First published 2001
Deborah Copaken Kogan graduates from Harvard at twenty-two with cameras, courage, and dangerous curiosity. She moves to Paris in 1988, determined to photograph wars up close. Within weeks she finds herself veiled and hidden on a truck in Afghanistan, the sole woman among rebel fighters after her French photographer lover abandons her. This betrayal launches her through six global assignments over four years. She documents conflicts in Zimbabwe, Romania, Russia, and Haiti, each journey tied to a different man in her life. The work brings recognition as her photos appear on front pages worldwide, but the personal cost mounts. She faces sexism, violence, and assault while recording humanity's darkest moments. Each new assignment and affair leaves her questioning what she truly seeks. The girl who craved adventure gradually transforms into a woman who discovers that capturing death through her lens weighs heavier than she imagined. Her journey becomes less about proving herself in a male-dominated field and more about understanding what she values. By the end, Kogan realizes that life itself offers the greatest adventure worth pursuing.
Genres: war, adventure, autobiography, biography-memoir, journalism, photography
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family, personal-growth
Setting: Afghanistan, Haiti, Paris, Romania, Russia, Zimbabwe
Period: 1988
Kindle Edition · Villard Books
Content warnings: sexism, sexual-assault, violence