Wine to Water: How One Man Saved Himself While Trying to Save the World

by Doc Hendley

The captivating story of an ordinary bartender who's changing the world through clean water. Doc Hendley never set out to be a hero. In 2004, Hendley-a small- town bartender- launched a series of wine-tasting events to raise funds for clean-water projects and to bring awareness to the world's freshwater crisis. He planned to donate the proceeds through traditional channels, but instead found himself traveling to one of the world's most dangerous hot Darfur, Sudan.

There, Doc witnessed a government-sponsored genocide where the number-one weapon wasn't bullets-it was water. The Janjaweed terrorists had figured out that shooting up a bladder containing 10,000 liters of water, or dumping rotting corpses into a primary water source is remarkably efficient for the purposes of mass extermination. With limited funds, Doc realized that he couldn't build new wells costing $10,000 a pop, but he could hire local workers to restore a damaged well for a mere $50 each. He'd found his mission. Today, Doc and Wine to Water continue to help stricken peoples repair and maintain water- containment systems in places like Darfur, Cambodia, Uganda, and Haiti.

Doc is a regular, rough-and-tumble guy who loves booze, music, and his Harley- but he also wanted to help. Wine to Water is a gripping story about braving tribal warfare and natural disasters and encountering fascinating characters in far-flung regions of the world. It is also an authoritative account of a global crisis and an inspirational tale that proves how ordinary people can improve the world.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Africa, Sudan, Biography, Travel, Book Club

308 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 5, 2012

About the author

Doc Hendley is the founder and current president of Wine to Water. Wine To Water is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit aid organization focused on providing clean water to needy people around the world. Doc Hendley and Wine to Water have worked to provide clean water and sanitation in many countries including Sudan, India, Cambodia, Uganda, Ethiopia, Peru, South Africa, and Kenya. Doc responded to the 2010 Haiti earthquake by bringing a water purification system to be implemented within disaster areas.

Doc first envisioned the concept of Wine to Water in 2003 while bartending and playing music in nightclubs around Raleigh, North Carolina. In January 2004, the first fundraiser was held at a local bar in Raleigh. With the funds raised during the event, Doc traveled to Darfur, Sudan and began installing water systems for victims of the government supported genocide. Doc resided in Sudan for approximately one year. Upon his return to the United States, he began to focus all his energy on developing Wine to Water programs in other countries and has received a great deal of attention in the local and national media.

Reviews

[Sudhir Waghmode · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is simple but an extraordinary life story. This is story of how an aimless guy working as bartender turns into visionary. Let me give glimpse of this book
Doc was young guy enjoying the life to full extent. But soon he realized, life is not only meant for enjoyment, this was not the life he wanted. He decided to help others so sat in-fronts for computer and searched on internet. He came to know about the problem of water crisis. He launched the wine to water event to raise money. He raised enough money but now problem was - how to utilise this money? He came in contact with NGO who unexpectedly offered him job to work in Sudan with all his money for his own water-project there. And this was the point from where his extraordinary journey of life starts and this is what book is about!!You should read it.
This book is not just collection of events or not about what he achieved or what he lost. "It is a conversation with himself"

[Bonnie Irwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was unsure of this book when I started: Aimless undergrad eventually finds himself trying to save the world. Hendley won we me over with his bravery and persistence, however. Starting his life of service in an area of Darfur that the UN would not even enter, he displays sensitivity to local people and their needs, but also suffers from anger and indignation when those he tries to help are attacked by their fellow citizens. The fact that he physically and mentally survives Darfur and then eventually figure out how to expand his good deeds, even while dealing with a good dose of personal trauma makes for an inspiring story.

[Meaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's nice to read a book about a third-world NGO that isn't depressing and doesn't make its founder out to be some kind of saint. Doc Hendley manages both of those things. A feckless young man, he had no direction in life until he came up with his "Wine to Water" idea. I admired his honesty about his own flaws, and the book also opened my eyes to the difficulty of working in that region of Africa. Well-done.

[John P. Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent true story of a man who did some amazing things to help alleviate the global water shortage.

[Sheila DeChantal · Rating 5 out of 5]

What does wine tasting and clean water in Sudan have in common?

Doc Hendley.

