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A review by niniane
Strangers Drowning: Grappling with Impossible Idealism, Drastic Choices, and the Overpowering Urge to Help by Larissa MacFarquhar
5.0
Mesmerizing! True stories of people who feel compelled to help strangers as much as their own family.
One couple adopts 2 kids, then a few more. They adopt babies with cerebral palsy who no one else will adopt. They see 6 Black teens in foster care who can't find a home to take all of them. So they adopt all the teens. They end up with 22 kids!
It's fun and chaotic and loving when the kids are small. When the kids become teens, they all have teen pregnancies. Many drop out of school. The parents felt helpless. But eventually the kids all get jobs and they are a huge loving family.
One Indian guy moves his family to a leper colony. After several decades, he turned it into a successful town. Then he feels bored and decides to move to a tribal village and start a clinic. After 20 years there, he decides to move to a river and protest the building of a dam.
One guy was determined to advocate for chickens. He ignored his wife and shirked housework and spent all his money and time advocating for chickens... with success! He got Costco and other chains to buy more free range chicken.
It was thought provoking to hear these stories. My spouse really cares about helping strangers, and I feel that taking care of one's own family (siblings, parents, extended relatives) is far more important. We discuss these viewpoints, and this book was interesting food for thought.
One couple adopts 2 kids, then a few more. They adopt babies with cerebral palsy who no one else will adopt. They see 6 Black teens in foster care who can't find a home to take all of them. So they adopt all the teens. They end up with 22 kids!
It's fun and chaotic and loving when the kids are small. When the kids become teens, they all have teen pregnancies. Many drop out of school. The parents felt helpless. But eventually the kids all get jobs and they are a huge loving family.
One Indian guy moves his family to a leper colony. After several decades, he turned it into a successful town. Then he feels bored and decides to move to a tribal village and start a clinic. After 20 years there, he decides to move to a river and protest the building of a dam.
One guy was determined to advocate for chickens. He ignored his wife and shirked housework and spent all his money and time advocating for chickens... with success! He got Costco and other chains to buy more free range chicken.
It was thought provoking to hear these stories. My spouse really cares about helping strangers, and I feel that taking care of one's own family (siblings, parents, extended relatives) is far more important. We discuss these viewpoints, and this book was interesting food for thought.