Angelina Jolie's: Notes from My Travels: Visits with Refugees in Africa, Cambodia, Pakistan and Ecuador

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Angelina Jolie's: Notes from My Travels: Visits with Refugees in Africa, Cambodia, Pakistan and Ecuador

by Angelina Jolie, Caspian Tredwell-Owen

3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 · rating details · 720 ratings · 98 reviews

Three years ago, award-winning actress Angelina Jolie took on a radically different role as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Here are her memoirs from her journeys to Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Pakistan, Cambodia, and Ecuador, where she lived and worked and gave her heart to those who suffer the world's most shattering violence and vict...more

Paperback, 256 pages

Published October 28th 2003 by Gallery Books (first published 2003)

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Mar 15, 2010 Clare rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone

Shelves: favourites

This book changed my life. Twee as that may sound to you its true.

I read it on a trip back to visit family in the UK last year. It made me realise how lucky I am to be from a country (UK) or live in a country (USA) that has not been ripped apart by civil war, forcing me to flee from my home with just what clothes I am wearing. I haven't had to spend two years looking for my possibly dead mother, father or brother. I don't have to worry about how I am going to feed or clothe myself each day.

I li...more

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Sep 20, 2007 Bonnie Rose rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: journalmemoir

I am proud to say I like Angelina Jolie when she was going through her 'weird stage' and some say she still is. In either case, she is someone I put as a role model because of the way she balances her life as a working woman, a mother, a humanitarian, a celebrity, etc. I love what she has done to help others and bring awareness to other places of the world. I love that she has adopted children who needed loving homes. This book is a must read.

7 likes · like · see review

Nov 13, 2011 Sara marked it as travel

Favorite quotes:

"I think we all want justice and equality. We all want a chance for a life with meaning. All of us would like to believe that if we were in a bad situation someone would help us."

"Someone once said, 'You can learn more about someone in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.'"

2 likes · like · see review

Aug 04, 2008 Amy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Angelina Jolie was named Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commisioner for Refugees on August 27, 2001. This book is comprised of her journals from her visits with refugees in Africa, Cambodia, Pakistan, and Ecuador. She admits that she is not a writer, but this book is effective nonetheless, eye-opening, and very sad. It's nice to see a celebrity do some good with their wealth and good fortune. I just wish she would have listed some resources or let her readers know know how they...more

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May 24, 2012 Kaitlyn Barrett rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: travel-related

This book should be titled “The education and awakening of Angelina Jolie” since the most interesting thing is the way she grows up between the beginning and the end.

Because she isn’t a writer, the shock and horror she experienced in Africa comes through in a more visceral way. She’s not trying to make us feel what she feels when she looks around at acres of dying refugees, she’s just trying to describe it to herself in some way that makes sense. I’m impressed by the fact that she requested her...more This book should be titled “The education and awakening of Angelina Jolie” since the most interesting thing is the way she grows up between the beginning and the end.

Because she isn’t a writer, the shock and horror she experienced in Africa comes through in a more visceral way. She’s not trying to make us feel what she feels when she looks around at acres of dying refugees, she’s just trying to describe it to herself in some way that makes sense. I’m impressed by the fact that she requested her first humanitarian assignment to Africa and I wish she’d had the presence of mind and introspectiveness to write about what drove her to that decision. It’s all the more impressive that she would take another assignment after Africa because that kind of human suffering is way beyond one person’s ability to make a difference. It’s a rare person that dives in anyway and says that they’ll do what they can even if it makes no appreciable difference because they can’t stand by and do nothing.

The section on Cambodia came as a relief after her experience in Africa. It’s clear she connected with and loved the country and the people of Cambodia in a way that she didn’t with Africa. The horrors are no less real but we, as readers, see the way that she matured as a person and the way that she started to recognize what she has to offer. Tanzania was interesting, Pakistan was kind of grim and Ecuador came as an educational surprise since I read the book while on a trip to Ecuador.

The writing is all over the place. The sections of her journal are broken up in a jolting way by paragraphs explaining the history of humanitarian organizations like the UNHCR and some world history of how refugees came to be congregated in certain areas. It’s clear that if Jolie didn’t have a ghost writer, at least parts of this book were written after the fact. The journal entries in the moment ring the most true and have a lot of emotional depth.

I have a lot of respect for her and this journey that she took to open her eyes and her mind to the world around her. She could have become the kind of celebrity that took a few trips and then donated money to charities but instead she continues to donate her time, which is a far more precious commodity.
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Sep 17, 2010 Marianne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, celebrity, refugees, travel, journal

Disclaimer - I like Angelina Jolie. I think that she's an amazing woman, a great actress and classier than certain people who feel the need to name-drop her in every other interview. That's partly why I read this and the other was that it gave me a significant push into Asia that I needed for my challenge.

