Jane Wilson-Howarth

Non Fiction Books

 
 
 

Travel Narratives

People fascinate me. Perhaps that is why I love working as a GP. When I travel, I always want to ask questions and know what life is really like for everyone I meet. Sadly, I am not much of a linguist but I smile and gesticulate a great deal and make the effort to communicate. Given enough time, it is remarkable how connections can be made

I explore, try to understand and write about difficult issues including corruption, prejudice, exploitation, caste and poverty. I know that for some this makes uncomfortable reading and even risks demystifying and undermining the image some travellers have of the simple natural existence of the rural poor in emerging nations. Nevertheless I fervently believe these issues should be understood by all who travel so my aim is to present the facts as sympathetic engaging stories about real people. I am frustrated by the look-and-point approach to travel, but I hope I don't preach. I write of my adventures and enthusiasms and of colour and beauty so that my readers can enjoy my travel experiences as much as I do.

Travel Health Guides

Within minutes of arriving in the sleepy town of Khairpur in Sindh, I was faced with a medical crisis. I'd been qualified as a doctor for a few years but was new to expatriate life, and I was travelling with my firstborn, three-month-old son. A guy who was expecting to work with my husband announced that he needed to be evacuated because he was desperately ill. I introduced myself as a GP and offered help. Quickly I realised that my new friend was not suffering from some horrendous tropical pox but that he just had a nasty attack of sinusitis. It made him feel awful with frontal headache that recalled having a screwdriver rammed into his eyeball. Labelling it with a diagnosis made it less scary, though, and we found that the correct antibiotics were readily available over the counter in the local bazaar. By the next day my patient was well on the way to recovery.

That was the first time I really had to think about travel health. What this, my first real travel medicine ‘case’, made me realise is that even the calmest and most sensible of travellers will nearly always become disproportionately worried about themselves when taken ill. In my friend’s case, he didn’t know much about the local health service and didn’t know where he could find a doctor he could trust. He just wanted to get home to his friendly British GP. That experience showed me how liberating and empowering information can be and motivated me to start writing accessible straightforward travel health advice. I began work on a manual that was distributed amongst expatriate engineers, and soon after wrote my first travel health feature for Wanderlust magazine. It was - of course - on diarrhoea.

 
 

reviews

50 Camels and She's Yours

50 Camels... is a delightful collection of engaging and entertaining travel stories from all around the world. Whether you've visited the places (or similar) and are looking to reminisce our whether you wish to read tales from places you've never been, you're sure to find this collection a pleasure.


Your Child Abroad: a travel health guide

“Written by a travel health expert and a paediatrician, this authoritative guide is worth having in your suitcase... particularly if you are going somewhere adventurous.”

Daily Telegraph


Staying Healthy When You Travel

You're finally packed and ready to go on the holiday you've been planning for months. But did you remember to plan for what happens if you get ill or stung abroad?
Author Dr. Jane Wilson-Howarth is an expert in parasitology, vector ecology and child health, and she's also travelled around the world to treat the sick. She condenses all her years of medical experience into this incredibly helpful guide that's packed with crucial case histories, advice on immunisations and other precautions to take, tables and maps that match disease risk to countries, tips to protect yourself from insects and worms and so much more. So before you head to the airport, pack this book along with your first-aid kit and you'll be good to go!

Backstory


Lemurs of the Lost World

“fascinating firsthand account of expedition life and work, as well as an exciting glimpse of the flora and fauna of Madagascar.”

Geographical Magazine, London