disaster relief all over the world, during wars, famine, natural disasters, including the Ebola outbreak, the Syrian, Rohingya refugee crises, Yemen, and the COVID-19 pandemic in New York and the Navajo Nation. Her book debut, Lest We Forget: A Doctor’s Experience with Life and Death During the Ebola Outbreak chronicles her time in Liberia and Sierra Leone caring for Ebola patients during the greatest Ebola outbreak in the world. In ...more

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Combine Editions
Kwan Kew Lai’s books

Average rating: 4.47 · 85 ratings · 39 reviews · 3 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Girl Who Taught Herself to Fly 4.52 avg rating — 54 ratings — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Lest We Forget: A Doctor's Experience with Life and Death During the Ebola Outbreak 4.34 avg rating — 29 ratings — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Into Africa, Out of Academia: A Doctor's Memoir it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

29 posts
Kwan Kew Lai's Blog: My May Book Event

2025, Year in Review

Another year has galloped away in the blink of an eye.

Wars, ravages of war, fragile ceasefires, refugees, and internally displaced people continue to plague the world. It is hard for us who are not directly affected by them to imagine what life is like for them. I often worry about children and youths who are growing up and their education is interrupted by these man-made disasters.

https://www.kw Read more of this blog post »

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Published on December 30, 2025 12:01 • Tags: aaww, asiansempower, camwriterswkshp, kwankewlai-com, vineleavespress-globalhealth

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Kwan’s Recent Updates

Kwan Kew Lai wrote a new blog post 2025, Year in Review Another year has galloped away in the blink of an eye. Wars, ravages of war, fragile ceasefires, refugees, and internally displaced people continue to Read more of this blog post »
Dec 30, 2025 12:01PM · like
Kwan Lai is now following Esther Mangan's reviews
Nov 15, 2025 03:01PM · like
Kwan Lai made a comment on Esther Mangan’s review of The Girl Who Taught Herself to Fly " Thank you for your review "
Nov 15, 2025 02:56PM · see review
Kwan Lai and 1 other person liked Esther Mangan's review of The Girl Who Taught Herself to Fly: "I had never heard of this doctor but she’s done so much work in infectious diseases in developing countries. She came from poverty herself and writes about her upbringing in Malaysia "
Nov 15, 2025 02:55PM · see review
Kwan Lai rated a book really liked it The Incendiaries by R.O. Kwon (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 04, 2025 10:17AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Incendiaries by R.O. Kwon. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Incendiaries by R.O. Kwon <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Kwan Lai rated a book really liked it The Good Immigrant: 26 Writers Reflect on America by Nikesh Shukla (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 04, 2025 10:14AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Good Immigrant by Nikesh Shukla. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Good Immigrant by Nikesh Shukla <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Kwan Lai rated a book really liked it The Loneliest Americans by Jay Caspian Kang (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 04, 2025 10:13AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Loneliest Americans by Jay Caspian Kang. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Loneliest Americans by Jay Caspian Kang <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Kwan Lai rated a book really liked it A Dream Called Home: A Memoir by Reyna Grande (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 04, 2025 10:12AM · like
Kwan Lai rated a book liked it First Love: Essays on Friendship by Lilly Dancyger (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 04, 2025 10:11AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of First Love by Lilly Dancyger. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — First Love by Lilly Dancyger <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Kwan Lai rated a book really liked it The History of a Difficult Child by Mihret Sibhat (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 04, 2025 10:10AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The History of a Difficult Child by Mihret Sibhat. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The History of a Difficult Child by Mihret Sibhat <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">