Across Borders and Boundaries: A Thousand Flying Things by Kathryn Brown Ramsperger Chronicles a Female Humanitarian's Life-Altering Journey Through War-Torn Sudan and Kenya

Associated Press

27-03-2025

Set against the backdrop of war-torn Africa, Kathryn Brown Ramsperger's A Thousand Flying Things is a compelling work of multicultural fiction that weaves love, sacrifice, and self-discovery into a story that challenges perspectives on humanity, home, and healing.
Kathryn Brown Ramsperger is an award-winning novelist, journalist, and creativity expert whose work delves into multicultural relationships, social justice, immigration, and global humanitarian issues. Her novels— Moments On The Edge, The Shores of Our Souls, and A Thousand Flying Things —have earned recognition from Faulkner-Wisdom, Foreword Indies, the Sarton Awards, the Washington, DC Public Libraries, and the Pulpwood Queen's International Books of the Year.
A storyteller rooted in Southern tradition, Kathryn's writing is enriched by her experiences reporting and living in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. She has contributed to notable outlets such as National Geographic, Kiplinger, and The MacGuffin, and has worked as a humanitarian reporter for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent.
As the creator of Step Into Your Story!™, Kathryn empowers creatives to find clarity and get unstuck to achieve their dreams. When not writing, Kathryn loves to sing, dance, and travel. A nature lover, her favorite animal is feline, her favorite flower, the snapdragon, and her favorite cuisine, French.
This one-on-one interview shares Kathryn's background and experience writing A Thousand Flying Things.
Tell us about A Thousand Flying Things.
She's brave and tenacious. She won't be stopped by country borders, political boundaries, or illness. But decisions of the heart may just bring her to her knees.
American humanitarian Dianna Calloway is educating children in the thick of war-ravaged 1990s Southern Sudan. Hampered by disease, a corrupt government, and a fierce tribal leader who is harboring a mysterious young boy, Khalil, whom she believes he's grooming to be a child soldier, Dianna's resolve endures. But her passion to help others is only complicated by the chance meeting with her long-lost love, Qasim. Dianna and Qasim couldn't be more different. He's a worldly Lebanese Muslim in his 40s, from a political family, and she's a 30-something white Christian American. Faced with the choice to protect Khalil or reconnect with the man she still holds dear, Dianna must make the most difficult decision of her life. Or must she? For nothing is as it seems.
Sweeping across continents and cultures, A Thousand Flying Things, informed by my own work as a humanitarian journalist, questions long-held assumptions about helping a vulnerable world and perspectives about love, family, home, and the wisdom of the young.
What inspired you to write A Thousand Flying Things?
I was inspired to give readers a peek behind the curtain into humanitarian work in a war-torn country—a world I know intimately. Travel profoundly transformed my life and worldview, and I wanted to encourage others to step outside their comfort zones.
Humanitarians may be heroes, but they also have feelings. At its core, A Thousand Flying Things is about the power of unconditional love to triumph over conflict. Through empathy and listening to one another's stories, we can foster understanding and connection. My goal was to craft not just a compelling adventure, but also a story with heart—one that leaves readers feeling inspired and hopeful.
How did your background and experience influence your writing?
My fifth-grade teacher's praise for my weekly essays sparked my lifelong passion for storytelling. By 21, after earning the equivalent of a BFA in creative writing and winning my university's annual Fiction Award, I knew I wanted to write novels.
My career as a journalist has been instrumental in shaping my stories. Writing for National Geographic, Kiplinger, and scores of other magazines, as well as spending 25 years as a humanitarian reporter with the International Red Cross and Red Crescent, exposed me to a world of diverse perspectives. Living and working in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, alongside people from 167 different nationalities, enriched my understanding of humanity, which I bring to every page.
My first novel, The Shores of Our Souls, was inspired by a transformative relationship with a former romantic partner from Lebanon, whose story continues in A Thousand Flying Things. It taught me that you don't have to stay in a relationship for it to transform you and leave a lasting imprint on your heart.
I'm deeply influenced by writers all over the world and share this passion as a YouTube podcast host and multicultural book reviewer for The New York Journal of Books. My literary inspirations include Barbara Kingsolver, Ann Patchett, Marita Golden, Jodi Picoult, Annie Dillard, Ahdaf Soueif, and Salman Rushdie. I've also read every book I could find from Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Eudora Welty, EM Forster, John Steinbeck, May Sarton, and Alice Walker. These voices continue to shape my writing and my life.
What is one message you would like readers to remember?
To truly help the world, we must first look within. Love is the most powerful force we possess—a force to understand, heal, and experience true happiness and fulfillment.
Unconditional love, the kind that listens and seeks to understand others' perspectives, is transformative. It has the power to bridge divides, conquer conflict, and transcend even death. It connects us, reminding us that we are One Humanity. It takes us from 'Our Story' to 'Humanity's Greater Story.'
I don't believe this dream is too idealistic. Whether it's the little boy gazing at the stars in Serbia, the little girl looking up at the sky in Somalia, or the parent navigating rush hour traffic in an Illinois city, we all long for the same things: love, peace, and happiness in a calmer world. It's a shared dream that begins with empathy and grows through connection.
Purchasing the Book
A Thousand Flying Things has received positive reviews from well-known literary organizations, authors, and reviewers around the world. Kirkus Reviews writes, ' Ramsperger's portrayal of the ravages of South Sudan is heartbreakingly vivid…a quietly meditative and insightful novel. ' Midwest Book Review writes, ' Highly recommended for libraries and readers seeking evocative works that will also fuel powerful book club discussions.'
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