Anyway, before Brangelina and all the kids Angelina Jolie was recruited as a UN Goodwill Ambassador for Refugees and as part of her duties she went travelling around the world to different area...more Disclaimer - I like Angelina Jolie. I think that she's an amazing woman, a great actress and classier than certain people who feel the need to name-drop her in every other interview. That's partly why I read this and the other was that it gave me a significant push into Asia that I needed for my challenge.

Anyway, before Brangelina and all the kids Angelina Jolie was recruited as a UN Goodwill Ambassador for Refugees and as part of her duties she went travelling around the world to different areas to talk to displaced people. This book is her diaries during those trips and her thoughts and experiences. Almost from the start you warm to her, even if you didn't like her. The book is written such as we would write - chronicling little things and snippets of conversation as she discovers how different life is. There are little points, barely mentioned, where she realises that a boy she had spoken to was killed, or where she watches children pick litter in the street to earn money, or sees children being sold into the sex trade at the age of 5 or 6 because they can't afford not to or where she's told how gangs would come in and make family members amputate each others limbs, or sees children carrying guns where you can feel how it affects her. It's not done in a gratuitous 'oh woe is me' way, but in a way where, no matter how brief the image is, it sticks with you.

At one point in Cambodia she mentions how she and her friend went to a museum and in it they show pictures of some of the atrocities committed and she lists some of them and explains how she had to leave such was the effect it had on her.

In another account she went to Pakistan to speak with Afghan refugees. This is before 9/11 and she says that afterwards she donated money to the Afgahn refugees and as a result she received death-threats because people couldn't differentiate between Afghanistan and the Taliban. That stuck with me because even now I still think that some people fail to make those distinctions.

I know a lot of people don't like her, but I think reading this you can understand her stance on life and why she adopted the kids that she did. I just think it's something people should think about.
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Oct 24, 2009 Eileen Souza rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: africa, asia, south-america, girl-effect, middle-east

Certainly not what you would expect from a Hollywood star. This is the story of Angelina Jolie, the Goodwill Ambassador for the UN. The story is told through journals that she wrote during visits that she took in 2001 and 2002 to Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Cambodia, Pakistan, and Ecuador.

As she says right off the bat, she's not a writer. The journals are short thoughts and memories that she was capturing each day. They are her thoughts as she experienced the interaction and stories of refugees all...more

2 likes · like · see review

Sep 24, 2007 Zabeth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: finished

Makes you appreciate her humanitarian work. You will really get to know the other side of AJ, away from the glamor in hollywood, her compassion towards these people, her genuine motives in helping in whatever way she can to tell the world that there are millions out there in the other side of the planet who lives in misery. It makes you stop whatever you're doing and just say, I'm a lucky bitch compared to these people, so what can I do now to help even just on my own little way???

3 likes · like · see review

Nov 20, 2012 Olga Kark rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: travel, non-fiction, memoir

Книга содержит в себе дневники Джолли, которые она вела в своих поездках в лагеря беженцев в Африке, Камбоджии, Пакистане и Эквадоре. Никакой литературной ценности книга не представляет, это просто честные, практически неотредактированные записи, сделанные на ходу в грузовике, идущем по тряской дороге к лагерю беженцев или в крошечной комнатке мотеля после целого дня встреч с людьми, которым посчастливилось выжить и пережить ужасы, описание которых просто не укладывается и с трудом воспроизводит...more

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Mar 31, 2008 Candace rated it 4 of 5 stars

Jolie is not a talented writer by any means, but her accounts of her experiences are honest and straightforward. The beauty in the book is that there is no flowery language masking or embellishing what's going on. She simply states what she sees, and how she feels, and from that, our eyes are opened to what is going on in the various parts of the world she visits.

4 likes · like · see review

Aug 14, 2007 Leang Ngov rated it 4 of 5 stars

I loved this book because I admire Angelina Jolie for what she's doing for the humanity. Of course, it doesn't hurt that I LOVE her as well. Anyway, it was interesting to know what was going on in her position since I've always wanted to be involved with refugee agency (most of my fam are refugees from Cambodia).

3 likes · like · see review

Oct 05, 2007 Jesse Blazewicz rated it 5 of 5 stars

I won't lie. I adore Angelina in everything she does. This book is written as her own personal journal. It is very eye opening to what is going on in the world. She doesn't censor herself, and it's a very honest account of refugees and otherwise impoverished people and lands around the world.

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Jan 04, 2008 Jennifer rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone!

Being a HUGE Angelina Jolie fan, I found this book to love her even more! She just proves to the world that she is seriously one of the most active and loving actresses out there. Her daily struggles helping refugees opened my eyes and I think everyone should read this book! Kudos!

