This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite
In Encounter, Ian Reilly recounts the two years he and his wife Heather spent in Samoa after accepting volunteer teaching positions at Leulumoega Fou College. Arriving from Australia in 1990, the couple enters a country they know mostly through preparation before departure and soon discovers how little it can tell them about daily life. Ian takes on physics at the college as Heather teaches English, bringing them into a school shaped by local customs and limited resources. Cyclone Ofa then tears through Samoa, leaving their community with damaged homes and disrupted services. As the couple continues teaching, village life gradually brings them closer to the people around them. Reilly also writes openly about the Christian faith that brought them to Samoa, following a journey that changes their understanding of service and their place within the country.
Ian Reilly’s Encounter is an exceptional memoir, and he writes about Samoa with such openness that the people he meets very quickly feel familiar. I loved the ingenuity he brings to teaching, like when he finds old ticker-timers in the science room and repairs enough for his physics students to conduct experiments. Reilly is just as good at showing how those relationships move beyond the classroom. During a trip to Sauano, vehicle trouble leaves Ian and Heather spending hours with students Manutagi and Fuli before they sit beside the sea talking together. Reilly recognizes that they are relating as friends instead of teachers. It is a lovely moment that says so much about the connection he forms with his students. Well written and thoughtful, readers who enjoy memoirs about living abroad will adore this.
