BOOK REVIEW: Called For Life

We all watched the headlines as the Ebola epidemic hit West Africa last year. For the first time, we had an Ebola patient leave Africa and step out of an ambulance onto American soil: one of our own. The now-iconic photo of the man in the protective suit is of Dr. Kent Brantly, medical missionary to Liberia. In "Called for Life," Dr. Brantly describes his experience as a victim of the deadly virus.


Dr Brantly and his wife Amber, a nurse, moved to Liberia in 2012 with their children to serve God as medical missionaries with Samaritan's Purse. Loving the people and serving them as best possible given limited medical supplies and equipment, they were front and center when the worst outbreak of Ebola hit in the summer of 2014. Serving in a supportive role alongside her husband and the rest of the team, Amber and flew back to the United States, with the kids, for a planned vacation just three days before Kent woke feeling "just not right."

When Kent's positive Ebola result came a few days later, he faced it with courage and steadiness. Even at his sickest, he did not question God but, rather, leaned on the prayers of family and friends. His teammates at the Liberian hospital took care of him while the decision was made to not only use an experimental medication on him (one never used on humans), but also to fly him back to the United States for treatment.



If you followed the headlines, you know that Dr Brantly survived the Ebola virus. This book, however, tells you what it was like to suffer from the disease as family, friends and the world watched.

I enjoyed reading the book because, like most of us, I was curious about what it was like to have gone through this virus. It truly is a terrible disease, yet hopefully, because of Kent's positive reaction to the experimental medication--and the likewise positive reaction of Nancy Writebol, Kent's coworker and fellow Ebola patient in the hospital in Atlanta--progress will be made so that people can be protected from its high fatality rate. Dr. Brantly tells his story with the professionalism of a medical doctor yet tempered by the very real human viewpoint of a husband, father and friend.

I was particularly struck by the commitment of his coworkers in Liberia and the medical team at Emory University, caring respectfully and compassionately for him despite the very real possibility that they too could become infected.

I received this book free of charge in exchange for an impartial review. If you would like more information about the Brantlys and "Called for Life," go here.