Nicholas D. Kristof at First Parish Church

Harvard Book Store and My Life My Choice welcome NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF—two time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and op-ed columnist for The New York Times—for a discussion of his new memoir Chasing Hope: A Reporter's Life. He will be joined in conversation by DREW GILPIN FAUST—Arthur Kingsley Porter University Professor at Harvard University and author of Necessary Trouble, This Republic of Suffering, and Mothers of Invention.

Ticketing

There are two ticketing options for this event. The author will personalize books after the presentation. Attendees will be released by row into the signing line. Please expect some wait time to enter the signing line.

Book-Included Ticket: Includes admission for one and one hardcover copy of Chasing Hope.

Admission-Only Ticket: Includes admission for one.

About Chasing Hope

Since 1984, Nicholas Kristof has worked almost continuously for The New York Times as a reporter, foreign correspondent, bureau chief, and now columnist, becoming one of the foremost reporters of his generation. Here, he recounts his event-filled path from a small-town farm in Oregon to every corner of the world.

Reporting from Hong Kong, Beijing, and Tokyo, while traveling far afield to India, Africa, and Europe, Kristof witnessed and wrote about century-defining events: the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, the Yemeni civil war, the Darfur genocide in Sudan, and the wave of addiction and despair that swept through his hometown and a broad swath of working-class America. Fully aware that coverage of atrocities generates considerably fewer page views than the coverage of politics, he nevertheless continued to weaponize his pen against regimes and groups violating basic human rights, raising the cost of oppression and torture. Some of the risks he took while doing so make for hair-raising reading.

Kristof writes about some of the great members of his profession and introduces us to extraordinary people he has met, such as the dissident whom he helped escape from China and a Catholic nun who browbeat a warlord into releasing schoolgirls he had kidnapped. These are the people, the heroes, who have allowed Kristof to remain optimistic. Side by side with the worst of humanity, you always see the best.

This is a candid memoir of vulnerability and courage, humility and purpose, mistakes and learning—a singular tale of the trials, tribulations, and hope to be found in a life dedicated to the pursuit of truth.

Praise for Chasing Hope

“Nick Kristof is a journalistic exemplar, practicing the art of storytelling in its purest form. He has a penchant for covering the stories too many shy away from—rolling up his sleeves and getting his hands dirty with the hope that it will motivate us to act. His North Star has never wavered. This book should be required reading for anyone interested in journalism, or for those who need to be reminded that, in the right hands, it can be a truly noble profession." —Katie Couric

"In these dark, swirly times, Nick’s reporting and this page-turner offer us a sharp light of a hope that will not be shuttered. Doors are not exactly kicked open, but bullets are dodged, bad luck too. It's a thriller, a chronicle and a set of keys to our most undervalued resource - hope. Nick’s not just chasing hope, he is it… a most reasoned, polite, persistent, insistent finger in the eye of injustice." —Bono

“A gripping memoir by a world-class reporter. Nick Kristof takes us behind the scenes as he risks his life to shine a light on the world’s most pressing problems and blaze a trail to a better future. In a time when trust in journalism is in jeopardy, his honesty, humility, and humanity are rays of hope.” —Adam Grant, author of Hidden Potential

"Malaria, warlords, death threats, bombs, riots, plane crashes, scorpions, flak jackets, mobs, machetes, and deadlines—that's the price of truth-seeking and Kristof takes it on with conviction, courage, and humility. This is the kind of memoir that changes the world. Read it." —Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry

Masking Policy

Masks are encouraged but not required for this event.