Doc Hendley was born into a Christian family. His father a Pastor, his mother a devout follower, and his siblings following in their footsteps. Yet while Doc believed in God... he was more in his Harley, drinks with friends, and making a living bar-tending. He preferred to lay low in life, Doc just wanted to do his own thing and be left to himself to do it.

Then one night after having a dream that left him with the words "wine to water" in his head... he spent some time on Google and was shocked at what he discovered:

One in every six people do not have access to clean water
In developing countries, women and children walk 4 or 5 hours to get water each day
Unclean water kills a child every twenty seconds

An idea was born. With a little help from his friends, Doc organized the first Wine to Water charity event. In a nightclub with a Deejay and many donated cases of wine, they opened up the event on Saturday February 4 , 2004 to more than 300 people attending. They made over $6,000 dollars... and that was just the beginning...

Little did Doc know at the time that he would be traveling to one of the world's most dangerous hot spots: Darfur, Sudan, in the name of clean water.

How can I describe this book? Mostly I found it interesting. I loved the descriptions of Sudan, and what Doc experiences, from my own time in a impoverish country, I could imagine quite well what is must have been like. And it was also heart breaking. When Doc describes going out to the one shack of a restaurant one day with one of his team members and each eating a whole chicken before they see the small boy inching towards their table, bone thin and half starved with tears in his eyes... I had to sit the book down and compose myself.

Can you imagine never having enough to eat? Never having experienced a restaurant? Can you imagine seeing someone come to where you live in the world... with things you never have had - clean clothes and the means to eat when hungry?

This book really touched me. Not only did it give me a closer look at a country that struggles to have clean water, but also a look at how we can make a difference. I sit in a home as I am believing all of you do as well, where the water is clean and unlimited. It's easy to forget that is not the case for everyone... and I appreciate what Doc has written here to remind me that in whatever way I can...I need to make a difference either small or large, in some way in our world.

[Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

From http://weeksnotice.blogspot.com/2012/...

I read Doc Hendley's Wine to Water. What a really cool book. It is the first person narrative of a guy from North Carolina who felt pretty aimless until he decided to try and do something simple yet critical for people in the most poverty and conflict-stricken parts of the world: get them clean water.

The bulk of the book focuses on his work in Sudan, where he helped fill large water bladders, restore wells, distribute chlorine tablets, and otherwise help get clean water to people suffering from all kinds of water-borne ailments (not to mention go to parts of the country no westerner--and not even most Sudanese--ever sees). Then he built an organization to support it. What he did (and continues to do) is pretty remarkable, but this is not a braggart's account. He's frank about his shortcomings and failings along with his successes. The writing is engaging and conversational.

For Hendley, one key to his work was helping other people become self-sufficient. You help install wells, but you teach the local population how to do it in the future and then maintain them. As he noted, it is both cost-effective and empowering. His work continues, as you can see here.

[ManOfLaBook.com]

Wine to Water by Doc Hend­ley is a non-fiction mem­oir of the author start­ing the Wine to Water non-profit. The char­ity brings clean water to many parts of the world.

A small town bar­tender named Doc Hend­ley launched a wine tast­ing events to help bring aware­ness to clean water projects around the world. Instead of donat­ing the money, Doc found him­self being an anchor pres­ence and start­ing his own char­ity – Wine to Water.

Fac­ing Jan­jaweed ter­ror­ists, mass mur­der, admin­is­tra­tive red tape and other chal­lenges, Doc man­aged to stretch the charity’s money to bring clean water to many deserv­ing peo­ple around the world.

Wine to Water by Doc Hend­ley, a CNN hero, is an inspir­ing book told in the prose of the liked and endear­ing author. While never own­ing a motor­cy­cle I have hung out in one or two biker’s bars, met peo­ple much like Doc described in his book and always felt wel­comed – even with the tough­est crowd.

The high­light of the book for me was Doc’s inge­nu­ity get­ting water and equip­ment to remote places around the world. Sur­viv­ing some dan­ger­ous, almost deadly events, los­ing friends and fac­ing hur­dles from bureau­crats, local and inter­na­tional will break most peo­ple – but Doc kept on. Wit­ness­ing gov­ern­ment spon­sored geno­cide would have most peo­ple run­ning for the hills – but not Doc.

