When reading Lynsey Addario’s memoir about her journey as a photographer, I was struck by the hardships that she had to endure just because of her gender.
Her story begins with a kidnapping abroad, then jumps back to the beginning, to talk of her childhood and her entry into photography and travel. As I rooted for her, I couldn’t help but remember the danger that would be waiting for her.
Addario’s simple narrative style drew me in, and as I read about her travels across countries, I felt a wanderlust stir within me. Addario was careful, though, not to romanticize her journeys, using straightforward language to describe the deplorable conditions in some of the war-torn and impoverished cities and villages she visited. Through her descriptions of her interactions with local people, Addario shows the public the courage and tact necessary for being a successful photojournalist.
Along the way, Addario is honest with the reader about her doubts. We hear her inner concerns about the dangers involved with her travel. She shares her musings on her inability to sustain long-term relationships, the perceived career risk that is involved with starting a family.
It’s What I Do is a brave and honest story of a woman determined to overcome any obstacle to share the stories of others who do not have the resources to do so themselves. It’s a collection of early mornings and late nights, of car rides with interpreters. It is a testament to the price that local people have to pay for violent political upheaval.