On All Fronts

funeral. I had been in Damascus for a few days before I had managed to slip away from my hotel and the ever-present secret police to link up with them.

Hundreds of people now poured in from all directions. The women marched together at the back of the procession. Rows and rows of them waved banners with slogans demanding justice and the overthrow of the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Someone started beating a drum, and the crowd hoisted a boy onto a man s shoulders so that he could lead the chant. Oh, Bashar, you liar, he chanted, to hell with you and your speech. Freedom is at the door. Yalla irhal, ya Bashar, the crowd chanted, clapping rhythmically. Get out, Bashar! The chant had become the anthem of the revolution, a revolution gathering strength in the suburbs of Damascus and in Homs and in Hama and posing a genuine threat to Assad s rule. I looked over the sea of people, cheering and chanting, hands with cell phones raised in the air to capture the protest and beam it out on social media. The crisp November air crackled with the energy and excitement of their voices.
Emboldened by their own daring, they grew louder and louder, the clapping thunderous. My foot tapped along with the beat. It was electrifying.

Bashar, screw you and screw those who salute you. These protesters had been waiting for their moment since the Arab Spring unfolded earlier that year knocking over decades-old dictator- ships in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya. At the time, Assad had told the Wall Street Journal: This is the Middle East, where every week you have something new. But he had confidently predicted that the maelstrom would not affect his country. Instead, it would spur reform. He would turn out to be spectacularly wrong on both counts.

On March 6, 2011, a group of teenage boys, inspired by the wave of

physical and mental well-being . . . But it s the connections she made with the civilians that really tell the story of these war-torn regions and demonstrate an empathy that makes Ward s work so accessible . . . Ward surprises in this affecting insider view of international reporting. Publishers Weekly

On All Fronts is funny, fascinating, heart-breaking and heroic. Clarissa Ward doesn t just take us to the front lines of the world s most dangerous places, revealing the pain and pleasure of being a foreign correspondent, she gives us a startling, and often hilarious look, at her own unconventional, almost unimaginable childhood. How did a continent-hopping Eloise, who was banished at ten to a dismal British boarding school, wind up in Beijing as a stand-in for Uma Thurman on a Quentin Tarantino film, and then break into the news business and become one of the great foreign correspondents of our time? Read on . . . Ward has an extraordinary tale to tell. Anderson Cooper, author of Dispatches from the Edge 

On All Fronts takes the reader on a riveting journey of storytelling as Ward crisscrosses the globe in a relentless quest to become the acclaimed Chief International Correspondent she is today. From Russia to China to Syria, the reader watches her navigate the most intense of human experiences while finding the tools to stay emotional. Lynsey Addario, author of It s What I Do

Clarissa Ward takes us on an page-turning ride through natural disasters and debaucheries; the terror and grief of war zones and the grace notes of motherhood. On All Fronts traces the formation of one of our generation s most dynamic foreign correspondents, and gives us an intimate view of the failures and tragedies of the conflicts that are reshaping our world. Megan K. Stack, author of Women s Work and Every Man In This Village Is A Liar

There has never been a more vital time for journalists who bear witness to crimes against humanity and violations of international law, to have a voice to tell the stories of those who can not tell their one. Clarissa Ward is a reporter I have always admired for her courage but also her clarity and her willingness to take risks to bring sometimes uncomfortable truths to light. Her memoir is a reporter's story with all the grit and frustration and triumphs but also a universal story of a tenacious young woman working in a hardscrabble profession who paved her own way with sheer hard work and a vision. Ward has reported diligently from many war zones, but her work in Syria will go down as a historical record of a country that the international community allowed to bleed. Everyone with a conscience should read this book. Janine di Giovanni, author of The Morning They Came for Us

War correspondents have long been caricatured as vain figures of parachutist self-glory. Clarissa Ward, for all of her onscreen unflappability, has risked this investigative memoir to reveal herself as a reporter of rare modesty in her courage, rare empathy in her diligence, and rare reflection in her daring. This is a poignant and vigorous self-portrait of a journalist graced and burdened with a supreme sense of duty. Gideon Lewis Kraus, author of A Sense of Direction

An honest, candid portrayal of the making of a journalist and the stories behind getting the story. With great empathy, Ward shows us what her viewers don t see the logistical, physical and emotional challenges of going to the toughest places and the toll it takes. A timely reminder of the importance of bearing witness, and why there is no substitute for gutsy on-the-ground journalism. Rania Abouzeid, author of No Turning Back. Life, Loss, And Hope In Wartime Syria