The story was well paced, easy to read and inter­est­ing. Doc doesn’t mince words about his expe­ri­ence, the peo­ple he worked with and met, or the orga­ni­za­tions he worked with or for. Being the son of a preacher man the book does evoke some reli­gious aspects – not in a preachy way but some, I felt, in the wrong spots.

The book is told in the charm­ing voice of Doc, if there was a ghost­writer involved, it cer­tainly didn’t seem like it to me. The book might have needed a pro­fes­sional touch in some places, but then it might have lost its charm and I think the author/editor/publisher deci­sion to live it in Doc’s voice was a good one.

For more reviews and bookish posts please visit: http://www.ManOfLaBook.com

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very uplifting story of what one person can do when they see a need and put everything they have into filling it. Doc Hendley is the son of a minister but did not immediately follow his father into a ministry. He struggled along in his life working as a bartender in various small, seedy bars. Stumbling into the career he found he had a knack for fixing drinks and for listening.
He learned about the horrors going on in Darfur and felt a calling to do something - but what did he know. He knew wine. So he held a series of wine tastings raising more money than he thought he could. He wanted that money to go directly where it was needed - he didn't want it to get caught up in bureaucratic paperwork so he educated himself and he went to the source, Darfur and learned that a lack clean water was used as a weapon.


He set up his own non-profit and started helping those in the most need acquire the most basic of requirements - water. He found himself on the wrong end of the Janjaweed many a time but still he fought to bring clean water to those who needed it.


The book is very inspiring and while the writing sometimes fails to convey either the necessary suspense or feeling it was still a most compelling tale. Doc Hendley obviously found himself in his project and his passion comes through. He never thought that one person could make a significant change but lo and behold - he did. It is certainly a book worth reading; it will inspire you.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doc Hendley, a bartender who enjoys drinking and riding his Harley, decides to do something to aid people throughout the world who do not have access to clean water. This book details the year he spends in Darfur striving to bring clean water to IDPs (internally displaced persons or refugees), with a few chapters at the end detailing his further efforts in bringing clean water to everyone throughout the world. Emails to and from family and friends are interspersed throughout the text. I found the emails to disrupt the flow of the narrative.

I enjoyed this book because I found Hendley likeable. The story is told in a straight-forward manner that makes him seem genuine. He talks about some of the cultural differences he faces (such as a male community leader holding his hand as he shows him his village), the tragic conditions he witnesses in Darfur, his growth as a person, and his own reflections that impact the way his humanitarian work proceeds.

I most admired the way that Hendley speaks of the people that he aids. It's more than respect--it's that he recognizes the dignity that each person on this earth deserves.

[Becki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good memoir/story!!! The passion that Doc has for helping people is a characteristic that I wish we all had. Definitely a God-given gift. As I was reading I wondered if he realized that these callings and nudges that he was having were from God. He did. He is a different kind of Christian than those we typically see in the American church. He wants to be like the Jesus who spent time with the lepers and the prisoners. Not the pretend Jesus that the American church has created. Love this guys heart. Plus it was great to read about the world outside my little comfort zone that I have created. The horrors that people have to go thru. Walking 2 to 4 miles a day for something that I get just by turning on a handle. We all pray "God help them!!" But what we really want is for God to send someone else to help them. Good work Doc. Maybe I should host a Wine To Water event.

[Emily Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wine to Water: A Bartender's Quest to Bring Clean Water to the World
This book was decent- though the author was very informal and not a superb writer, you could tell he really cared about his mission. But the the casual Christian superiority and subtle misogyny he espoused threw me off, and prevented me from enjoying this book as much as I could. By no means do I think this was intentional, it was just in his way of thinking and viewing the world. However, the organization he started clearly does good work, and this book inspired me to donate and begin some volunteerism as my own. It is definitely a worthwhile read, and makes you realize how truly lucky you are.

[Mitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book on several counts, but mainly because the author is so not at all what you'd expect to find going into a death zone to deliver life-saving water to innocent victims.

He was mostly a bartending party-guy before he went, though he came from a Christian background. He also did things with a directness and a willingness to get his hands dirty.

I had a suspicion that his good ole' boy image was a bit put on as I read deeper into the book...after all, his experiences changed him so he came back different than when he went over, certainly.

I also feel like he probably had some clashes with the establishment at Samaritan's Purse, though the book merely glanced at that. Perhaps I'm wrong.