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Jan 01, 2009 Jan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Jolie's diary notes as Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR (2002-2003). She went to Mamibia, Thailand, Ecuador, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Kosovo. Angelina didn't travel as a movie star but took the simple path of a UNHCR worker. My husband was Amb. in Cambodia (the fellow mentioned in her chapter on Cambodia) when she was there and can testify to her earnest endeavor to learn all she could. He noted her note taking at the time. Ms Jolie began as a naive, privileged, rich young woman determined to...more

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Jul 21, 2011 JM rated it 5 of 5 stars

I love Angelina Jolie, and admired her for her daring personality her beautiful soul and just everything she has represented and stood up for. Being real and human. I found this book in a pile when i was 15 and I smiled because she was my role model so I had her journal in my hands. I HAD to read it. It wasn't hard to see that she really is passionate about people. It changed my perspective of life allot and the way I see her.. as much more than a Hollywood actress. She is definitely iconic and...more

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Jun 26, 2010 Miguel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Este livro resulta de apontamentos tirados pela Angelina jolie durante as suas visitas humanitárias como embaixatriz do ACNUR (Alto Comissariado das Nações Unidas para os Refugiados). Inicialmente foram apenas notas de viagem, uma reflexão daquilo que via e sentia... Mas após alguma insistência, acabou por reorganizar as suas notas e escrever este livro.

Angelina retrata o que viu, o que sentiu, as histórias por detrás dos números que constituem os refugiados. Um relato por vezes emocionado e rev...more

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Aug 20, 2011 Megan Carpenter rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a heartfelt journal. The thoughts are raw, not softened by a ghostwriter. A true insiders view to worlds that we cannot imagine, war torn countries and the people that are punished because of it. This is an eye opening experience, one that had me tearing up in places, mad as hell in others, and overall grateful for what I have, and hopeful that I can provide help to an amazing organization in the future. Whatever you think you know of Angelina Jolie, this gives another view, and reminds...more

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Oct 29, 2012 Shaz S rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

Blurb on the back: Three years ago, award-winning actress Angelina Jolie took on a radically different role as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Here are her memoirs from her journeys to Seirra Leone, Tanzania, Pakistan, Cambodia and Ecuador, where she lived and worked and gave her heart to those who suffer the world's most shattering voilence and victimization. Here are her revelations of joy and warmth amid utter destitution... compelling snapshots of cou...more

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Dec 31, 2011 Lucy rated it 5 of 5 stars

I knew Angelina Jolie wrote this book and had it published years ago. I was truly interested in her efforts and work, and on top of that I've always been a Jolie fan, but I didn't get a chance to pick it up until a few days ago.

She is such a compassionate, considerate, caring and amazing individual. I almost forgot I was reading a book written by a celebrity!

A thing I really liked about her journal was that she wasn't trying to be somebody she's not - in her own words in the introduction - "I am...more

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May 27, 2010 Denise rated it 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book very much, although it tensed me at times, and made me cry at others. It's the story of many refugees around the world, and the humanitarian work Angelina Jolie has done to help them out. It's an account of her early years as Good Will Ambassador for the UNHCR.

I’m so impressed by the things that people can do to each other, and how the survivors of this hatred and spite keep on with their lives after such harsh and traumatic experiences stay tattooed on their souls. By the e...more I enjoyed this book very much, although it tensed me at times, and made me cry at others. It's the story of many refugees around the world, and the humanitarian work Angelina Jolie has done to help them out. It's an account of her early years as Good Will Ambassador for the UNHCR.

I’m so impressed by the things that people can do to each other, and how the survivors of this hatred and spite keep on with their lives after such harsh and traumatic experiences stay tattooed on their souls. By the end of the book I couldn’t stop asking myself the same thing that Angelina asked herself all along: how do they survive at all!

Angelina starts her journal by saying that she's not different from other people, but she wants to help. To me that alone makes her different. Not everyone cares about other fellow beings. She's different in so many ways and she makes a difference with all her humanitarian work.

I can understand why the UNHCR agency has such high rates of suicide and depression. Reading books about other countries who live in permanent terror like the ones she describes always depresses me, even though I’m thousands of miles away culturally and physically, and safe behind the soft pages of the book. I can’t imagine the emotional scars that all those persons are left with when they are lucky enough to keep their lives. Anonymous to the rest of the world and yet still very valuable lives. Dead just seems such a high price to pay for respect and integrity. I can’t imagine where they gather the strength to keep smiling.

It would be easier, less risky and less emotionally demanding to just send funds from the comfort of her home, and yet she is willing to share with all these people her time helping out in whatever ways she can. And that’s why it’s so admirable what she does. It’s easy to mourn the dead, but it’s hard to help the living. To all those refugees she is just some woman who wants to help. A remarkable woman with noble feelings. She masters beautiful gestures that make people feel good and loved and recognized and valued, and that alone can be more important than having a lot of other things that seem necessary and are necessary for all of them, but not any more so than the grace and beauty of a person whose mere existence makes it possible for them to keep their hopes up.

