In this book, influential development practitioners reflect on their careers by writing letters of advice to their younger selves. Sharing their successes, failures, challenges, career barriers, the changes and continuities within their work, these accounts provide invaluable windows into the world of development practice.

Introduction to the collection Section 1: Civil society and advocacy 1: Different is good 2: Don't go. There is a place where you belong 3: Education, education, education 4: Learning to be the platform, not the app 5: Fly forward to new horizons! 6. Whose reality counts? Finding the North Star and learning to make decisions the right way 7: Challenging power and discrimination Section 2: Human rights 8: The challenge of being true to oneself 9: Keep an eye on the ball 10: In your footsteps, my brave little girl Section 3: Public service 11: And it breaks my heart 12: In search of a blueprint 13: Be true to yourself – take risks 14: Insist and persist 15: Who should be allowed to work in international development? 16: Charting a course for change 17: Pushing for change 18: Be what is needed, not what is expected 19: Don’t listen too carefully 20: Driving forces in an international development career: what's the X factor? Section 4: Social entrepreneurship and change making 21: From Cold War to a warming Cold War? 22: Everyone a changemaker 23: Finding solid ground 24: What an elephant can teach a girl about physics 25: Nothing changes your field of work like doing fieldwork 26: Be kind to yourself and others 27: Follow your own path, forge your own route 28: Trust yourself Section 5: Researching development practice 29: Ask why? 30: My development decades 31: Transforming opportunities and challenges into a career in gender and international development 32: Start where you stand 32: Learning to Work in Lesotho Afterword: Dear next generation

"This volume is a labour of love. The authors’ commitment to, and experiences in, aid and development are charted with honesty and openness. They have in the process come to understand themselves and their motivations better. We, the readers, can benefit similarly by reading these thoroughly enjoyable, stimulating and often very moving accounts."Sir Myles Wickstead, Visiting Professor of International Relations, King’s College London, UK and coordinator of the 1997 UK Government White Paper, Eliminating World Poverty: A Challenge for the 21st Century"A welcome volume masterfully edited and brilliantly and thoughtfully written by development practitioners from nearly 20 countries of their struggles and victories in their journey of development practice. The eye-opening and reflective work is a must-read for anyone interested in development issues."Ashok Swain, Professor of Peace and Conflict Research & UNESCO Chair on International Water Cooperation, Uppsala University, Sweden