In any case, it was interesting to read and I definitely recommend it...parts of it resonated with my own experiences.

[Viktor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though this book is hardly about wine, it is tremendously insightful and inspiring! The author has a huge heart and an even larger work ethic and passion! He writes in a very honest, easy-to-read, down-to-earth style that immediately grabs your attention. It is quite amazing to learn about such a troubled area of the world and how Doc essentially creates a major charitable organization from scratch. His steadfast belief in the right of all people - good or bad - to have access to clean drinking water is humbling, yet inspiring. I think this book should be required reading for high school students.

[Vincenzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wine to Water is about a bartenders quest to bring clean water to the world. At first i thought this book was going to be very boring and that i was was gonna have to fight my way through it but, as i read the first couple of pages i became very interested in the book and enjoyed it very much. I recommend this book to anyone as it will take you into the book and make you feel like you are there with him. I really enjoyed the E-Mails that he induced after tell each story as i though they were a great addition. Only thing i didn't like were the many unfinished story's he had which left me with many questions.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't recommend this book enough. It is a simple story of one person doing what he can to make the world a safer place by using local resources and local people to provide clean water. A well-written memoir that includes humor along-side the more sobering visuals of starving children, the horrors of civil war, and the frustration that comes with the knowledge that your project might be helping those that are causing the problem. If it would help, I would buy anyone intersted a copy just to spread the word of this amazing project.

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Water is a paradoxical thing. It covers most of our planet. We are 99% water and we all need to survive - not just for drinking, but for irrigation and the maintenance of agriculture whether you're in an African village and gardening or running a major corporate farm. Water is something human beings have fought over throughout our history and the fight continues today. It has been a developer's tool (see also the history of Los Angeles) and a tool for organized genocide (see almost any war). And think of this, the rule of thumb for survival is 3 hours without shelter, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food.

The paradox of water is that much of it is not potable. Water attracts all kinds of parasites and insects that carry quite deadly diseases - malaria, West Nile Virus, flu, cholera - the list goes on and on. Much of the world's water is so polluted with both chemical and bacterial waste and this water cannot be consumed without taking measures to make it potable. Some of it can never be consumed. Think of the Cuyahoga River - a river that caught fire so often that it prompted the development of clean water standards here in the U.S. Any time you think there's too much regulation think about our rivers on fire, rendered unsuitable for maintaining life at any level.

In the Third World the problem of getting potable water to people is an ongoing one. Here are some things to think about while you drink your Evian:

The water crisis claims more lives through disease than any war claims through guns.
At any given time, half the world's hospital beds are taken up by people suffering through water-related diseases
In Africa alone women and children spend 40 billion hours walking for water - time that could be used for education, agriculture - all the things needed to pull families out of poverty
In Darfur, the terrorizing violence between the black Africans and the Arab tribesmen, a genocide that killed over 100,000 civilians in one year was never a battle about religion - it was a struggle over land and water
In Cambodia, 74 percent of the country's deaths are directly related to the lack of clean water.

Wine to Water is a memoir about one young ordinary man's struggle to find himself and to become a part of enabling people get good drinking water and maintain their own wells and drinking water solutions so the access to water continues.

Doc reminds me of a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. about service:

Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.

This young man found himself and his calling. He also found that an individual can make a difference. To quote Mother Teresa, I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” Doc Hendley has amply demonstrated that he too can create many ripples - as can we all.

A story of horror, hope, and empowerment, Water to Wine embodies the best of the journey to discovery - the part where you narrow down how you can use your unique gifts to better the lives of all. The gift may be ambitioius and dangerous or as simple as smiling at people - even when you don't know them. Not a perfect read, but an inspiring one.

[Tracy Towley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance copy of Wine to Water from the publisher, and unlike most of the books publishers send me, this is something I would have picked up on my own. It is the story of Doc Hendley, founder of Wine to Water , a non-profit that works to bring clean drinking water to the most under-served areas of the world.

The story is certainly an inspiring one, and Mr. Hendley proves to be an impressive storyteller. I can usually smell a ghostwriter all over books like these, but I saw no evidence of that here - which is both good and bad. The voice was very authentic, and had a folksy charm that was, well, charming. Doc seems very much like the type of dude I'd sit down over some whiskey and beer, making big, drunken plans about how we were going to save the world. The difference is that Doc does more than talk, he walks away from his comfortable life to make an actual, concrete difference.

