Lynsey Addario Book Report:
When we were first assigned to read this book, I had no idea
what the book was about. I started reading “It’s What I do” and instantly fell
in love with the storyline of the book. The most compelling part, to me, was
when she was going through all these war zones and even when she was “home” she
still felt like she belonged in a place of chaos. She felt more at peace in a
country that was dealing with terrorism, bombings and male dominance than she
did in the United States or even Mexico. I enjoyed reading this book because she
described that part of the world so accurately, I felt I was right back in the
action. My favorite part was when she was trying to get her Afghan Visa and she
ran into a man named Mohammad. She went with tradition and falsely stated she
was married and had two boys back home and later in the chapter broke tradition
and directly spoke to Mohammed only to find out that he enjoyed talking to her
and had so many questions about Americans. It began a friendship that in most
cases, would not have blossomed. Addario is not scared to break the normal
traditions to get the photo or the story behind the photo, she cared for these
people deeply and she cared for the country. Ch.2
“It’s What I do”
Addario utilizes certain techniques and styles that I admire,
her ability to not be manipulated into taking shots of what the Embassy of
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan wanted her to just so that they could look like
the good guys was compelling. She was not afraid to take the shots that were
NEEDED and still took the shots that were necessary for the public to see that
there are people here suffering from this war and not every person was pro-war.
She also treated everyone with respect whether it was a male or female, even
though she pushed the boundaries a bit to capture the best photos, she was
still respectful of their culture and their traditions and sympathized with
them when it came to the tragedy of war. https://nppa.org/code-ethics.
During the duration of the novel I had many mixed feelings
about her work and her mindset, but it all made sense when I put myself in her
shoes. I joined the military to serve my country and let’s be honest, get free
tuition but she chose to do photojournalism and purposely place herself in
these war zones that only some of us are “lucky” enough to see and she did so
fearlessly. She wanted to understand this country and why this was the turn of
events and although that was not my mindset when I deployed, I quickly realized
the same concepts she did, these are people and they are also scared and just
want peace. I think what she is doing is brave and crazy because in certain
areas it is more dangerous but if someone doesn’t show the world what is needed
to be seen, who will? I took that perspective and tested it with my time in
photojournalism and the results were far from what I expected. I wanted to put
myself out there and break down the wall of my anxiety and although I don’t
consider myself “shy” this class pushed me to go after stories or take photos I
probably would have never dreamed of. I had the opportunity to live out a
childhood dream when I photographed the USA vs OSU Women’s basketball team and
if I didn’t push myself to email the right people, I would have never received
that opportunity. Addario pushed herself on these stories and broke barriers
when she was in a foreign country, all for the story. I appreciated her
confidence even if it was not there most of the time, she still pushed herself
and never let love or family concerns stop her from that.
Throughout the book she display’s photos of her work and although
all of them are impressive a few stood out to me. There was a photo of a mother
kissing her son while her other son stood by with a grin and at that moment,
she captured pure love for one another. This photo spoke to me because during a
time of chaos, war, violence and fear, a mother showed love to her children
which implied that they are still human and still have a heart full of
compassion. Another photo that spoke volumes to me was of a man that entered a
room full of bodies after a mass grave was discovered in Baghdad after the fall
of Saddam Hussein. The emotions that this man is displaying is one of grief and
possibly anger. I liked this photo because again it shows the humanity and it
also show the lack of humanity, he [Saddam Hussein] had. The perspective of
this book is not from a typical American viewpoint but from the viewpoint of
those directly involved and affected by this war, the Middle Eastern people. Another
photo that caught my attention was of a woman who is walking along the street
of a clear ghost town. In the photo it seems that a bomb just went off and she
is using her burqa to protect herself from the smoke. I liked this photo
because to me it almost depicts a sense of familiarity to her almost like she
is getting used to this being her everyday life. It also showcases how far this
country has come from its former beauty and how tragedy, bombings, and run-down
buildings are something these people have to get used to.
This book was a
perfect representation of what not only military members see but what
photojournalist see. I loved her quote of “French journalist, in
general, are known for being fearless and crazy. The joke was that if a French
journalist left a combat zone before you, you were screwed… (Laurent Van Der
Stockt) he turned tome and said, “we’re leaving”.” Prelude-Ch.1 “It’s What I do” One
of my favorite quotes that she says,
"Friendships form fast in war zones." pg. 92
When I read that quote,
I couldn't agree more. It's a strange thing, war, you could have nothing in
common with someone and on a normal basis probably never hangout with them but
when it comes to war, you have to have somewhat of the same mentality and drive
to survive which makes the bond an irreplaceable one. I have met some of my
best friends in the military and had to depend on them numerous times to have
my back. Addario related to this in a sense because these people were the only
ones who knew what she was doing in her job and understood and that is another
reason why her statement is so accurate. It’s hard to explain to someone what
you’re doing or why you are doing it, if they are not there. The people you
meet with have a lifelong bond with you because you all are facing the same
thing every day.
I encourage everyone to read this book. She captures the
scene of war perfectly and she also has an unbiased judgement which makes the
book even better to read. This book puts into perspective that war, whether it
is on one side or another, is a tragedy and real people are dealing with loss
daily. This book to me deserves five stars for how accurate she is with detail
and how every interaction almost puts you directly into that conversation. The
book is so good, I might read it a second time just so I can find more details I
may have missed the first run through. I highly recommend this book to any person
who is not afraid to know the truth of both sides of war and who struggle with
understanding humanity from an unfamiliar perspective.
