Candid Intent

"The absorbing, occasionally harrowing, prose makes for a compelling read." -KIRKUS REVIEWS

Rwandan-British broadcaster Venuste Nshimiyimana takes the reader on a journey to the frontline in Baghdad in this 2023 debut memoir, which commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Bush Administration's "shock and awe" campaign that launched the Iraq War.

It is 2003, and the diplomatic handwringing at the UN has yielded nothing. The heat in the Arabian Gulf is peaking, and recourse to violence against Saddam Hussein is inevitable. War is coming.

At the BBC World Service's headquarters in London, up-and-coming broadcaster Venuste Nshimiyimana has long expected the call of duty. But when the email confirming his deployment hits his terminal, it lands an unexpected punch in his gut.

The Rwandan native is no stranger to the horrors of war and large- scale violence. Overnight, Baghdad has become a trigger word for a barely buried tragedy. But the die is cast. And soon, with the Middle East looming, more than unsettled memories of the Genocide weighs on the broadcaster.

In Candid Intent, Nshimiyimana recounts his pivotal journey from the cutthroat office politics of Newsroom London to the smouldering rubble of war-torn Baghdad. More than a tale of one man's conquest over his inner ghosts, this insider's masterclass on journalism is also an adventurous insight into the human condition.

Through the lens of tragedy, resilience, kindness, and tolerance, Nshimiyimana-in a unique and clear voice-dissects the intricate tapestry of our shared humanity, revealing the mess at our core while celebrating the human spirit's capacity for ultimate triumph.