''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, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...

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, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " First ...

regions in her role as a

Goodwill Ambassador Goodwill ambassador is a post-nominal honorific title, a professional occupation and/or authoritative designation that is assigned to a person who advocates for a specific cause or global issue on the basis of their notability such as a publ ...

for the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

High Commissioner for Refugees (

UNHCR The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrat ...

). 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 (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

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 by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

, and

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

. 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 Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

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 a wire service powered by 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, spo ...

of empowering books for

Women's History Month Women's History Month is an annual declared month that highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. It is celebrated during March in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, corresponding with ...

. 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 Dame Jane Morris Goodall (; born Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall on 3 April 1934), formerly Baroness Jane van Lawick-Goodall, is an English primatologist and anthropologist. Seen as the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best kn ...

, Ph.D., CBE Founder of the

Jane Goodall Institute The Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) is a global wildlife and environment conservation organization headquartered in Washington, DC. It was founded in 1977 by English primatologist Jane Goodall. The institute has offices in more than twenty-five coun ...

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. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...

'' in October 2003, Angelina's father

Jon Voight Jonathan Vincent Voight (; born December 29, 1938) is an American actor. He came to prominence in the late 1960s with his Academy Award–nominated performance as Joe Buck, a would-be gigolo, in ''Midnight Cowboy'' (1969). During the 1970s, h ...

said the book is, "...very well written and moving to read."

External links

* Published i
EnglishGermanRussian
* United Nation

DVD Catalogue

Witness to Truth

Angelina Jolie's Refugee Journals

References

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