As I read once, you can train thousands or millions of political theorists and economists and theologians and bureaucrats, but charm and charisma, and the desire to put celebrity to good use: hundreds of years of training can’t teach that or invent it. And Angelina has what it takes to make all this happen. I can’t help those people because I don’t have the economic resources to do so. But I’m grateful that there are people like her out there who are willing to share what they have, and to sacrifice some of her own comfort to help out. It's a good read if you want to sensitize yourself about some world issues.

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Oct 24, 2008 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a great book and a quick snapshot of the role of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Founded in 1950 by the UN General Assembly to lead and coordinate international actions to protect the world's (currently) estimated 39.5 million refugees.

Jolie starts the book off with a caveat that she is not a writer and that these are notes she took in her private journal during her fact finding missions with the UNHCR. It reads exactly like that. I appreciated Jolie's candor...more

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Aug 07, 2011 Maria added it

As she admits herself she is no writer, but it's a heartfelt account of visits with refugees and takes you into the world of NGOs working with these issues. I also admire the fact that she takes the time to learn about the issues in person and has tried to improve her own and others ignorance. It's not something she has to do. I hope she continues to use her celebrity and profile to raise awareness of these issues.

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Mar 04, 2009 Leticia rated it 5 of 5 stars

I learned how my country claims that it comes to the aid of developing countries in need when all the people there live everyday knowing there has been no JUSTICE, no VENGEANCE, and no real PEACE. Through her experience with UNHCR, Angelina tells the stories of the voiceless and brings awareness to the issues facing these human beings that deserve to be heard by all. This book I highly recommend to all.

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Aug 29, 2011 Nikki Belushko rated it 3 of 5 stars

Angelina Jolie is an actress not a writer and she doesn't pretend to be some great writer, that said; she gives this very interesting account of being the goodwill ambassador to the UNHCR - it is honest, humble and eye opening. I would really give it 3.5 stars but that doesn't seem to be an option. I have moved on to the book "Three Cups of Tea" and I think reading these books in this order makes for a nice progression.

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Dec 03, 2008 Janna rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Angelina Jolie fans

This book is an absolute MUST if you are an Angelina fan.

It's clear right away that Angelina isn't a writer, but I don't think you should expect her to be one. She describes her surroundings, experiences and emotions in the refugee camps in a way that you can really picture what's happening.

I already was an Angelina fan before I read this book the first time, and by the time I was done with it, I could barely keep my mouth shut about how much I admired her. Her stories are a really good realit...more

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Aug 09, 2009 Leila T. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Angelina Jolie is an american actress who has become heavily involved in humanitarian work with UNHCR, the UN refugee agency. This is truly a diary of notes, where her sentences and thoughts are simple, strong, and clear. It reads very much like a teenager discovering things about life that were completely unknown before: curious, open, enthusiastic, shy, excited, and outraged. Interesting.

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Mar 28, 2009 Denise rated it 5 of 5 stars

I wish I had the courage to work for an organization like this – one where real change is a possibility. The stories Angelina shares are powerful and moving. The people are heroic. I had no idea how dangerous life was for the average worker. I always thought they would be well guarded. It was a real eye-opening look into the evil and good in the world today.

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Sep 19, 2012 Madypad rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

I've always had a tinge of dislike for Angelina because of the whole Brad and Jen thing I mean come on they seriously were a cute couple. But I had always wanted to travel through Cambodia, Africa and the like so when I found out about this book I knew I had to read about it. This book was absolutely amazing it was like I was crying over something at every chapter which is nothing as they said because Im a serious crybaby for anything brutal and sad. But its a good book to spread because not onl...more

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Feb 21, 2012 Eva Mann rated it 5 of 5 stars

Angelina has to have the most perfectly gorgeous face structure of anyone I have ever seen. This is a true insider's view into things most of us will never experience, heartfelt pages of tragedy aftermath, war torn countries, and people just trying to survive the day. This is raw and truthful and will make you almost feel guilty for having all you have. Wonderful!!

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Apr 14, 2009 Jodi rated it 5 of 5 stars

A MUST READ. It will teach you so much about how many displaced people there are all over the world - such a sad read, but very important to educate yourself on such things. UNICEF and UNHCR information is included and this book really turned me on to Cambodian history and culture. Now if I only knew how to speak Khmer!

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About Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie (born Angelina Jolie Voight) is an American film actor and a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency. She is often cited by popular media as one of the world's most beautiful women and her off-screen life is widely reported. She has received three Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and an Academy Award.

In 2003, Jolie published Notes from My Travels, a collect...more

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