Traveling to some of the most at-need and least secure countries in the world isn't enough for him. No, he asks to go to the worst of the worst, to the places that no one - not even the U.N. - will go. He's very honest about his experiences there. He has some trouble adjusting to the customs of his host countries; specifically, he's initially uncomfortable with the custom of men holding hands with one another as a sign of friendship.

He learns an awful lot in the process of setting up his non-profit, from how to raise money, to how to deal with the politics of aide, and how to best help individual communities. I finished this book feeling empowered that anyone can really make a tangible difference in the world.

Of course, like I said, the absence of a ghostwriter wasn't all great, and the book was imperfect. The biggest issue I had was with a really rookie dialog mistake - constantly using people's names. People don't actually talk like that, and while I'm sure most readers wouldn't even notice, it drives me up the wall. Here's an example, though I have deleted a few sentences for the purposes of brevity.

"So, how's the old fund-raising coming, Doc?"

"It's actually going great, Matt."

"You know, Doc, we all believe in you, man."

"That means a lot, Matt."

The prose was very well paced and Doc is certainly an endearing gentleman, but I was not expecting was such a focus on religion. It wasn't preachy, but there was really a lot of discussion of God - which is not surprising, considering that the author's father is a Pastor. The religion wasn't a turnoff for me; after all, this is Doc's story, and he should record it as it happened and his feelings as he felt them. I was just surprised by it.

Overall, this book included everything necessary to tell the story without any superfluous fluff, it was well paced, and it was inspiring. I would certainly recommend it to a friend.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I met Doc in that square peg, round hole period when he became an insurance salesman. Every bit the outlaw he described, I remember Doc vividly amidst the polo and khaki-wearing insurance crowd. He had ridden from Boone to Raleigh on his Harley, jeans and leather jacket-clad, for a continuing education class. More than a handful of people stared, baffled, some even offering him help with directions. He must be in the wrong place. After you read his book and know what he’s capable of, you’ll know for certain that he was.

From a biker bar in Sanford, NC to Raleigh’s Glenwood South, Doc took the gift he had for bartending, better known as the gift of connecting with people, and merged it with a newfound interest in the world’s water crisis. He didn’t flesh out some grand plan. He simply started with the idea to host a hell of a party to raise money for a cause he believed in. In short, he acted. One Wine to Water event turned into another, and with money in hand, he turned to a family friend to help him designate an aid organization which would be a good steward of that money. With Doc’s zeal, he became that steward, unexpectedly signing on with Samaritan’s Purse. At his request, they sent him to the place they needed him most, Darfur. There, he could direct the money in any way he wanted.

I will never read news of that region in the same way again. Masses of people live in tent camps, refugees in their own country, in fear of being ambushed and brutally murdered. Waterborne illnesses plague the encampments, and children often walk hours every day to retrieve water for their families. Doc’s team of locals and international aid workers aimed to change that by distributing chlorine tabs, fixing water pumps, installing bladders and delivering truckloads of fresh water, and drilling new wells in areas where other relief organizations refused to go. The ongoing conflict between the Janjaweed and the Sudanese Liberation Army make any lasting impact nearly impossible. Restricting access to clean water had become a routine military tactic, but Doc views water as a basic human right.

Like Doc, I wonder if we can ever make true, meaningful impacts in a world gone so wrong. He contemplates how his crucial work gives people a chance at life, yet they live longer, only to see their daughters get raped and their sons join military forces. The book will leave you ruminating.

But at its core, I love how his memoir is proof that the scrappy, rebellious attitude that got him labeled an underachiever and an outcast in his younger days are exactly the qualities that prepared him to fearlessly cross into UN no-go zones and address the water crisis head on. He felt an urge to do more and be more. He questioned his purpose. And five years later CNN Heroes named him a top ten finalist. Today, Wine to Water has provided more than a quarter of a million people worldwide with clean water in 17 countries. He makes you wonder what you could do, if you turned “what if…?” into action.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

One man's vision really can change the world.

Dickson "Doc" Hendley was bartending and occasionally playing music in a Raleigh, North Carolina bar when he came to the realization that he wanted to do more with his life. As a young man, he founded the non-profit organization Wine to Water (winetowater.org) to bring clean water to humble people around the world who often had only contaminated water to drink and cook with. Believing that clean and safe water was a basic human right, Doc raised money, traveled to countries steeped in poverty and sometimes violence (Darfur and Haiti are featured in the book), and collaborated with local people and a team of aid workers to bring equipment, labor, and training to begin to achieve his vision of clean water for all.

This slim memoir initially appealed to me since I grew up in Raleigh, and even though the bar where Doc worked was after my time there, I had heard of it. Doc's honest and raw memoir touched my heart and soul. He was not a saint but was that rare individual who truly cares about others before himself. Doc's dad was a pastor, and his mother a strong Christian. Doc's firm grounding in faith helped him cope with some of the atrocities and heartbreak he witnessed along the way. He lost one of his local Darfur workers to senseless violence, and he almost lost his own life as well.

Doc's story is gritty and inspiring. I would never be brave enough to do what he did, and I suspect that since he is now married with children, he is more careful than he used to be about entering dangerous territories! But his stories are compelling, and thank goodness there are people like him who are willing to take huge risks to help others; sometimes this is the only way things get done.

From checking the website, Wine to Water is still going strong and the organization's mission has spread to other countries in need since the book was published in 2012.

Bravo, Doc! It warmed my heart to see a North Carolina native son achieving amazing things.

[Ari Hershberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I have known Doc for a few years and his book gave me a closer look at what he has went through to get to where he is today in his work to help people without the basic necessity of clean water. This is a very passionate man, who has used his ability to connect with people on a personal level and accomplish extraordinary results.

[Viana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard Doc speak at an event recently and was inspired by the work Wine to Water does as well as his approach to humanitarian work. The book goes into more detail but maintains the same mix of both dedication and heart break that came across in Doc's talk. This book is good for high schoolers and above.

[Clara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an awesome book. The details and descriptions of his surroundings brought this book to life. He also added some of his own personal feelings and life into this. To me I feel that it made it personal. He used a lot of detail about the areas that he did his work in. I will suggest this book to my other book readers that I know.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 I went to a Wine to Water gathering and heard Doc speak firsthand. I was given the book as a thank you for donating to the cause. Doc’s story of creating Wine to Water and spending a year in Darfur so he could provide safe drinking water is compelling. He has a super interesting story and is clearly passionate about what he does.

[Haley Blomquist · Rating 5 out of 5]

So inspiring!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wine to Water is the uplifting and heart-breaking personal journey of a young man finding his calling in life. Dickson “Doc” Hendley is the son of a preacher who spent many years trying to discover his true passion in life. He knew he loved Harley motorcycles, playing his guitar, and being a bartender in North Carolina. But it wasn’t until he met a woman who told him about her husband’s work at an aid organization called Samaritan’s Purse that Doc felt his interest truly perked. Doing research on his own, he discovered that there is a vast worldwide water crisis. Disturbed by this knowledge, Doc put together a “wine to water” event at a local bar to raise awareness of the crisis and raise money.

After trying to donate the money to Samaritan’s Purse, Doc was roped in by the organization to see for himself the crisis first hand. Asked to be sent to the worse place in the world, Doc was sent to Darfur in 2004. Once there, Doc went to the UN “no-go” hot spots to help the people that other aid organizations didn’t assist. First hand he discovered the atrocities of a government sponsored genocide. Although he found himself mostly against the Janjaweed terrorists, he also helped them out to have clean drinking water. He also realized that while he sided with the SLA rebels, they were not saints.

On the ground in Darfur, Doc learned that he was good working with people and solving problems. Instead of putting in expensive new wells, he and his crew soon became experts at fixing the wells as a much cheaper alternative. He also learned that to truly achieve clean water, he had to educate the people on how to maintain and fix their own wells.

Doc faced many death defying experiences and also came face to face with pure evil. From it, he was able to find himself, his faith, and a future where he could continue to help those most at need. As Doc stated in the book, he realized that he didn’t have to be a perfect do-gooder, to do good in this world.

