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This Is Also a Love Story: A Reporter's Search for Goodness in a Cruel World
Not yet published
Expected 16 Jun 26An acclaimed reporter takes us on an unforgettable journey through some of the world’s most dangerous regions, capturing the human capacity for resilience, hope, and connection against all odds.
We live in an era defined by crisis—whether it be war and displacement, climate collapse and catastrophe, or the undercurrent of exploitation and corruption that profits from all of this violence and adversity. But in the midst of chaos, there are stories that reveal the strength of the human spirit. Celebrated foreign correspondent Sally Hayden has spent her career on the frontlines, uncovering some of the darkest moments of our time. Yet even in the face of unimaginable adversity, she’s witnessed incredible love, hope, and resilience—powerful reminders that humanity can endure and rise above even the bleakest of moments.
In This Is Also a Love Story, Hayden captures these life-affirming moments that show the indomitable spirit of love and hope that persists even in the darkest times. Hayden introduces us to a mother in northeast Nigeria who risks everything to save her daughter from forced marriage to Boko Haram militants, and to a group of Syrian women who have tirelessly sought justice for their missing loved ones. We see a couple on the eve of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and letters from the bereaved to the dead and missing, still being written over a decade after the tsunami that devastated Japan. Through these stories, which crisscross the globe, from Ukraine to Japan, Uganda to Lebanon, Palestine to Spain, she challenges us to see beyond despair and recognize the innate generosity and self-sacrifice that define humanity.
Hayden asks us to encounter this profound adversity not through a lens of despair, but through a prism of hope. In the process, these stories of deep fracture, and often violence, can instead be constellated through something deeper and more human than greed or the desire to love and be loved. This Is Also a Love Story dares us to look at the world through the innate generosity and self-sacrifice that can be found in even the darkest of times.
We live in an era defined by crisis—whether it be war and displacement, climate collapse and catastrophe, or the undercurrent of exploitation and corruption that profits from all of this violence and adversity. But in the midst of chaos, there are stories that reveal the strength of the human spirit. Celebrated foreign correspondent Sally Hayden has spent her career on the frontlines, uncovering some of the darkest moments of our time. Yet even in the face of unimaginable adversity, she’s witnessed incredible love, hope, and resilience—powerful reminders that humanity can endure and rise above even the bleakest of moments.
In This Is Also a Love Story, Hayden captures these life-affirming moments that show the indomitable spirit of love and hope that persists even in the darkest times. Hayden introduces us to a mother in northeast Nigeria who risks everything to save her daughter from forced marriage to Boko Haram militants, and to a group of Syrian women who have tirelessly sought justice for their missing loved ones. We see a couple on the eve of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and letters from the bereaved to the dead and missing, still being written over a decade after the tsunami that devastated Japan. Through these stories, which crisscross the globe, from Ukraine to Japan, Uganda to Lebanon, Palestine to Spain, she challenges us to see beyond despair and recognize the innate generosity and self-sacrifice that define humanity.
Hayden asks us to encounter this profound adversity not through a lens of despair, but through a prism of hope. In the process, these stories of deep fracture, and often violence, can instead be constellated through something deeper and more human than greed or the desire to love and be loved. This Is Also a Love Story dares us to look at the world through the innate generosity and self-sacrifice that can be found in even the darkest of times.
304 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication June 16, 2026
About the author
Sally Hayden
2 books86 followersSally Hayden is an award-winning journalist and photographer currently focused on migration, conflict and humanitarian crises.
She has worked with VICE, VICE News, CNN International, the Financial Times Magazine, TIME, the Thomson Reuters Foundation, BBC, the Washington Post, the Irish Times, the Guardian, the New York Times, Magnum Photos, Channel 4 News, Foreign Policy, Al Jazeera, NBC News, Maclean’s, the Sunday Times, Newsweek, RTE, ELLE, Marie Claire, ZEIT Online, Voice of America, the Independent, the Telegraph, Deutsche Welle, IRIN, the New Statesman, the New Internationalist, the National, the Huffington Post and ITV News, and had stories and photojournalism republished on six continents by outlets including Pacific Standard, National Geographic, NPR, the Times of India, Euronews, the Christian Science Monitor, Sky News, the Observer, the Globe and Mail, ABC News, Forbes and TeleSUR English, among many others.
