There's this girl named Anna who was in my book club. She was there from the beginning, from the early Fametracker days. Like most of the others in the group, she blew me away with her ability to transition easily from discussing the themes of the books we were reading--tying them in to classics and various other books--to gossiping about the latest celebrity scandal and gushing about the dreamy guys in Band of Brothers. I was never really sure what she did, though she talked about having to go to London on business.
In September 2006 we read The Places In Between by Rory Stewart, about a man who walks across Afghanistan (totally worth reading, by the way). Over the next few months, Anna talked about how she had a mutual acquaintance with Rory Stewart, then reported on meeting him. Then she said she was moving to Afghanistan to work for the Turquoise Mountain Foundation. To me, it was totally crazy, but totally awesome. It's not something I could ever do (I've had debates with myself about whether I could move to London, much less Kabul!), but I couldn't help but admire Anna for her decision. I missed her in book club, but was a bit jealous of her drive and guts.
I got an e-mail Wednesday that Anna died in Afghanistan on Tuesday, in a fall from her horse. I still can't quite believe it. It all seems so unreal, and sad, and wrong. It's always sad when someone so young passes away; it's made worse when you know what good work she was doing, and how vivacious and fun she was. My thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends and everyone whose lives she touched.
In memory of Anna Woodiwiss.
Posted by Barb at April 6, 2008 12:10 AM | TrackBack