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Bearing the Bruise: A Life Graced by Haiti
Ethan Casey first visited Haiti in 1982, when he was 16 years old, and has returned many times since. His early experience in Haiti influenced his later experiences and responses to other countries, including the five years he lived in Asia in the 1990s. To Ethan, Haiti feels like home.
The January 12, 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti compelled Ethan to revisit the country and complete a book, which he had been writing in drafts and versions since 1994. To complete the book, he returned to Haiti twice in 2010 and once in 2011. Ethan believes that Haiti “has been a repeating grace note” in the adventures of his life.
The January 12, 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti compelled Ethan to revisit the country and complete a book, which he had been writing in drafts and versions since 1994. To complete the book, he returned to Haiti twice in 2010 and once in 2011. Ethan believes that Haiti “has been a repeating grace note” in the adventures of his life.
- GenresNonfiction
310 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2012
About the author
Ethan Casey
10 books32 followersEthan Casey is a veteran journalist and author of books of topical narrative travel. His books include Home Free: An American Road Trip (2013), Bearing the Bruise: A Life Graced by Haiti (2012), and Alive and Well in Pakistan: A Human Journey in a Dangerous Time (updated 10th-anniversary edition, 2014). He lives in Seattle. Full bio and more at www.ethancasey.com.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 13, 2016
In this book Ethan Casey gives us a personal account of Haiti including political and social issues encountered from his many travels there. Certain passages can be quite heart-wrenching. If you are not too familiar with Haiti, this book will be quite an education. I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
April 7, 2014
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
This book is obviously very personal for Mr. Casey. It feels as though he kept a journal and then decided he had to tell his story of Haiti. He took all of the parts he thought were crucial to getting his point across (even if those parts don’t appear to the reader to be directly related to Haiti, they are in Casey’s eyes) and edited it to read more like a book.
The first 8 chapters were very difficult for me to get through. I didn’t want to read about the various locations Casey was in while thinking/hearing about Haiti. I wanted to read about Haiti. The following chapters were also difficult to get through, but for very different reasons. The tragedy of it all is heartbreaking. I had to put the book down several times in order to regroup emotionally. I can relate my own experiences in Haiti to much of what Casey recounts. I will probably re-read Chapter 9 to the end many more times as one way to keep Haiti on my mind.
One thing that struck me was the repeated concern at various points in time that interest in Haiti had peaked. That has been a concern of mine since my first trip in early 2013, 3 years after the earthquake when interest had clearly faded. It does seem as though the world has forgotten Haiti. It was very encouraging to read about Casey’s relationship with Haiti, starting as a 16 year old and continuing throughout his life. Even after so many years and experiences with Haiti, he still has hope. His experienced hope is an encouragement to my fledgling hope.
This book is obviously very personal for Mr. Casey. It feels as though he kept a journal and then decided he had to tell his story of Haiti. He took all of the parts he thought were crucial to getting his point across (even if those parts don’t appear to the reader to be directly related to Haiti, they are in Casey’s eyes) and edited it to read more like a book.
The first 8 chapters were very difficult for me to get through. I didn’t want to read about the various locations Casey was in while thinking/hearing about Haiti. I wanted to read about Haiti. The following chapters were also difficult to get through, but for very different reasons. The tragedy of it all is heartbreaking. I had to put the book down several times in order to regroup emotionally. I can relate my own experiences in Haiti to much of what Casey recounts. I will probably re-read Chapter 9 to the end many more times as one way to keep Haiti on my mind.
One thing that struck me was the repeated concern at various points in time that interest in Haiti had peaked. That has been a concern of mine since my first trip in early 2013, 3 years after the earthquake when interest had clearly faded. It does seem as though the world has forgotten Haiti. It was very encouraging to read about Casey’s relationship with Haiti, starting as a 16 year old and continuing throughout his life. Even after so many years and experiences with Haiti, he still has hope. His experienced hope is an encouragement to my fledgling hope.
November 5, 2014
I won a copy of this book through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
Upfront I'll admit the book is dense. It's not hard to read in the sense that it's difficult but there's a lot of references to political policy and different situations within situations so the book requires some thought and perhaps a bit of googling if, like me, you aren't familiar with policies surrounding Haiti in the 90's. That being said the book is incredibly inspiring and a wonderful account of what it really means to get involved and be invested in a country's future. I appreciated that the book was not American-centric despite Ethan Casey being an American and his experiences read as genuine and heartfelt. It's really the kind of book that makes you feel things while you think and is definitely worth the read.
Upfront I'll admit the book is dense. It's not hard to read in the sense that it's difficult but there's a lot of references to political policy and different situations within situations so the book requires some thought and perhaps a bit of googling if, like me, you aren't familiar with policies surrounding Haiti in the 90's. That being said the book is incredibly inspiring and a wonderful account of what it really means to get involved and be invested in a country's future. I appreciated that the book was not American-centric despite Ethan Casey being an American and his experiences read as genuine and heartfelt. It's really the kind of book that makes you feel things while you think and is definitely worth the read.
January 2, 2014
I saw Mr. Casey speak about his travels and wanted to buy his books to support his efforts. Once I read it I realized this book does a great job outlining issues that are going on around the world that we should all know about. It doesn't inform us in a way that shames us all into feeling bad for the lives we have, but just offers us another perspective that allows us to understand humanity and each other better. Thanks for the book and compassionate views.
May 29, 2014
A well written book that offers compassionates views of others.
