We Meant Well by Erum Shazia Hasan

It's the middle of the night in Los Angeles when Maya, a married mother of one, receives the phone call. Her colleague Marc has been accused of assaulting a local girl in Likanni, where they operate a charitable orphanage. Can she get on the next flight?

When Maya arrives, protesters surround the compound. The accuser is Lele, her former protg and the chief's daughter. There are no witnesses, no proof of any crime.

What happened that night? And what will happen to the orphanage if this becomes a scandal? Caught between Marc and Lele, the charity and the villagers, her marriage and new temptations, and between worlds, Maya lives the secret contradictions of the aid worker: there to serve the most deprived, but ultimately there to govern.

As Maya feels the pleasures, freedoms, and humanity of life in Likanni, she recognizes that her American life is inextricably woven into this violent reality and that dishonesty in one place affects the realities in another.(From ECW Press)

We Meant Wellis onthe 2023 Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist.

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Erum Shazia Hasanis a Toronto-based writer and a sustainable developmentconsultant for various UN agencies.We Meant Wellis her debut novel.

Interviews withErum Shazia Hasan

The Next Chapter18:05We Meant Well explores how power dynamics and personal biases can undermine even the most noble of intentions.

Ali Hassan interviews bestselling Canadian author Erum Shazia Hasan about her 2023 Giller Prize-longlisted novel which takes a thought-provoking look at the innate complexities of doing good.