Anna’s Reviews > This Is Also a Love Story: A Reporter's Search for Goodness in a Cruel World > Status Update
Anna
is on page 185 of 304
Chapter 7: Lebanon 🇱🇧
A wild, heartbreaking look at conflict and economic collapse. It follows a man who held up a bank at gunpoint just to access his own frozen savings to pay for his father's medical care. Shockingly, these bank raids have become a recurring trend. It’s a powerful testament to the chapter's title, "crimes in the name of love", when a broken system turns devotion into desperation.
— Jul 17, 2026 04:54PM
A wild, heartbreaking look at conflict and economic collapse. It follows a man who held up a bank at gunpoint just to access his own frozen savings to pay for his father's medical care. Shockingly, these bank raids have become a recurring trend. It’s a powerful testament to the chapter's title, "crimes in the name of love", when a broken system turns devotion into desperation.
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Anna’s Previous Updates
Anna
is on page 254 of 304
Chapter 9: Japan 🇯🇵
A look at unique grief and bereavement rituals following the 2011 tsunami. From griefbots to the "drifting post", where people mail letters to those they've lost; it highlights how a society that handles mental health privately found a way to heal. It made mourning a shared experience, offering the profound comfort of realising you are not entirely alone in your heartbreak.
— 17 minutes ago
A look at unique grief and bereavement rituals following the 2011 tsunami. From griefbots to the "drifting post", where people mail letters to those they've lost; it highlights how a society that handles mental health privately found a way to heal. It made mourning a shared experience, offering the profound comfort of realising you are not entirely alone in your heartbreak.
Anna
is on page 226 of 304
Chapter 8: Syria
Shows how a brutal dictatorship can weaponize love as a means of domination. It’s a devastating look at the regime's cruelty and the horror of families wading through leaked photos to find disappeared loved ones. Yet, after the regime's fall, what stands out is the stubborn, enduring love of those who kept hoping against hope just to learn their family's fate. Heartbreaking but powerful.
— 1 hour, 24 min ago
Shows how a brutal dictatorship can weaponize love as a means of domination. It’s a devastating look at the regime's cruelty and the horror of families wading through leaked photos to find disappeared loved ones. Yet, after the regime's fall, what stands out is the stubborn, enduring love of those who kept hoping against hope just to learn their family's fate. Heartbreaking but powerful.
Anna
is on page 159 of 304
Chapter 6: Nigeria 🇳🇬
A powerful look at maternal love against Boko Haram. I was awed by how mothers protected their kids by intentionally acting like "madwomen." Because militias believed harming them would bring a curse, this performance became a brilliant, lifesaving shield. It’s incredible how these women weaponised superstitions and risked everything to keep their families safe.
— Jul 17, 2026 04:04PM
A powerful look at maternal love against Boko Haram. I was awed by how mothers protected their kids by intentionally acting like "madwomen." Because militias believed harming them would bring a curse, this performance became a brilliant, lifesaving shield. It’s incredible how these women weaponised superstitions and risked everything to keep their families safe.
Anna
is on page 134 of 304
Chapter 5: Ghana 🇬🇭
A heartbreaking shift. This chapter explores the devastating aftermath of the 2024 "family values" bill, which criminalised queer identity. By talking directly to those affected, the author shows the raw, human cost of this legislation: a vibrant LGBTQI+ community driven underground. A sobering reminder of how fragile safety and human rights can be.
— Jul 14, 2026 11:06AM
A heartbreaking shift. This chapter explores the devastating aftermath of the 2024 "family values" bill, which criminalised queer identity. By talking directly to those affected, the author shows the raw, human cost of this legislation: a vibrant LGBTQI+ community driven underground. A sobering reminder of how fragile safety and human rights can be.
Anna
is on page 104 of 304
Chapter 4: Uganda 🇺🇬
Focuses on male survivors who escaped the LRA. It uncovers the horrific psychological tactics used during their abductions (like a child's impossible choice leading to a parent's murder) and explores the incredibly complex, difficult reintegration process when they finally return home. A stark, eye-opening chapter on the long road to survival.
— Jul 14, 2026 09:03AM
Focuses on male survivors who escaped the LRA. It uncovers the horrific psychological tactics used during their abductions (like a child's impossible choice leading to a parent's murder) and explores the incredibly complex, difficult reintegration process when they finally return home. A stark, eye-opening chapter on the long road to survival.
Anna
is on page 79 of 304
Chapter 3: Iraq 🇮🇶
This hit close to home; half of my family is Iraqi, some displaced by ISIS, and I visited during the Mosul liberation. It beautifully captures how people loved in secret under occupation. It also gave me vital context I was missing, like how the Iran-Iraq war casualties created a whole generation of women who never had the chance to marry. A deeply personal, eye-opening chapter.
— Jul 11, 2026 07:14PM
This hit close to home; half of my family is Iraqi, some displaced by ISIS, and I visited during the Mosul liberation. It beautifully captures how people loved in secret under occupation. It also gave me vital context I was missing, like how the Iran-Iraq war casualties created a whole generation of women who never had the chance to marry. A deeply personal, eye-opening chapter.
Anna
is on page 55 of 304
Chapter 2: Rwanda
A moving look at post-genocide society and coping strategies, focusing on "artificial families": networks of young people creating chosen support systems.
"There can be people who can care for you to the same extent as your family, who are not necessarily your family by blood, and you can also similarly take care of them."
A testament to human resilience and the necessity of connection.
— Jul 10, 2026 11:34AM
A moving look at post-genocide society and coping strategies, focusing on "artificial families": networks of young people creating chosen support systems.
"There can be people who can care for you to the same extent as your family, who are not necessarily your family by blood, and you can also similarly take care of them."
A testament to human resilience and the necessity of connection.
Anna
is on page 33 of 304
Chapter 1: Ukraine 🇺🇦
Poses a hidden consequence of modern war that I hadn't given much thought to before: because men are far more likely to join the military, many women feel forced back into traditional, stereotyped gender roles. There's a palpable, unsettling fear here that these societal shifts won't just revert to pre-war norms when the conflict finally ends. An eye-opening start.
— Jul 04, 2026 05:44AM
Poses a hidden consequence of modern war that I hadn't given much thought to before: because men are far more likely to join the military, many women feel forced back into traditional, stereotyped gender roles. There's a palpable, unsettling fear here that these societal shifts won't just revert to pre-war norms when the conflict finally ends. An eye-opening start.