Flex Your Bravery Muscle

A risk-averse writer faces her fears – and finds out how much you can gain from taking a chance

- Leslie Goldman

OK, confession time: I’m the antithesis of a risk taker: a lifelong type-A goody-two-shoes who always ate her broccoli and obeyed her parents. My one rebellious phase, in my early 20s, involved trance music and glowsticks – but the guilt I felt over the debauchery landed me in therapy. So, two years ago, when I scored an invitation to travel to West Africa, I was dubious. On the one hand, it was an extraordinary opportunity: I’d be meeting with women in Sierra Leone and the Ivory Coast who’d suffered unspeakable hardships – war, child marriage, female genital mutilation – and writing about them, so their voices could be heard. On the other, the Ivory Coast had sustained a terrorist attack a week prior, and Sierra Leone had been decimated by Ebola in 2014.

Let’s just say, this trip would be a stretch for a risk-averse hypochondriac who’d rather shower in socks than walk barefoot in the changing room. Then there’s the fact I’m a parent to two young girls. While I’ve always been fine leaving them for quick trips, this was on the other side of the planet, in at least one country marred by violence. Coincidentally, my husband was scheduled to be in Paris the same week. Together, we decided I’d decline the invitation.

Once I’d made that decision, though, it didn’t sit well. Did I want to teach our girls to be afraid, to play it safe in their comfort zone? Or did I want to model the importance of challenging themselves, of leaning in instead of shying away? The irony: I’d be travelling with CARE, a non-profit dedicated to empowering women and girls. So I cold-called a few international public health and security experts, got more comfortable with the idea and chose to take the risk.

THE YOUNG AND THE RISKLESS