Thanks again for another wonderful book for my TBR pile. Mr. Harris’ guest post was terrific and encourages me to bump the book up to the top of the list!

I can only speak from my own experience and from the fact that when I was in Sierra Leone I was younger and perhaps a little reckless. For me the thrill of covering the fighting tended to last up to the moment when bullets actually started to be fired around you (which happened to me twice). Then you wish to be pretty much anywhere else. But, strange as it may seem, once the shooting stops you can forget that fear and you are back into the thrill of the danger and excitement. Looking back, it seems insane to feel that way. For me, covering the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was my last experience of conflict journalism. After that I decided to forget the thrills and remember the fear. I think people deal with the intensity in a lot of ways. Some more successfully than others. Many long-term war correspondents thrive on such situations. Others can become very damaged and often have terrible problems with their spouses. However, it is vital to remember, I think, that the problems faced by journalists covering wars are nothing compared to the experiences of the men, women and children caught up in them or doing the fighting.

Paul

After reading Mr. Harris’ comments here, perhaps the drug-induced memeory loss was more of a blessing than a curse.