Witness in the Dust by Lorrie Reed tells the story of Haiti during its years of crisis, from the hurricanes that battered Gonaïves in 2008 to the earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince in 2010 and beyond. It blends vivid storytelling with historical detail, following ordinary families like Celine’s, local pastors, and aid workers as they fight to survive storms, floods, political collapse, and disease. The narrative draws you in with its sensory detail, grounding sweeping tragedy in the smell of dust, the taste of spoiled water, and the sound of prayers whispered in ruined churches. It is both a chronicle of disasters and a meditation on resilience, faith, and the small acts of mercy that keep people going.

I felt pulled into the dust and heat of the markets, the pounding storms, the suffocating silence after buildings fell. The writing is rich, sometimes almost overwhelming, in its attention to the textures and smells of daily life. I found myself pausing sometimes because the intensity of the descriptions made the pain so vivid I needed to take a breath. I admired how the author never lost sight of the people at the heart of it all. Celine and Gabriel felt real, their small gestures of kindness holding more weight than the trucks of foreign aid. I could feel the push and pull between despair and determination in every scene.

I also found myself wrestling with the ideas inside the book. The story makes you question what survival really means, and whether faith is something that lifts people up or just gives shape to their suffering. I loved the way Pastor Claude’s sermons weren’t polished theology but guttural cries of grief and defiance. Sometimes the repetition of disaster after disaster left me feeling hopeless. Yet maybe that’s the point. Haiti’s reality in those years didn’t allow for neat resolutions or comforting endings. The book doesn’t try to tidy it up, and I respect that honesty.

I’d recommend Witness in the Dust to readers who want a story that feels raw, relatable, and unflinching. It weighs heavily on your heart and will leave you thinking about it for a while afterwards. But for those willing to sit with hard truths, it offers not only a window into Haiti’s suffering but also a testament to the endurance of ordinary people when the world falls apart. If you want to feel history not as statistics but as sweat, blood, and breath, this book is worth your time.

Pages: 197