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If work, rest and play may be considered the key ingredients of a healthy life that is balanced and fulfilled, then Sebastian “Bassie” Kevany is someone who seems to have it sorted. His career as a field epidemiologist, combined with a passion for surfing, has brought him all over the world, to almost every continent and, not just off the beaten track but, to places where there are no tracks at all. It seems fair to assume therefore, that he has many great stories to tell and, they are eloquently conveyed in two new books that have been published simultaneously.

In Between the Moon and the Fire: Life in Surfing Moments, he ponders the question of just why do surfers ride the waves anyway:

Surprisingly, it is not always just for the thrill or, the excitement: at a deeper level, surfing can imprint itself on consciousness, feeding the wave rider with intense images and sensations – thereby generating moments in memory that last a lifetime, via the ocean’s mirror.

– Sebastian Kevany, author of Between the Moon and the Fire: Life in Surfing Moments

Despite (or perhaps, due to) a hectic schedule of wave riding (with occasional full-moon parties), Sebastian also finds time for his work as a field epidemiologist, focusing on epidemic and infectious disease control.

Fever in the Jungle: Inside the World of an Epidemic Troubleshooter is an insider’s account, taking us from rattling convoys and ramshackle malaria clinics in South Sudan, to air-conditioned meetings with government officials in Sierra Leone. His adventures and travails (born out of over 100 treatment, prevention and outbreak missions) offer a window into the often bizarre challenges, the occasionally chaotic and unpredictable yet, always fulfilling way of life.

Sebastian Kevany’s splendid book, Fever in the Jungle, reminds me of my own archaic experiences, travelling in various places of the world more than sixty years ago. The arrival of any foreigner, in a small remote village, would immediately alert the local residents to produce any sick person in the community who needed medical help. To my shame, the most I ever took with me were aspirins, plaster and iodine and other similar remedies, which were generally of very little use. In many such areas, there were no hospitals and doctors and people would have to walk for miles to see, perhaps, a missionary doctor. I remember people squatting for hours with their children, together with others, in the hope of finding a doctor. Hopefully, as is suggested in Sebastian’s book, which covers so wide an area of Africa and other parts of the world, things are changing. I wish Bassie the best of fortune in the splendid work he does.

– Peter Somerville-Large, author of To the Navel of the World: Yaks and Unheroic Travels in Nepal and Tibet

Between the Moon and the Fire and Fever in the Jungle are published under the imprint of The Manuscript Publisher and available to buy online, in print and e-book editions (RRP €14.95 each for the print editions plus P&P). Proceeds from sales of both books will benefit charities that include Alone; Bureh Beach Surf Club; Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; Surfrider Foundation.

About the Author

Sebastian Kevany has worked in the Middle East, the South Pacific, Eastern Europe and Asia, focusing on epidemic and infectious disease control and response, monitoring and evaluation, health security, international relations, human rights, conflict resolution, diplomacy and international relations. In addition, he has surfed for more than twenty years in Ireland, California, Hawaii, South Africa, Indonesia, Tanzania, Australia, Portugal and Sierra Leone. He has contributed to The Surfer’s Journal and Zig Zag surfing magazine and, has also published academic articles. He divides his time between Ireland and the USA.

Book Launch

The sun came out on Saturday, 13 August for the official launch of Between the Moon and the Fire and Fever in the Jungle by Sebastian Kevany at Shankill Castle, near Paulstown in Co. Kilkenny. Peter Somerville-Large provided the keynote address.

The launch itself was hosted by the artist, Elizabeth Cope, whose illustrations adorn the covers of both books. Painting, she says is a way of life, being ‘seduced by the smell of oil paint’ since she was nine years old when her sister came home from Paris with a box of paints.

In painting the struggle is what counts. There is no resolution; it is an ongoing act. It’s dispassionate and passionate, emotional yet detached.

– Elizabeth Cope

Photos from the Launch at Shankill Castle

Shankill Castle is a hidden gem located in Ireland’s ancient east. The eclectic, vibrant house and gardens include an organic farm, cafe, gallery and other amenities that make for a very enjoyable day out. Details of opening times and how to arrange visits are to be found online.