Disaster Diaries: Stories & Reflections from the Field is more than a book to me. It is a reflection of lived experiences, quiet moments, moral weight, and stories that often go untold in disaster and humanitarian spaces.
I didn’t write this book to dramatize crisis or position myself as a hero. I wrote it because too often, the voices of those who show up in the hardest moments, nurses, medics, responders, and caregivers, are missing from the narrative. And when they are present, they rarely look like me.
Representation matters.
Not just in who is visible, but in whose stories are valued.
As a Palestinian, a nurse, a disaster responder, and someone who has worked across borders, cultures, and conflict zones, I have often occupied spaces where I was the only one, or one of very few, who shared my background, my perspective, or my lived experience. This book exists because those perspectives matter. Our voices matter.
Disaster Diaries captures moments that shaped me professionally and personally: caring for people in unimaginable circumstances, navigating ethical uncertainty, finding humanity amid chaos, and carrying the emotional residue long after the deployment ends. These are not textbook cases or polished after-action reports. They are real moments from the field: raw, reflective, and deeply human.
This book is also for those who are coming after us.
For the nursing student who wonders if they belong in disaster or global health spaces.
For the early-career clinician trying to reconcile compassion with burnout.
For the responder who has carried stories quietly because there was never space to unpack them.
I wanted to create something honest. Something that says: You are not alone. Your experiences are valid. Your presence matters.
Making this book available in both paperback and Kindle was intentional. Accessibility matters. Stories should be reachable, whether you’re reading between shifts, during a deployment lull, or in the quiet moments at home when reflection feels necessary.
This book is not just about disasters, it’s about dignity, resilience, identity, and the humanity that persists even when systems fail.
If you choose to read Disaster Diaries, thank you for holding space for these stories. I hope they resonate, challenge, and remind you why care, especially in its hardest forms, matters so deeply.
📖 Now available in paperback and on Kindle
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