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No, I Don't Get Danger Money: Confessions of an Accidental War Correspondent
A no-holds-barred account of what it was really like to cover some of the most dangerous and extraordinary moments in recent history
'I woke up every day expecting to fall asleep in a different country. A blur of breaking news, airports, body armour, border crossings and bomb shelters. And wads of foreign cash.
We were charging on adrenaline and there was no place we wouldn't have gone.
Okay, except Russia. But only because the President's not my biggest fan.
I didn't get paid danger money. I would have done it all for free.'
A world away from the Waikato farm she grew up on, Lisette Reymer suddenly found herself reporting from one of the most dangerous places on earth. And she kept going back.
Driven by a desire to tell people's stories, wherever they are; the right stories, not the easy ones - Lisette's time as Europe Correspondent coincided with some of the biggest global headlines in decades.
From inside Ukraine to the Queen's death, the war between Israel and Gaza, Donald Trump's indictment, the King's coronation, the region's deadliest natural disaster in a century, the Tokyo Olympics, the hunger crisis in Ethiopia and a revolving door of UK prime ministers; she has seen and done more in three years than many journalists do in a lifetime.
This is a funny, brutally honest account of what it was really like to cover some of the most perilous and extraordinary moments in recent history.
Take your seat. It's in the front row.
'I woke up every day expecting to fall asleep in a different country. A blur of breaking news, airports, body armour, border crossings and bomb shelters. And wads of foreign cash.
We were charging on adrenaline and there was no place we wouldn't have gone.
Okay, except Russia. But only because the President's not my biggest fan.
I didn't get paid danger money. I would have done it all for free.'
A world away from the Waikato farm she grew up on, Lisette Reymer suddenly found herself reporting from one of the most dangerous places on earth. And she kept going back.
Driven by a desire to tell people's stories, wherever they are; the right stories, not the easy ones - Lisette's time as Europe Correspondent coincided with some of the biggest global headlines in decades.
From inside Ukraine to the Queen's death, the war between Israel and Gaza, Donald Trump's indictment, the King's coronation, the region's deadliest natural disaster in a century, the Tokyo Olympics, the hunger crisis in Ethiopia and a revolving door of UK prime ministers; she has seen and done more in three years than many journalists do in a lifetime.
This is a funny, brutally honest account of what it was really like to cover some of the most perilous and extraordinary moments in recent history.
Take your seat. It's in the front row.
- GenresNonfiction
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2025
About the author
Lisette Reymer
1 book1 followerLisette Reymer now works at Stuff as Senior Journalist - International and National Affairs.
Lisette's work in Ukraine saw her win won Reporter of the Year at the NZTV awards for 2024; Best Reporter at the 2023 Voyager Media Awards as well as Best Coverage of a Major News Event.
Lisette's work in Ukraine saw her win won Reporter of the Year at the NZTV awards for 2024; Best Reporter at the 2023 Voyager Media Awards as well as Best Coverage of a Major News Event.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
July 7, 2025
Read the acknowledgements page. Rated it 5 stars. IYKYK
February 3, 2026
I found this quite compelling as Lisette described the hectic pace of life being the Europe Correspondent for Newshub. It amazed me that 1 journalist and 1 cameraman could do so much and their days were incredibly long given they seemed to be expected to do so very many live crosses for the various news bulletins in NZ. Lisette's account of their times in Ukraine were especially moving because its now nearly 4 years and the struggle goes on. The coverage of the Hamas attack in Oct 23 was another reminder of the tragedy that escalated there. Her initial reports were focused on the suffering of Istaeli families and she couldn't have known how the Israeli response would turn into genocide as they brought their incredible firepower to bear on Gaza. And in between covering tragedies there were less stressful events which carried a more positive emotional impact.
August 2, 2025
3.5 stars but rounding up.
This was an interesting read about some key history-making moments of recent years told through the perspective of a NZ foreign correspondent. This offered a unique behind the lens look at what goes on behind the TV bulletin especially in high-stakes places like war-torn or natural disasters-stricken places and the chaos that can go on to get the news bulletin out live on air.
Where I struggled with this book was in some parts, it was quite repetitive and drawn out. There was only so many times I needed or wanted to read about booking flights etc. So sometimes it was quite a boring read. But mostly it was an interesting read despite that. Worth a read if journalism or history are your interests.
This was an interesting read about some key history-making moments of recent years told through the perspective of a NZ foreign correspondent. This offered a unique behind the lens look at what goes on behind the TV bulletin especially in high-stakes places like war-torn or natural disasters-stricken places and the chaos that can go on to get the news bulletin out live on air.
Where I struggled with this book was in some parts, it was quite repetitive and drawn out. There was only so many times I needed or wanted to read about booking flights etc. So sometimes it was quite a boring read. But mostly it was an interesting read despite that. Worth a read if journalism or history are your interests.
December 26, 2025
this entire book felt like i was meeting up at the pub with reymer and asked her how her trip went. hilarious, confronting and overall serving as fuel to my goal to become a correspondent.
September 3, 2025
Absolutely tore through this book! What an amazing deep dive into the life (off-camera) of a news correspondent. I'm equally in awe and envious of Lisette's expeditions to report on some of the biggest historical news events over the past 5 years - from the death of the Queen, to the war in Ukraine. This book is written like a novel, full of laughs but also lots of grief. This book is an absolute must-read!
August 13, 2025
What a great read & interesting life Lisette has had so far! What a cool kiwi 🙃
August 14, 2025
Loved this book, fantastic read
November 24, 2025
Great read. As a Kiwi myself there was much to connect to, and to ‘get’. As a reader there was lots to learn about the reality of what I had been watching unfold around the world. Her experiences on the job made for a both horrifying but sometimes fascinating read. Awesome book.
May 12, 2026
(The English review is placed beneath the Russian one)
В основном книги на тему текущего военного конфликта между Россией и Украиной можно разделить на две категории: пропаганда (с одной или другой стороны этого конфликта) и относительно объективные книги. Однако как показала эта книга, существует ещё один вариант и это скучные книги. Книги, которые читать просто скучно именно на данную тему, не так много и возможно это одна из немногих книг которую можно причислить именно к этой категории, т.е. к категории просто плохо написанных книг. Обычно, впрочем, я попадаю на книги, которые являются хорошо или плохо прикрытой пропагандой либо украинской позиции, либо российской.
Эту книгу назвать абсолютно объективной тоже нельзя, но и сказать, что она наполнена украинской пропагандой, тоже будет ошибкой. Книга написана с позиции Европы, т.е. откровенной государственной украинской пропаганды здесь нет, но есть чёткая европейская позиции на эту войну и это особенно заметно на примере отсутствия важных вопросов, как например, полное бездействие украинского правительства, полный провал эвакуации украинских граждан с территории, охваченной боевыми действиями и так далее. Для понимания этого военного конфликта необходимо иметь полную картину, но именно этого в книге нет. Впрочем, в книге нет даже самого главного: самой войны.
Это забавно, но автор описывает что угодно, но только не то, как выглядит эта война через призму европейского журналиста. Я хочу сказать, что непосредственно о российско-украинском военном конфликте в книге сказано, вернее, описано, не так много страниц. В таком случаи возникает вполне рациональный вопрос: чем заполнила автор свою книгу, если не описанием военных будней? Знаете, есть такой тип людей, о которых в России принято говорить, что он как чукча, поёт о том, что видит. Вот и автор этой книги описывает своё пребывание в Украине, как она познакомилась со своими «гидами», её мысли об отеле, о коллеге и о том, как они весело провели вечер с алкоголем. Другими словами, книга содержит абсолютно бесполезный трёп людей, которые путешествуют по незнакомой стране и описывают всё что видят и с кем общаются. Война в этой книге дана лишь мельком и это самый большой недостаток.
У автора получилось наполнить книгу вторичной информацией и информацией о своём видении это страны, но вот я ожидал, что автор опишет войну в Украине, а получил описание автора на фоне Украины. Учитывая, что автором книги является как бы профессиональный журналист, хочется спросить, как же так получилось, что автору книги совсем не нашлось, что сказать о том, чем свидетелем она якобы была или же она лишь изредка выезжала на место событий и большую часть времени провела в украинском отеле? Вроде нет, ибо в книге автор явно показывает, что она путешествует с охранниками по всей территории Украины, но тогда почему в книге нет описания войны? Я вот этого не понял. Я не понял, почему так много «Я» автора в книге и почему автор не смогла или не захотела показать военные будни той страны, которую она описывает. И это я не говорю про качество описываемых событий, один вот такой вот эпизод чего стоит:
We drove on to Kyiv the next morning, to where a missile had struck a playground in the central city. It had left a huge crater, as deep as I am tall (about 180 cm), and when we arrived it was cordoned off, but barely.
<…>
‘We had been playing here an hour before,’ one mother told me, pointing to her son and referencing the playground. ‘It’s one of our favourites.’ My mind was crowded with images of my own nieces and nephews playing on the local slides and monkey bars around New Zealand, and it seemed completely incomprehensible that their innocent and happy childhoods could ever be so cruelly shattered as they had been here.
It was getting late and dark, so we set up to quickly film some pieces to camera.
‘Step back a bit,’ Daniel instructed from behind the lens, and I shuffled back.
‘To the right,’ he added, and I shuffled again.
‘Nah, actually take a decent step right,’ he went again, still playing around to get the shot framed just right.
I moved as instructed and felt the ground give way beneath my right foot. I dropped, at high speed, down a manhole that had been covered in debris, stifling a squeal in an attempt not to draw any extra attention to myself — as if that were possible given I was now essentially doing the splits, which, let me assure you, is not something I am capable of doing. The metal lid to the manhole was now lopsided, crushing the one leg and half of my torso that was dangling underground, while my other leg was poking up out the top and my arms flailed around for help. It was unbelievably embarrassing to come to the site of a missile strike and almost die falling down a manhole. Aleks rushed to lift the metal covering off and free my leg, while Daniel yanked at my arm and got me out before I fell down the hole completely.
‘Right, are you ready?’ Daniel asked, hoisting the camera up again.
‘Because the light is almost gone …’
‘Yep, shall I take a step to the left instead, maybe?’
В общем, максимально странная и скучная книга, написанная, как мне кажется, исключительно по причине заработать побольше денег на хайповой теме, но не более.
P.S. Забыл отметить, что где-то четверть, а может и больше, посвящено темам которые вообще никак не связаны с темой войны, как например, её работа на территории Великобритании.
Generally speaking, books on the current military conflict between Russia and Ukraine can be divided into two categories: propaganda (from one side or the other of the conflict) and relatively objective books. However, as this book has shown, there is another option: boring books. There aren’t many books that are simply boring to read, and this may be one of the few that can be classified in this category—that is, as simply poorly written. Usually, though, I come across books that are—whether subtly or overtly—propaganda for either the Ukrainian or the Russian side.
This book cannot be called entirely objective either, but it would also be a mistake to say that it is filled with Ukrainian propaganda. The book is written from a European perspective; that is, there is no overt Ukrainian government propaganda here, but there is a clear European stance on this war, and this is particularly evident in the omission of important issues, such as the Ukrainian government’s complete inaction, the total failure to evacuate Ukrainian citizens from the war-torn territory, and so on. To understand this military conflict, one needs the full picture, but that is precisely what is missing from the book. In fact, the book lacks the most essential element: the war itself.
It’s funny, but the author describes just about everything except what this war looks like through the eyes of a European journalist. What I mean is that the book doesn’t actually devote—or rather, doesn’t describe—very many pages to the Russian-Ukrainian military conflict itself. This raises a perfectly reasonable question: what did the author fill her book with, if not a description of everyday life on the front lines? You know, there’s a type of person in Russia who’s often described as being like a Chukchi—singing about what they see. Well, the author of this book describes her stay in Ukraine, how she met her “guides,” her thoughts on the hotel, her colleague, and how they had a fun evening with alcohol. In other words, the book is full of utterly pointless ramblings by people traveling through an unfamiliar country and describing everything they see and everyone they meet. The war is only briefly touched upon in this book, and that is its biggest flaw.
The author has managed to fill the book with secondhand information and her own perspective on the country, but I was expecting her to describe the war in Ukraine, and instead, I got a description of the author set against the backdrop of Ukraine. Considering that the author is, in a sense, a professional journalist, I’m tempted to ask: how is it that the author had absolutely nothing to say about what she supposedly witnessed, or did she only occasionally visit the scene of events and spend most of her time in a Ukrainian hotel? Apparently not, since the book clearly shows that she travels with security guards throughout Ukraine, but then why is there no description of the war in the book? I just didn’t get that. I don’t understand why there is so much “I” in the book and why the author was unable or unwilling to depict the daily realities of war in the country she describes. And I’m not even talking about the quality of the events described; just this one episode alone is telling:
We drove on to Kyiv the next morning, to where a missile had struck a playground in the central city. It had left a huge crater, as deep as I am tall (about 180 cm), and when we arrived it was cordoned off, but barely.
<…>
‘We had been playing here an hour before,’ one mother told me, pointing to her son and referencing the playground. ‘It’s one of our favourites.’ My mind was crowded with images of my own nieces and nephews playing on the local slides and monkey bars around New Zealand, and it seemed completely incomprehensible that their innocent and happy childhoods could ever be so cruelly shattered as they had been here.
It was getting late and dark, so we set up to quickly film some pieces to camera.
‘Step back a bit,’ Daniel instructed from behind the lens, and I shuffled back.
‘To the right,’ he added, and I shuffled again.
‘Nah, actually take a decent step right,’ he went again, still playing around to get the shot framed just right.
I moved as instructed and felt the ground give way beneath my right foot. I dropped, at high speed, down a manhole that had been covered in debris, stifling a squeal in an attempt not to draw any extra attention to myself — as if that were possible given I was now essentially doing the splits, which, let me assure you, is not something I am capable of doing. The metal lid to the manhole was now lopsided, crushing the one leg and half of my torso that was dangling underground, while my other leg was poking up out the top and my arms flailed around for help. It was unbelievably embarrassing to come to the site of a missile strike and almost die falling down a manhole. Aleks rushed to lift the metal covering off and free my leg, while Daniel yanked at my arm and got me out before I fell down the hole completely.
‘Right, are you ready?’ Daniel asked, hoisting the camera up again.
‘Because the light is almost gone …’
‘Yep, shall I take a step to the left instead, maybe?’
All in all, it’s an incredibly strange and boring book, written, in my opinion, solely to make as much money as possible off a trendy topic—and nothing more.
P.S. I forgot to mention that about a quarter of the book—maybe even more—is devoted to topics that have absolutely nothing to do with the war, such as her work in the UK.
В основном книги на тему текущего военного конфликта между Россией и Украиной можно разделить на две категории: пропаганда (с одной или другой стороны этого конфликта) и относительно объективные книги. Однако как показала эта книга, существует ещё один вариант и это скучные книги. Книги, которые читать просто скучно именно на данную тему, не так много и возможно это одна из немногих книг которую можно причислить именно к этой категории, т.е. к категории просто плохо написанных книг. Обычно, впрочем, я попадаю на книги, которые являются хорошо или плохо прикрытой пропагандой либо украинской позиции, либо российской.
Эту книгу назвать абсолютно объективной тоже нельзя, но и сказать, что она наполнена украинской пропагандой, тоже будет ошибкой. Книга написана с позиции Европы, т.е. откровенной государственной украинской пропаганды здесь нет, но есть чёткая европейская позиции на эту войну и это особенно заметно на примере отсутствия важных вопросов, как например, полное бездействие украинского правительства, полный провал эвакуации украинских граждан с территории, охваченной боевыми действиями и так далее. Для понимания этого военного конфликта необходимо иметь полную картину, но именно этого в книге нет. Впрочем, в книге нет даже самого главного: самой войны.
Это забавно, но автор описывает что угодно, но только не то, как выглядит эта война через призму европейского журналиста. Я хочу сказать, что непосредственно о российско-украинском военном конфликте в книге сказано, вернее, описано, не так много страниц. В таком случаи возникает вполне рациональный вопрос: чем заполнила автор свою книгу, если не описанием военных будней? Знаете, есть такой тип людей, о которых в России принято говорить, что он как чукча, поёт о том, что видит. Вот и автор этой книги описывает своё пребывание в Украине, как она познакомилась со своими «гидами», её мысли об отеле, о коллеге и о том, как они весело провели вечер с алкоголем. Другими словами, книга содержит абсолютно бесполезный трёп людей, которые путешествуют по незнакомой стране и описывают всё что видят и с кем общаются. Война в этой книге дана лишь мельком и это самый большой недостаток.
У автора получилось наполнить книгу вторичной информацией и информацией о своём видении это страны, но вот я ожидал, что автор опишет войну в Украине, а получил описание автора на фоне Украины. Учитывая, что автором книги является как бы профессиональный журналист, хочется спросить, как же так получилось, что автору книги совсем не нашлось, что сказать о том, чем свидетелем она якобы была или же она лишь изредка выезжала на место событий и большую часть времени провела в украинском отеле? Вроде нет, ибо в книге автор явно показывает, что она путешествует с охранниками по всей территории Украины, но тогда почему в книге нет описания войны? Я вот этого не понял. Я не понял, почему так много «Я» автора в книге и почему автор не смогла или не захотела показать военные будни той страны, которую она описывает. И это я не говорю про качество описываемых событий, один вот такой вот эпизод чего стоит:
We drove on to Kyiv the next morning, to where a missile had struck a playground in the central city. It had left a huge crater, as deep as I am tall (about 180 cm), and when we arrived it was cordoned off, but barely.
<…>
‘We had been playing here an hour before,’ one mother told me, pointing to her son and referencing the playground. ‘It’s one of our favourites.’ My mind was crowded with images of my own nieces and nephews playing on the local slides and monkey bars around New Zealand, and it seemed completely incomprehensible that their innocent and happy childhoods could ever be so cruelly shattered as they had been here.
It was getting late and dark, so we set up to quickly film some pieces to camera.
‘Step back a bit,’ Daniel instructed from behind the lens, and I shuffled back.
‘To the right,’ he added, and I shuffled again.
‘Nah, actually take a decent step right,’ he went again, still playing around to get the shot framed just right.
I moved as instructed and felt the ground give way beneath my right foot. I dropped, at high speed, down a manhole that had been covered in debris, stifling a squeal in an attempt not to draw any extra attention to myself — as if that were possible given I was now essentially doing the splits, which, let me assure you, is not something I am capable of doing. The metal lid to the manhole was now lopsided, crushing the one leg and half of my torso that was dangling underground, while my other leg was poking up out the top and my arms flailed around for help. It was unbelievably embarrassing to come to the site of a missile strike and almost die falling down a manhole. Aleks rushed to lift the metal covering off and free my leg, while Daniel yanked at my arm and got me out before I fell down the hole completely.
‘Right, are you ready?’ Daniel asked, hoisting the camera up again.
‘Because the light is almost gone …’
‘Yep, shall I take a step to the left instead, maybe?’
В общем, максимально странная и скучная книга, написанная, как мне кажется, исключительно по причине заработать побольше денег на хайповой теме, но не более.
P.S. Забыл отметить, что где-то четверть, а может и больше, посвящено темам которые вообще никак не связаны с темой войны, как например, её работа на территории Великобритании.
Generally speaking, books on the current military conflict between Russia and Ukraine can be divided into two categories: propaganda (from one side or the other of the conflict) and relatively objective books. However, as this book has shown, there is another option: boring books. There aren’t many books that are simply boring to read, and this may be one of the few that can be classified in this category—that is, as simply poorly written. Usually, though, I come across books that are—whether subtly or overtly—propaganda for either the Ukrainian or the Russian side.
This book cannot be called entirely objective either, but it would also be a mistake to say that it is filled with Ukrainian propaganda. The book is written from a European perspective; that is, there is no overt Ukrainian government propaganda here, but there is a clear European stance on this war, and this is particularly evident in the omission of important issues, such as the Ukrainian government’s complete inaction, the total failure to evacuate Ukrainian citizens from the war-torn territory, and so on. To understand this military conflict, one needs the full picture, but that is precisely what is missing from the book. In fact, the book lacks the most essential element: the war itself.
It’s funny, but the author describes just about everything except what this war looks like through the eyes of a European journalist. What I mean is that the book doesn’t actually devote—or rather, doesn’t describe—very many pages to the Russian-Ukrainian military conflict itself. This raises a perfectly reasonable question: what did the author fill her book with, if not a description of everyday life on the front lines? You know, there’s a type of person in Russia who’s often described as being like a Chukchi—singing about what they see. Well, the author of this book describes her stay in Ukraine, how she met her “guides,” her thoughts on the hotel, her colleague, and how they had a fun evening with alcohol. In other words, the book is full of utterly pointless ramblings by people traveling through an unfamiliar country and describing everything they see and everyone they meet. The war is only briefly touched upon in this book, and that is its biggest flaw.
The author has managed to fill the book with secondhand information and her own perspective on the country, but I was expecting her to describe the war in Ukraine, and instead, I got a description of the author set against the backdrop of Ukraine. Considering that the author is, in a sense, a professional journalist, I’m tempted to ask: how is it that the author had absolutely nothing to say about what she supposedly witnessed, or did she only occasionally visit the scene of events and spend most of her time in a Ukrainian hotel? Apparently not, since the book clearly shows that she travels with security guards throughout Ukraine, but then why is there no description of the war in the book? I just didn’t get that. I don’t understand why there is so much “I” in the book and why the author was unable or unwilling to depict the daily realities of war in the country she describes. And I’m not even talking about the quality of the events described; just this one episode alone is telling:
We drove on to Kyiv the next morning, to where a missile had struck a playground in the central city. It had left a huge crater, as deep as I am tall (about 180 cm), and when we arrived it was cordoned off, but barely.
<…>
‘We had been playing here an hour before,’ one mother told me, pointing to her son and referencing the playground. ‘It’s one of our favourites.’ My mind was crowded with images of my own nieces and nephews playing on the local slides and monkey bars around New Zealand, and it seemed completely incomprehensible that their innocent and happy childhoods could ever be so cruelly shattered as they had been here.
It was getting late and dark, so we set up to quickly film some pieces to camera.
‘Step back a bit,’ Daniel instructed from behind the lens, and I shuffled back.
‘To the right,’ he added, and I shuffled again.
‘Nah, actually take a decent step right,’ he went again, still playing around to get the shot framed just right.
I moved as instructed and felt the ground give way beneath my right foot. I dropped, at high speed, down a manhole that had been covered in debris, stifling a squeal in an attempt not to draw any extra attention to myself — as if that were possible given I was now essentially doing the splits, which, let me assure you, is not something I am capable of doing. The metal lid to the manhole was now lopsided, crushing the one leg and half of my torso that was dangling underground, while my other leg was poking up out the top and my arms flailed around for help. It was unbelievably embarrassing to come to the site of a missile strike and almost die falling down a manhole. Aleks rushed to lift the metal covering off and free my leg, while Daniel yanked at my arm and got me out before I fell down the hole completely.
‘Right, are you ready?’ Daniel asked, hoisting the camera up again.
‘Because the light is almost gone …’
‘Yep, shall I take a step to the left instead, maybe?’
All in all, it’s an incredibly strange and boring book, written, in my opinion, solely to make as much money as possible off a trendy topic—and nothing more.
P.S. I forgot to mention that about a quarter of the book—maybe even more—is devoted to topics that have absolutely nothing to do with the war, such as her work in the UK.
October 21, 2025
I had my heart in my chest reading most of this! An incredibly intense few years for her as Europe correspondent, such bravery reporting in Ukraine especially. Was I the only one hoping for a picture of Dmitry?
August 21, 2025
I knew going in that I would love it - as I am huge fan of Lisette's news coverage. But oh-my-god was this book incredible. I didn't want to put it down. Perfect mix of funny memories, harrowing details and devastating stories. Loved every page.
December 2, 2025
I never enjoyed her on TV, her work lacked personality, and so did this book. The only two things I learned about her were that she fell for James Bond type guys and couldn't be responsible enough to carry her own charger. The book is barely scratching the surface of events she was describing. She completely failed to see why her reporting on Israel received so much backlash, and she regretted not interviewing any Palestinians - so why didn't she express any regrets about not interviewing Russian soldiers?
She got some much hype from people's suffering - that felt wrong. I'm Ukrainian, so this really got under my skin.
Bonus point for using correct spelling of Ukrainian places and people's names.
I wouldn't recommend this book.
She got some much hype from people's suffering - that felt wrong. I'm Ukrainian, so this really got under my skin.
Bonus point for using correct spelling of Ukrainian places and people's names.
I wouldn't recommend this book.
November 19, 2025
Lisette Reymer,
Kiwi girl journalist bit of a country bumpkin, half city slicker. I reckon its still necessary unbiased mainstream reporting. When nowadays anyone can create a following of "sensibles or wackys"
Something about a real book, over audios takes longer but nicer when you hear your inner voice, cringe.
Anyway this is part emotional and peripheral of a whole pile world news from scary to hilarious.
Not just Ukraine explosions, missiles and buff special forces security guys she covers French riots, Queen Elizabeth passing, Trumps on going court case, Ethiopian relief agencies, Israel Gaza and more.
My takeaways.
Curious and funny way to do therapy instead of doing the actual therapy, after every Ukraine trip replaced it with hanging in a Polish bar drinking gins with cameraman Daniel until the early morning hours, and then after all that forgetting something important, until the Sarah's the bosses called.
Spain Madrid, leaders pow wow accidently wearing the same dress as our former PM Jacinda Adern, hilarious people calling her out for not changing, like who the heck walks around carrying another set of clothes, nobody.
When eating a hot breakfast of scrambled eggs sausages hash browns, took precedent over nearby missiles exploding and running to the bomb shelter and eating it all cold, classic.
Nikita the fixer on 3rd trip to Ukraine,
Seems to be a Russian sympathiser and very suspicious.
Calling out Jacinda for not going to Ukraine, when new UK pm was going instead sent Henare Peeni, bonus was getting a police escorted journey so alot faster.
Apparently
Kiwis will run away from the camera as if its a gun
British will say what is the question regarding
French will say speak no English then walk away talking English to whomever they are with.
Americans see a camera and are attracted to it like a magnet, and answer any question, talk about stuff even if they know nothing about it.
Also London flatmates Oda and Eavan remain friends, chef and thief big no.
New flatmates. Ed she knew before and Ethan, could pass off as a special forces guy.
Anyway was a pretty good read.
Kiwi girl journalist bit of a country bumpkin, half city slicker. I reckon its still necessary unbiased mainstream reporting. When nowadays anyone can create a following of "sensibles or wackys"
Something about a real book, over audios takes longer but nicer when you hear your inner voice, cringe.
Anyway this is part emotional and peripheral of a whole pile world news from scary to hilarious.
Not just Ukraine explosions, missiles and buff special forces security guys she covers French riots, Queen Elizabeth passing, Trumps on going court case, Ethiopian relief agencies, Israel Gaza and more.
My takeaways.
Curious and funny way to do therapy instead of doing the actual therapy, after every Ukraine trip replaced it with hanging in a Polish bar drinking gins with cameraman Daniel until the early morning hours, and then after all that forgetting something important, until the Sarah's the bosses called.