HEFAT certified, Sally has reported from countries including Nigeria, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, France, Germany, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Ireland, the UK, Lebanon, Jordan, DR Congo, Panama, Cambodia, the Gambia, Liberia, Hungary, Luxembourg, Ghana, Rwanda, Malawi, Ethiopia, Madagascar, the US, Italy, Malta, Kenya, Uganda and Sierra Leone. Her writing has been translated into nine languages and she has appeared as a guest on national and international media. She is a member of the Frontline Freelance Register and Investigative Reporters and Editors.
Sally has a law degree from University College Dublin and an MSc in International Politics from Trinity College, Dublin, where her thesis was on post-conflict societies and theories of civil war resolution. She has worked as a trainer at the BBC Academy; a guest lecturer at London College of Communication, New York University, Princeton, TU Dublin and UCD; and volunteered as a mentor for the Refugee Journalism Project.
She has worked with VICE, VICE News, CNN International, the Financial Times Magazine, TIME, the Thomson Reuters Foundation, BBC, the Washington Post, the Irish Times, the Guardian, the New York Times, Magnum Photos, Channel 4 News, Foreign Policy, Al Jazeera, NBC News, Maclean’s, the Sunday Times, Newsweek, RTE, ELLE, Marie Claire, ZEIT Online, Voice of America, the Independent, the Telegraph, Deutsche Welle, IRIN, the New Statesman, the New Internationalist, the National, the Huffington Post and ITV News, and had stories and photojournalism republished on six continents by outlets including Pacific Standard, National Geographic, NPR, the Times of India, Euronews, the Christian Science Monitor, Sky News, the Observer, the Globe and Mail, ABC News, Forbes and TeleSUR English, among many others.
HEFAT certified, Sally has reported from countries including Nigeria, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, France, Germany, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Ireland, the UK, Lebanon, Jordan, DR Congo, Panama, Cambodia, the Gambia, Liberia, Hungary, Luxembourg, Ghana, Rwanda, Malawi, Ethiopia, Madagascar, the US, Italy, Malta, Kenya, Uganda and Sierra Leone. Her writing has been translated into nine languages and she has appeared as a guest on national and international media. She is a member of the Frontline Freelance Register and Investigative Reporters and Editors.
Sally has a law degree from University College Dublin and an MSc in International Politics from Trinity College, Dublin, where her thesis was on post-conflict societies and theories of civil war resolution. She has worked as a trainer at the BBC Academy; a guest lecturer at London College of Communication, New York University, Princeton, TU Dublin and UCD; and volunteered as a mentor for the Refugee Journalism Project.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I received an ARC of This Is Also a Love Story by Sally Hayden, and this is my honest review.
I’m always drawn to meaningful books, and this was one I knew I wanted to read from the moment I saw the tagline: 'searching for good in a divided world.' This book truly lives up to this 'promise.' Hayden draws on her time as a journalist to share real stories from numerous places around the world shaped by conflict and hardship - including Ukraine, Nigeria, Lebanon, and Rwanda. Across nine chapters, she highlights something that could easily be overlooked: the quiet, persistent presence of love and selflessness, even in the most desperate and devastating circumstances.
This isn’t an easy read. The stories are often heartbreaking, and the realities they describe are stark. But it’s also a deeply compelling and necessary book. These are not the kinds of stories we tend to hear in the news; not in this way, not with this level of humanity and care. What stood out most to me was the way Hayden handles these stories. There’s no sense of simplification or performance. Instead, she writes with honesty, empathy, and humility, allowing the people in the book to be seen fully, not reduced to headlines or statistics.
This is a book that will stay with me. It broadened my understanding of events around the world, but more than that, it reminded me of the enduring capacity for love, even in the darkest of places.
I’m always drawn to meaningful books, and this was one I knew I wanted to read from the moment I saw the tagline: 'searching for good in a divided world.' This book truly lives up to this 'promise.' Hayden draws on her time as a journalist to share real stories from numerous places around the world shaped by conflict and hardship - including Ukraine, Nigeria, Lebanon, and Rwanda. Across nine chapters, she highlights something that could easily be overlooked: the quiet, persistent presence of love and selflessness, even in the most desperate and devastating circumstances.