I found Doc to be a truly admirable person. His story was like himself, straightforward with no embellishments. His story was very interesting and also at times action packed. It starts with him and his convoy getting shot at and fleeing for their lives. To put your own life on the line to help those most in need is commendable, but Doc is never seeking the commendation. His story really gives the details of what was going on in Darfur, which I admit; I only had the slightest knowledge. Certain aspects of the story, such as when he meets young boy soldiers that show him where their teachers and fellow students were executed, brought me to tears.

Overall, Wine to Water puts a face to the worldwide water crisis while also telling a darn good story. It is a very fast book to read. In fact my only complaint about the book is that I wanted to know more details about the last five years of Doc’s life, it was glossed over. Book 2 – Wine to Water in Haiti?

[Malin Friess · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first impression of the book Wine to Water the story of Bartender in North Carolina turned well digging philanthropist in Sudan..was here comes a triumphalistic story of the Westerner coming to Africa holding an Orphan in his left hand while simultaneously digging a water well with his right hand. Well I was wrong.

A few times in Kenya while spending a weekend in Nairobi (to do grocery shopping or take care of issues as customs) we stayed at the Samaritan's Purse guest house. It was by reservation and was a going 6 bedroom apartment on the third floor with a shared kitchen (wasn't all that child friendly). Sometimes staying at this guest house was younger men who were serving in Sudan who were required to take 10 day R and R's after a 2 month shift. These men were much different than the other missionary families in Kenya. Missionaries typically I find are outgoing, warm, love to have deep conversations from the first minute you meet. They are sharing of possessions and information. Well these young men..were quiet, withdrawn, troubled..almost like some of my young veteran population from Iraq and Iran.

Doc Hendley was a bartender in North Carolina with no plan for his life. He ended up starting a charity called Wine to Water in which money is raised at bar's/wine tasting to raise awareness about the needs for clean water in the developing world. With his idea he was able to quickly raise around 5K per event. He didn't know quite how to spend it so he went to Samaritan's Purse and met a guy named Ken Isaacs (which was kind of interesting because we met him as well) to give the money to SP. Isaacs told Doc Hendley to keep the money and come work for us for a year to see what it is like.

Doc began a year contract with SP. Doc said send me to the hardest, most desperate place out there. Isaacs sent him to Sudan along with his son. You kind of have to be the cowboy type to survive...he was changed after enduring the death, suffering, and even having his own life threatened at gun point. Doc experienced severe culture shock returning home..and withdrew.

This book helped me better understand those who do emergency relief work (Maybe like Jason did in Haiti) under extreme pressure and possibly under threats of violence day to day...and how it affects them.

I give it 4 stars..he is not a bad writer for a bartender.

[Scot · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a quick read and inspiring on many levels, the tale of a heavy drinking, Harley riding good ol’ boy bartender from North Carolina with a lot of charisma who one day decided to help people in far off places who desperately needed water get it, and thus a non-profit was born.

The author provides compelling details from someone who was there on the suffering in Dafur, and the plights of the black refugees who weren’t getting basic needs met even while having to abide, periodically, the genocidal incursions of the deadly Arab Janjaweed (with the implicit or covert support of the government of Sudan itself!). His brief chapters are interspersed with e-mails sent home recounting events and encouraging ongoing financial and prayer support for Wine for Water, his nonprofit.