January 2, 2016
What if Bill Bryson didn't or couldn't maintain a sense of humor while writing about his travels? Then again, what if the places that Bill Bryson roamed and described were such that they made it difficult to maintain a sense of humor? You might have Ethan Casey, who is best known for his on-the-ground-with-the-common-person descriptions of Pakistan and Haiti.
In “Bearing the Bruise: A Life Graced by Haiti”, Casey tells of the people and circumstances that he encountered during several trips to the western part of the island of Hispanola. Casey describes the people and their opinions, their hospitality and their hot buttons. He talks about the West's charitable efforts, where they succeed and where they fall short. And he talks about the government – Haiti's, and the United States, and how the two are linked.
I found the book to provide excellent background into the people and issues of the country, from an outsider who tries to understand things from the perspective of a local. However, at over 300 pages, I sometimes found it to be a bit too in-depth … at times, it seemed he was conducting and documenting a person-by-person census to determine whether or not the population favored the return of Aristide to the country and/or to power.
At times, the book dragged me in, forcing me to read on. Other times, Casey dealt with a subject in such minute detail that I felt I had to put the book down and find something more interesting. Still, I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the country and people of Haiti.
RATING: 3 stars.
DISCLOSURE: This book was provided free of charge in a random draw. There was an implied request for an honest review, which you are reading now. There was also an implied request for promptness – which just goes to show that you can't always get everything.
In “Bearing the Bruise: A Life Graced by Haiti”, Casey tells of the people and circumstances that he encountered during several trips to the western part of the island of Hispanola. Casey describes the people and their opinions, their hospitality and their hot buttons. He talks about the West's charitable efforts, where they succeed and where they fall short. And he talks about the government – Haiti's, and the United States, and how the two are linked.
I found the book to provide excellent background into the people and issues of the country, from an outsider who tries to understand things from the perspective of a local. However, at over 300 pages, I sometimes found it to be a bit too in-depth … at times, it seemed he was conducting and documenting a person-by-person census to determine whether or not the population favored the return of Aristide to the country and/or to power.
At times, the book dragged me in, forcing me to read on. Other times, Casey dealt with a subject in such minute detail that I felt I had to put the book down and find something more interesting. Still, I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the country and people of Haiti.
RATING: 3 stars.
DISCLOSURE: This book was provided free of charge in a random draw. There was an implied request for an honest review, which you are reading now. There was also an implied request for promptness – which just goes to show that you can't always get everything.
March 11, 2014
I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway. I have not received any compensation other than the book in exchange for the review.
Bearing the Bruise is a hard book for me to review. The author is sincere. The condition of Haiti is something to be concerned about. The book itself is well written. However, it was a chore to read. If the book wasn't a Goodreads giveaway, I would not have finished it.
Why is it a chore? The same people and situations repeat themselves over and over. Even though the book is barely 300 pages long, it would have had as much, if not more impact if it was half the length.
I understand that the people of Haiti are close to Mr. Casey's heart and that he wants the world to understand the problems that Haiti's people face. I admire Mr. Casey's dedication to Haiti and its people. I think, though, that I would have had the same admiration after 100 pages or even 50 pages.
Bearing the Bruise would be an excellent resource for someone writing a paper on Haiti, for someone who is planning on volunteering there, or as background material for someone considering documenting Haiti's problems. The book itself, though, just isn't engaging enough for to recommend to a casual reader.
Bearing the Bruise is a hard book for me to review. The author is sincere. The condition of Haiti is something to be concerned about. The book itself is well written. However, it was a chore to read. If the book wasn't a Goodreads giveaway, I would not have finished it.
Why is it a chore? The same people and situations repeat themselves over and over. Even though the book is barely 300 pages long, it would have had as much, if not more impact if it was half the length.
I understand that the people of Haiti are close to Mr. Casey's heart and that he wants the world to understand the problems that Haiti's people face. I admire Mr. Casey's dedication to Haiti and its people. I think, though, that I would have had the same admiration after 100 pages or even 50 pages.
Bearing the Bruise would be an excellent resource for someone writing a paper on Haiti, for someone who is planning on volunteering there, or as background material for someone considering documenting Haiti's problems. The book itself, though, just isn't engaging enough for to recommend to a casual reader.
February 1, 2014
This was a First Reads book. Although it was not the book that I won, I did read it.
Personally there were too many untranslated quotes. I found the first part very confusing as it seemed to change places too often and too many other authors quoted.
Part 2 was part of the political history of Haiti. Since I am not familiar with it, a time line would have been helpful.
Part 3 dealt with the earthquake. This was for me more cohesive.
The book seemed to pose a question of who was to blame for conditions in Haiti eg. missionaries or politicians and rural (poor) or city (wealthy). There were many contrasts to Pakistan.
It seemed as if the author was deriding the help both monetary and in goods(page 304 the lasagne)that was given to Haiti.
It wasn't until page 298 paragraph 6 that I think I found the what I think the author intended to be the gist of the book. Sometimes well meaning and successful actions have unexpected and not necessarily helpful results.
Personally there were too many untranslated quotes. I found the first part very confusing as it seemed to change places too often and too many other authors quoted.
Part 2 was part of the political history of Haiti. Since I am not familiar with it, a time line would have been helpful.
Part 3 dealt with the earthquake. This was for me more cohesive.
The book seemed to pose a question of who was to blame for conditions in Haiti eg. missionaries or politicians and rural (poor) or city (wealthy). There were many contrasts to Pakistan.
It seemed as if the author was deriding the help both monetary and in goods(page 304 the lasagne)that was given to Haiti.
It wasn't until page 298 paragraph 6 that I think I found the what I think the author intended to be the gist of the book. Sometimes well meaning and successful actions have unexpected and not necessarily helpful results.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews