Book & Stories
Somebody’s Heart is Burning
A Woman Wanderer in Africa
“Shaffer writes with knife-sharp perception.”
- USA Today
“Perhaps the best of recent adventure books penned by women.”
-Vogue
"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 deftly explores themes of privilege, wealth, and the true meaning of friendship.
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Stories
Many of the stories that would become part of my book first appeared on the Wanderlust section of Salon. Here are a few favorites. Salon often gave them different titles than the ones I’d chosen. In those cases my titles, which later became chapter headings, are in parentheses here.
Death In Ghana (The Boy Was Like This)
Mother Load (She Kept Dancing)