This isn’t an easy read. The stories are often heartbreaking, and the realities they describe are stark. But it’s also a deeply compelling and necessary book. These are not the kinds of stories we tend to hear in the news; not in this way, not with this level of humanity and care. What stood out most to me was the way Hayden handles these stories. There’s no sense of simplification or performance. Instead, she writes with honesty, empathy, and humility, allowing the people in the book to be seen fully, not reduced to headlines or statistics.
This is a book that will stay with me. It broadened my understanding of events around the world, but more than that, it reminded me of the enduring capacity for love, even in the darkest of places.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
They say reading lets you travel the world from your armchair, and usually that conjures images of far‑flung, tropical, serene places. Sally Hayden’s book does take you far from home, but to landscapes that are often war‑torn, hidden, or ravaged. Places where people must conceal their identities, make impossible choices, or take extraordinary risks simply to protect the people they love.
You could call this a book of horrors, but to me it’s also a book full of love stories: stories of local heroes, quiet acts of goodness, and the kind of kindness that survives even in the darkest circumstances. Through the lives of people in Ukraine, Rwanda, Iraq, Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, Lebanon, Syria, and Japan, Hayden shows how courage and compassion persist everywhere.
I’ve followed her work from the sidelines for a while, but after reading this, she feels like a hero to me. The reporting is astonishing; humane, precise, and deeply felt. One line in particular stayed with me: “We may be born and die alone but our lives can still be measured in the love we bear and the connections we form, the ways people support each other. That is at least one wonderful truth.”
A remarkable book, and a reminder of the goodness that still exists in the world.
You could call this a book of horrors, but to me it’s also a book full of love stories: stories of local heroes, quiet acts of goodness, and the kind of kindness that survives even in the darkest circumstances. Through the lives of people in Ukraine, Rwanda, Iraq, Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, Lebanon, Syria, and Japan, Hayden shows how courage and compassion persist everywhere.
I’ve followed her work from the sidelines for a while, but after reading this, she feels like a hero to me. The reporting is astonishing; humane, precise, and deeply felt. One line in particular stayed with me: “We may be born and die alone but our lives can still be measured in the love we bear and the connections we form, the ways people support each other. That is at least one wonderful truth.”
A remarkable book, and a reminder of the goodness that still exists in the world.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This is a heartbreaking, compelling, and inspiring read. Please note that Hayden doesn’t spare the awful details of what she witnessed or what she heard from those who have lived through the worst kinds of suffering. I had to stop reading it for a bit because it was giving me nightmares (how privileged I am that I can walk away from tragedy instead of living it). This book is a collection of Hayden’s time as a journalist in many countries and conflicts, and she tells it like it is; there aren’t suggestions for improving the state of the world so much as bearing witness to others’ experiences. Love is the common thread that binds the stories together. If you need a break from bad news, this isn’t the book for you, but if you value being informed AND finding hope amid heartache, you will find this book meaningful.
Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for the free eARC. I post this review with my honest opinions.
Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for the free eARC. I post this review with my honest opinions.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Hayden is a journalist who tells stories of crisis, conflict and unspeakable cruelty, and still finds the thread of humanity running through them. This is Also a Love Story is hopeful and devastating in equal measures, a reminder that to survive is to live, and the story behind the headlines is always personal.
Some chapters have a clear theme and sense of purpose, others feel a little more retrospective, pieced together from past journalism. But the human capacity for care and courage rings true through every one.
This isn't an easy read; it's not meant to be. Hayden reminds us that behind every headline are lives shaped by loss, resilience and love in its many forms. An important read in 2026.
*Thank you to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review*
Some chapters have a clear theme and sense of purpose, others feel a little more retrospective, pieced together from past journalism. But the human capacity for care and courage rings true through every one.
This isn't an easy read; it's not meant to be. Hayden reminds us that behind every headline are lives shaped by loss, resilience and love in its many forms. An important read in 2026.
*Thank you to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review*
Review of advance copy
This is a powerful reminder that wars are fought and witnessed by real people with real relationships, real pain, and real courage.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews