Somebody’s Heart is Burning:
A Woman Wanderer in Africa
Vintage (May, 2003)

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“It’s my life, and if I want to run from it I can,” quips Tanya Shaffer. An incorrigible wanderer, Shaffer has a habit of fleeing domesticity for the joys and rigors of the open road. This time her destination is Ghana, and what results is a transformative year spent roaming the African continent. Eager to transcend the limitations of tourism, Shaffer works as a volunteer, building schools and hospitals in remote villages. At the heart of her tale are the profound, complex, often challenging relationships she forms with those she meets along the way.

Whether recounting a perilous boat trip to Timbuktu, a night of impassioned political debate in Ghana, or a fumbled romance in Burkina Faso, Shaffer portrays the collision of African and North American cultures with self-deprecating humor and clear-eyed compassion. Filled with warmth, candor, and an exuberant sense of adventure, Somebody’s Heart is Burning raises provocative questions about privilege, wealth, and the true meaning of friendship

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**ONE OF THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE’S
“BEST BOOKS OF 2003”!!**

Vogue Magazine:
"Perhaps the best of [recent] adventure books penned by women... These incredible characters...form a vivid pastiche."

USA Today:
“[Shaffer] writes essays with knife-sharp perception…She captures the details that tell the larger story about Ghana and Africa, a place of stunning beauty, shocking poverty and loving people so often ravaged by violence and disease.”

San Francisco Chronicle:
" [Shaffer’s] observant recollections clarify her intimate, soul-searching journey and give texture to the narrative, with a candor and tenderness that render it immediately accessible.... Shaffer's focus is on the people she meets, colorful Ghanaians whose stories and actions bring present-day Africa alive."

Booklist:
“Shaffer is a natural storyteller and she evokes the villages she visited and the people she met masterfully. Readers…will be enthralled by her tales.”

Los Angeles Times:
"[Shaffer] has a wonderful light touch... She is one of those people who makes all conflict seem childish and unnecessary."

The Skanner:
"There is an exuberant and frank quality about Shaffer’s writing that will have readers booking flights to West Africa."

Library Journal:
“An adventurous memoir…described with humor, feeling, and vivid detail.”

Publishers Weekly:
“Shaffer's vivid memoir captures scenes of Kenya, Mali and, most notably, Ghana, rarely seen by American tourists…Her tales are rich in visual and cultural explication; villages and hamlets too tiny for names come to hot, vibrant, scent-laden, insect-thrumming life.”

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