When the Dust Settles

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What to expect

When a plane crashes, a bomb explodes, a city floods or a pandemic begins, Lucy Easthope's phone starts to ring.
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THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER AND RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK
PROFILED IN THE NEW YORKER, A TELEGRAPH AND NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR

'Riveting' - Telegraph
'Gripping' - Sunday Times
'Filled with high drama, surreal twists and mysteries to be solved' - Guardian

Lucy is a world-leading authority on recovering from disaster. She holds governments to account, supports survivors and helps communities to rebuild. She has been at the centre of the most seismic events of the last few decades, advising on everything from the 2004 tsunami and the 7/7 bombings to the Grenfell fire and the war in Ukraine. Lucy's job is to pick up the pieces and get us ready for what comes next.

When the Dust Settles takes us behind the police tape to government briefing rooms and scenes of chaos, looking back at the many losses and loves of a remarkable life and career. It tells us how we can all build back after disaster.

AS FEATURED ON THE HIGH PERFORMANCE PODCAST AND FULL DISCLOSURE WITH JAMES O'BRIEN
'An antidote to despair' - Daily Mirror
'A marvellous book' - Rev Richard Coles
'Amazing book by an amazing woman' - James O'Brien

(P) 2022 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Critics Review

Never less than reassuringly humane... She shows and tells and, vitally, cares.
Telegraph
An unlikely superhero... this gripping memoir is full of compassion. A remarkable insight into the decisions involved in disaster planning.
Sunday Times
Easthope, whether she knows it or not, is that rare thing, a genuine philosopher thinking through what she is actually doing in the mitigation of human suffering.
New Statesman
The disasters recalled here often read like short stories, each of them filled with high drama, surreal twists and mysteries to be solved.
Guardian
'A remarkable account...This should be a dark and depressing read; that it isn't, that it is ultimately hopeful and uplifting, is down to the utter human decency that the author represents'
Mail on Sunday
An essential, uplifting read, brimming with humanity, humility and humour.
Sue Black
An entirely unique vision of the human experience
Irish Times
Candid, unsettling and darkly funny
Sunday Post
Poignant, funny, analytical and profoundly humane
Perspective Magazine
Dauntless and forthright
TLS
Deeply humane, occasionally unsettling, and strangely uplifting
Irish Business Post
A book of horror and hope, written with rare humanity.
John Sutherland
When the Dust Settles taught me is that all experiences are of value... Easthope shows us how perfection and imperfection are woven together. Everything is flawed. Yet there is also hope despite the flaws.
Rachel Kelly
Her sensitive and profoundly moral book explores how human beings can preserve their resilience and live with loss.
New Statesman
Rewrites your perceptions of the disasters and wars of our lifetime with vivid details and vignettes... laced with humanity and decency. A literary memento which honours the messy truth of life.'
The Critic
An inspiring memoir. Easthope advises, supports and helps to rebuild lives.
Yorkshire Post
A riveting no-nonsense memoir that pulls back the curtains on your worst fears and shows you that someone, somewhere, will always truly care.
Jenny Colgan
Outstanding... a graphic but deeply humane account of what drew her to take on such work, and how she steels herself to tackle the worst of human scenarios.
The Bookseller

User Reviews

Book 5.0
Narration 4.5
5.0
5.0
Absolutely brilliant. A rare combination of world leading expertise and uncompromising compassion and humanity. Might be the best book I've read all year.
Corrie 10/11/2024
5.0
4.0
An excellent book covering a world often not seen by many, and demonstrating the complexities and myriad nuances of planning and responding to disasters, particularly from a female perspective. Highly recommended.
sonicwinger 30/07/2024

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