Somebody’s Heart Is Burning

Afeisty, free-spirited traveler, Shaffer’s wanderings led her over the years to places where strenuous volunteer work supplanted the pleasures of being a mere tourist. Somebody’s Heart Is Burning chronicles an unforgettable, transformative year spent roaming the African continent. At the heart of Shaffer’s tale are the profound, complex, sometimes difficult relationships she formed with those she met along the way. Whether recounting a boat trip to Timbuktu, a night of heated political debate at a Ghanaian university, or a fumbled romance in Burkina Faso, Shaffer relates the challenges of cultural difference with self-deprecating irony and clear-eyed compassion. Exuberant in its humor, disarming in its candor, and challenging in the questions it raises about privilege, wealth, and the virtue of self-reliance, Shaffer’s story resounds with a heady sense of adventure.