Waiting for the Monsoon

Rod Nordland (1949-2025) was the New York Times’s Pulitzer Prize–winning international correspondent at large. Formerly the paper’s Kabul bureau chief, he worked as a foreign correspondent in more than 150 countries. He was Newsweek’s chief foreign correspondent, serving as Baghdad bureau chief from 2003–2005. He was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize for news reporting and also a finalist for a Pulitzer in international reporting from Southeast Asia. He received two George Polk awards; several Overseas Press Club awards, and many other honors. He was the author of The Lovers: Afghanistan’s Romeo & Juliet.

"As one of the most courageous foreign correspondents of his generation, Rod Nordland emerged alive from myriad battlegrounds with many memorable stories to tell. More often than not, his stories have been a reaffirmation of the essential humanity of people encountered around the world in situations of war and loss. Waiting for the Monsoon is his rivetingly-told account of that life, and of his current final battle to survive a devastating brain tumor. This book is no chronicle of a death foretold, however, but rather the celebration of an extremely well-lived life, and, also, of the enduring power of love." — Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker staff writer and author of Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life“A moving memoir of a life bravely lived.” — The Spectator"Fascinating. . . . A compelling and clear-eyed dispatch in the face of a cruel and relentless illness. . . . This book provides an invaluable aide-memoire on the foreign reporter’s craft. . . . This is a gripping memoir of a consummate foreign reporter, and an inspiring journal of self-discovery when the 'cold breath of mortality' is on the neck." — The Observer (London), "Book of the Week""An unforgettable, moving book by an intrepid foreign correspondent for The New York Times. Though Nordland spent a career witnessing death on the battlefield, it is his own experience with a deadly illness that teaches him how to live with gratitude rather than hubris. It is a deeply personal story that will help readers recognize the urgency of repairing their most important relationships and what really matters in life." — Jill Abramson, former executive editor of The New York Times and author of Merchants of Truth"Powerful...Waiting for the Monsoon shows the life of a foreign correspondent to be both as vital and seductive as ever.” — Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down"In this complex, layered, and emotional memoir, Rod Nordland, battling terminal brain cancer, takes us from an abusive and impoverished childhood in the USA through four decades of war reporting in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. After one of the most remarkable careers in journalism, this is the most extraordinary story this legendary foreign correspondent has ever told.” — Gary Knight, Co-founder, VII Photo Agency; CEO, The VII Foundation“This is, by far, the most enlightening and inspiring book on facing death—and on discovering the beauty of life. One of the most intrepid and talented war correspondents of the past four decades, Rod Nordland has written a love letter to his second chance at life, realized ironically through the bleak prognosis of his own (likely) imminent death following the discovery glioblastoma multiform stage 4—the most aggressive malignant brain tumor. I’ve worked alongside Rod in Afghanistan and have witnessed his gritty dedication to good reporting and writing on every story, every subject, day in and day out. Waiting for the Monsoon shows Nordland’s passion for journalism channeled into his own quest to beat the odds and live well beyond the median life expectancy of fourteen months. He takes the reader on a journey through a life on the frontlines of every major conflict over the past four decades, until his life as a foreign correspondent is cut short, and his focus must suddenly be channeled into his own survival. This is an extraordinary tale of the power of the mind to survive—in war and in the face of the prognosis of one’s own death.” — Lynsey Addario, Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist, Macarthur Fellowship recipient, and New York Times bestselling author of It's What I Do: A Photographer's Life of Love and War“This is, by far, the most enlightening and inspiring book on facing death—and on discovering the beauty of life. ...One of the most intrepid and talented war correspondents of the past four decades, Rod Nordland has written a love letter to his second chance at life. ... An extraordinary tale of the power of the mind to survive—in war and in the face of the prognosis of one’s own death.” — Lynsey Addario, Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist, Macarthur Fellowship recipient, and New York Times bestselling author of It's What I Do: A Photographer's Life of Love and War