Spain Madrid, leaders pow wow accidently wearing the same dress as our former PM Jacinda Adern, hilarious people calling her out for not changing, like who the heck walks around carrying another set of clothes, nobody.
When eating a hot breakfast of scrambled eggs sausages hash browns, took precedent over nearby missiles exploding and running to the bomb shelter and eating it all cold, classic.
Nikita the fixer on 3rd trip to Ukraine,
Seems to be a Russian sympathiser and very suspicious.
Calling out Jacinda for not going to Ukraine, when new UK pm was going instead sent Henare Peeni, bonus was getting a police escorted journey so alot faster.
Apparently
Kiwis will run away from the camera as if its a gun
British will say what is the question regarding
French will say speak no English then walk away talking English to whomever they are with.
Americans see a camera and are attracted to it like a magnet, and answer any question, talk about stuff even if they know nothing about it.
Also London flatmates Oda and Eavan remain friends, chef and thief big no.
New flatmates. Ed she knew before and Ethan, could pass off as a special forces guy.
Anyway was a pretty good read.
May 3, 2026
A great read!! I got exactly what I wanted from this book and more.
Seeing the insight into how some of the biggest stories of the decade came to New Zealand was incredibly moving.
Lisette is an extremely brave strong wāhine (and now officially a personal hero). Somehow in the darkest of stories and horrors she faced, this book was able to capture the true kiwi spirit of always cracking a joke or a smile to deal with hardship. While doing so, the book also challenges you to think about the state of the world and the media you consume.
Definitely recommend!! 4.5 stars
Seeing the insight into how some of the biggest stories of the decade came to New Zealand was incredibly moving.
Lisette is an extremely brave strong wāhine (and now officially a personal hero). Somehow in the darkest of stories and horrors she faced, this book was able to capture the true kiwi spirit of always cracking a joke or a smile to deal with hardship. While doing so, the book also challenges you to think about the state of the world and the media you consume.
Definitely recommend!! 4.5 stars
November 3, 2025
Live from the battlefield, Lisette Reymer has reported extensively on the War in the Ukraine providing some great insights into the effects of the battle on the civilians. Reymer also covered the death of Queen Elizabeth and the coronation of King Charles. "No, I Don't get Danger Money" is a gripping read with lots of anecdotes both terrifying and humorous.
January 6, 2026
I hope every New Zealander reads this book. Completely unputdownable, well written and completely fascinating. I take my hat off to such a professional Europe correspondent - Newshub was so lucky to have her
January 8, 2026
A terrific read. Lisette brings the reader right into the scenes she describes. A perceptive and entertaining memoir with a clear-eyed insight to herself and those around her. What an interesting life- with a wonderful promise of more to come.
June 17, 2025
superb.
July 20, 2025
what a amazing book and life. easy to read. such a brave young woman
October 19, 2025
Appreciated & enjoyed Lisette's time as Europe / International / Senior Correspondent. Thanks for the background story.
October 27, 2025
Fascinating read, amazing young woman with nerves of steel!
December 23, 2025
Wow. She’s a phenomenal kiwi journalist and so interesting she talks seriously about reporting from war zones
January 7, 2026
Great read, super compelling!
January 16, 2026
Just a general Ba Kiwi gal telling her story. Really good/ eye opening.
January 29, 2026
An absolute brilliant book. Stories of her time in some gob smacking situations. She has kept it real while giving real insights into the realities of some pretty horrendous situations.
February 1, 2026
It was interesting but dragged out in the middle and I wasn’t inclined to pick it up again when I put it down.
February 25, 2026
Always admired Lisette Reymers reporting from Europe. A huge fan. But I was not expecting to enjoy this book so much. I was gripped! I laughed I cried! Recommend!
April 12, 2026
loved it!
October 28, 2025
Repetitive and I couldn’t help thinking exaggeration was used in several of the situations described in the book.
Good to see coverage paid for overseas but would have been great to see more in depth analysis of the tv or news industry
Good to see coverage paid for overseas but would have been great to see more in depth analysis of the tv or news industry
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