Core Memory She Survived Being Shot, Bombed And Working At Google - EP 58 Anna Prouse
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Feb 25, 2026 Anna Prouse, former international delegate who rebuilt health systems in Iraq and later worked in Silicon Valley, shares a jaw-dropping life. She recounts surviving assassination attempts, running field hospitals and convoys in Baghdad, navigating power players from Saddam’s palace to Iran, and shifting into projects at Google like Project Loon. She also talks about recovering from a brain tumor.
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Living And Working Inside Saddam's Palace
- Anna lived and worked inside Saddam Hussein's palace compound while rebuilding Iraq's health system, sleeping in bunk beds in a chapel after her hotel was hit.
- She describes golden faucets, bidets, Saddam's throne and a painting of rockets still hanging in the dining hall.
Build Trust By Training Locals Not Imposing Projects
- Build trust by spending time and training local leaders rather than parachuting in with solutions.
- Anna sat with Iraqis at every level, prioritized pragmatic needs (electricity, basics) and trained the 'muscle' of decision-making so locals could govern themselves.
Ambushed By Your Own Bodyguard And Escaped
- Anna Prouse survived an ambush when her Iraqi bodyguard turned his AK on her at Medical City and killed the others in the car.
- She ducked, realized friends were dead, climbed over a body, ran into a house, then drove the same bloodstained vehicle back to the green zone to escape.