I wish more people were even a smidgen as service-to-others-oriented as Doc Hendley is, the world would be a better place. Still, there are a few elements in this recounting that make me a bit uneasy to hold him up as a role model to young people. He is incredibly lucky (or blessed, depending on your point of view) in that he does a lot of brash, foolhardy things, and doesn’t suffer that much—certainly not compared to others we encounter in this book. He doesn’t really care much about schooling, and on one level, demonstrates you don’t really need it if you can learn to charm people to get what you want. He advocates bare-knuckled fisticuffs with a bro rather than ever talking things over with a counselor should you have emotional issues that concern you. Also, there is an undercurrent of not only helping these suffering people but getting them Bibles or witnessing for Christ in front of them. Now, this is Muslim on Muslim violence we are talking about here in Dafur, and while I can understand why some people’s faiths might call them to evangelize in this context, I think that adds unneeded complexities and could well make things worse for some—so when I read the section about how happy Don was when his Muslim friend in Dafur read the Bible he lent him and averred it was a great book of truths, I know I was supposed to be pleased—and perhaps many in the target audience were—but this made me uneasy, and seemed inconsistent with what the book often claimed his true service focus was.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doc Hendley is a sincere man. He also approaches aid, via his non-profit, in a way that the writer Paul Theroux advocates in his book about Africa, Dark Star Safari, which strongly criticized aid groups for not turning over control of problems and solutions to locals. Kudos to Doc for seeing things practically. And for being a regular guy who aspires to something better, giving something to the world. Very inspirational. But the "Christian" emphasis of the book bothered me. Difficult to use for a discussion book. I think it's appropriate for a faith-based book discussion group in a church, certainly. But.... while Hendley's faith seems sincere and real, I was a bit put off by constant references to prayer and Christianity. To me the acts speak for themselves. But he's a southerner from the Bible Belt so I shouldn't be surprised by his need to witness. It's just that my eyes glaze over when people talk about prayer -- I pray every day, but I don't see the need to talk about it, since talking seems like self-aggrandizement. Just grab a rosary or like Hendley's crew in Africa, a prayer rug, and do it. Spare me the talk. Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now! I'm also trying to see the book as a conversation starter. How to approach something that most everyone is going to say is great....and then? I've led so many discussions, and the best always require someone to play devil's advocate, get a dialogue going. Where is the dialogue going to come from here? All I can think of is the need sometimes for an aid organization to make compromises as far as greasing wheels....but is that enough? He also talks a lot about drinking, which makes it a somewhat dicey proposition for a teen discussion, since he constantly says a bottle of local brew did more for him than a therapist. Yikes! Maybe so, but there are some who would really take exception to this as a discussion book for teens. I might recommend it, but it's not the drinking per se, but the general, it's ok to be wild that makes it difficult to use for a teen discussion. Yeah, it makes the guy interesting, a bar-tending sinner turned prayerful but unique in his mission. I like it okay, but ..... Hmmmm, I'm going to have to give this one a lot of thought ......

[Megan Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW so much better than I expected!!! Doc Hendley did an outstanding job telling his story, not in highly literary style, but so straight forward, I felt like I was having a conversation with my best friend, or better yet, with someone who shares the same soul - confused about life, looking for purpose, no super hero abilities, a passion for music, and yeah, even that need to be alone and free riding motorcycles. Much in the way I've reached out to non-profits and excelled at my efforts with them, as well as traveling overseas to help those of another culture, Doc Hendley did just that with his Wine to Water efforts. In this book he writes an inspirational account of his fight for humanity - the basic need of water. I believe any type of reader could find motivation through Doc's story.

The part that resonated with me most was when he wrote, "I was never the fastest pour in Raleigh...I definitely wasn't the model aid worker...but I was very successful because I connected with people and developed relationships with [them]." And that's exactly how I feel, especially with my students. Doc continues, "I realized that what I needed to do was to empower the locals, give them the tools they needed to solve their own problems and become self-sufficient." And that's EXACTLY what I have always strived to do with my students - give them to tools to have them think on their own! My classroom website tag line was "empowering students since 2010" and Doc has done and continues to do the same thing through his Wine to Water campaign with people throughout the world.

An absolutely incredible, inspirational story!!!

[Jennifer Riddle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I like how Doc led us on his journey. I think a lot of us find ourselves in similar situations where we have no idea about the hardships of others. We get stuck in our own lives and our own concerns and don't step back to look from a different perspective. I appreciate how his feelings changed as he matured. He met a woman and fell in love so, suddenly, he didn't only have himself to worry about anymore. When he had his first child, his perspective changed again. He talks about the children having to concern themselves with getting water instead of worrying about getting an education. He mentions a ball of trash the kids play with as if it were a soccer ball in a rare moment when they were able to play. It's hard to fathom how their parents must feel. As a parent I am often trying to help my children make good choices in their lives. It is stressful and fear of failure is a constant. I can't imagine trying to raise children in a world with no choices. I can see why he needed time to get use to being home again. It's almost like being deployed. Some of his experiences like being shot at, losing his friend Ishmael to violence, seeing the partially consumed body parts on the streets of Haiti are all traumatizing. I'm sure he shed a few years during his one year in Darfur.
It's also pretty cool that he lives in Boone, NC. I know that area! I know what bar he met his wife in. I know where the Samaritan's Purse offices are, and it's nice to feel a connection to the author.