Wine to Water is the true story of Doc Hendley (pictured to the left) and his journey to help solve the water crisis. Doc has a humble beginning as an ordinary bartender, but he has an energetic personality and love of people that soon fuels his mission to make a difference.
When Doc learns about the world’s freshwater crisis he is shocked by the severity, much as I was while reading the book. However, while most of us would be saddened and surprised to learn the great suffering of people without water, we would stop there. Doc is compelled to do something about it. He begins by starting a non-profit organization, Wine to Water, and before he even knows how best to make an impact, he is raising funds through wine-tasting events and gatherings in his hometown. To his surprise, the organization starts spreading like wildfire as friends of friends become interested in spreading the word and donating money to help the crisis.
Soon Doc realizes that it is time to find a way to use the money to directly help the crisis. He joins Samaritan’s Purse and is told that he should experience the crisis firsthand to decide where to invest the money. Suddenly Doc is volunteering to go to whichever country needs him most, so the place with the worst conditions and most danger. He gets his wish and ends up in Darfur, Sudan. There he experiences the harsh conditions with few resources and a hostile environment. Janjaweed terrorists are everywhere and Doc experiences the impact of the devastating genocide. Doc himself is shot at multiple times by the Janjaweed and is in serious danger during his time there. Although he is afraid and angry at times, he is able to channel his fury of the situation to make a difference. His main effort to help the water crisis involves traveling to various towns and repairing water wells, which saves the children from walking 4-5 hours daily to fetch buckets of water.
The most striking part of the book is that Doc is a regular, rough around the edges, easygoing Southern man who loves alcohol and music. In between escaping from the Janjaweed’s bullets and repairing wells he finds time to play loud music, box with his co-workers, and show his sense of humor. Doc proves that it doesn’t take a hero to make a difference and that with willpower and support of friends anyone can change this world for the better.
Wine to Water was published on January 5, 2012, and is available in stores or online to purchase. You can find Wine to Water’s website here, follow Doc on twitter here, and the Facebook page here. I received a free Advanced Review Copy of this book from the publisher through TLC Book Tours.
There is one free copy of this book to give a lucky commenter. The giveaway will go until the end of the day on January 31, 2012. At that time I will randomly select the winner (using Random.org) and email the winner to get their address. The address will be forwarded on to the publisher, who will mail the book. The giveaway is available to US/Canada participants only, and no P.O. boxes please.
Follow Doc for the rest of his book blog tour this month:
Thursday, January 26th: Helen’s Book Blog
Monday, January 30th: Broken Teepee
For a full list of the blogs that featured Doc’s book this month, check here.
Books and Boston 
I didn’t realize that Samaritan’s Purse was the organization that got Doc to go onsite and see things firsthand – I already supported their work, but this makes me appreciate what they do even more.
Thanks for being a part of the tour. I’m thrilled to see how much you enjoyed the book!
Yeah, I was really impressed with how Samaritan’s Purse handled it. From the way Doc described it, they didn’t want to just take his money and decide where to put it. They really encouraged him to be a part of seeing it all firsthand, which I thought was really cool. Thanks for including me on the tour 🙂 I really enjoyed the book and being part of the tour.