''Notes from My Travels: Visits with Refugees in Africa, Cambodia, Pakistan and Ecuador'' is a collection of journal excerpts kept by actress

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie ( ; born Angelina Jolie Voight, , June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Angelina Jolie, numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards ...

written from February 2001 through June 2002 detailing her experiences travelling to troubled

Third World The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the Southern Cone, NATO, Western European countries and oth ...

regions in her role as a Goodwill Ambassador for the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

High Commissioner for Refugees (

UNHCR The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and Humanitarian protection, protect refugees, Internally displaced person, forcibly displaced communities, and Statelessness, s ...

). The book was published in 2003, concurrent with the release of '' Beyond Borders'', a film in which she plays a character who eventually works for UNHCR. It was also during the timeframe of writing these journals that Jolie adopted her

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

n-born son, Maddox. ''Notes from My Travels'' details Jolie's visits to

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, and

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

. Jolie donated her proceeds from the book to the UNHCR. In 2006, Jolie put her handwritten notebooks up for auction with the proceeds benefiting refugees. Bidding started at $150, and the journals were sold for $5,460.

Release

The book was officially released October 28, 2003. In July 2020, ''Notes from My Travels'' was translated into Vietnamese by Hoang Anh Kapi.

Reception

Critical response

Upon its release ''Notes from My Travels'', was well received with newspapers like '' The Arab American News'' saying the book, "...offers insight into refugee life." In 2016, the book was included in a list by

UWIRE UWIRE is an American wire service for student journalists at more than 800 colleges and universities across the United States. It acts as a sort of hub between these institutions' newspapers, giving each of its over 850 members access to news, sp ...

of empowering books for Women's History Month. The journalist behind the list Sarah Nichols called the book, "deeply intelligent and thoughtful." Hoang Anh Kapi who adapted the book for Vietnamese in 2020 called the book, "...a must-read book to understand more about the world we are living in." Jane Goodall, Ph.D., CBE Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace said, "Angelina is living proof of the power we all have—every one of us—to make a difference. I was deeply moved by her descriptions of individual refugees struggling to live with dignity and hope, and found her personal commitment to be an inspiration. Angelina's journals document her awakening as a humanitarian activist and I hope they will move readers to act. I look forward to my continued work with Angelina on behalf of the United Nations." On December 25, 2018, Syeda Adeela Zainab from the ''Voice of Journalists'' said "The book is worth reading for everybody especially for those who want to volunteer their selves for the well being of humanity."

Public opinion

When interviewed by the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...

'' in October 2003, Angelina's father Jon Voight said the book is, "...very well written and moving to read."

References

External links

* Published i
EnglishGermanRussian

Witness to Truth

Angelina Jolie's Refugee Journals
{{Angelina Jolie 2003 non-fiction books Travel autobiographies American travel books American autobiographies American memoirs Books about refugees Angelina Jolie