Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.2 AVERAGE
4.2 AVERAGE
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
The book that cemented my will to become a Doctor.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
This book is a reminder that each small gesture we make has the potential to grow and impact others. I look at this book as an introduction to Dr. Paul Farmer, PIH, The illness of TB and Haiti. If you read the references in the back and do more research on Dr. Farmer you can get the full effect of what he has accomplished. Tracy Kidder did an outstanding job of painting the back story of Dr. Farmers life and giving a high level summary of his works through following his time spent with the Dr.
There is a point towards the end of the book wrapped up the biggest lessons learned by reading its pages.
Pg. 294 Talks about keeping it real by focusing on the individual patients - "That approach worked for PIH. And I can imagine Farmer saying he doesn't care if no one else is willing to follow their example. He's still going to make these hikes, he'd insist, because if you say that seven hours is too long to walk for two families of patients, you're saying that their lives matter less than some others', and the idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that's wrong with the world."
Pg. 295 "The best thing about Paul is those hikes," Ophelia says, "You have to believe that small gestures matter, that they do add up."
I read some of the review from others that say that the book is Tracy Kidder writing his adoration for Paul Farmer and others that wanted to dive way to deep and pick apart something that wasn't meant to be technical. If you attempt to read this book with skepticism then you are missing the point. This book is mean to inspire others to be the change they want to see in the world. Dr. Farmer decided to do just that and did not ask for others opinions or thoughts. If he had there would be many in the world who would not have benefitted from his work.
There is a point towards the end of the book wrapped up the biggest lessons learned by reading its pages.
Pg. 294 Talks about keeping it real by focusing on the individual patients - "That approach worked for PIH. And I can imagine Farmer saying he doesn't care if no one else is willing to follow their example. He's still going to make these hikes, he'd insist, because if you say that seven hours is too long to walk for two families of patients, you're saying that their lives matter less than some others', and the idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that's wrong with the world."
Pg. 295 "The best thing about Paul is those hikes," Ophelia says, "You have to believe that small gestures matter, that they do add up."
I read some of the review from others that say that the book is Tracy Kidder writing his adoration for Paul Farmer and others that wanted to dive way to deep and pick apart something that wasn't meant to be technical. If you attempt to read this book with skepticism then you are missing the point. This book is mean to inspire others to be the change they want to see in the world. Dr. Farmer decided to do just that and did not ask for others opinions or thoughts. If he had there would be many in the world who would not have benefitted from his work.
Grateful for this one. The medical aspects can get a little technical at times, but overall it’s very accessible. Public health is so complicated and such noble work.
(I changed my rating to 5 stars because I couldn’t stop thinking about it after finishing.)
(I changed my rating to 5 stars because I couldn’t stop thinking about it after finishing.)
I read this for a law school seminar on The Practicing Lawyer and the Poor. Even though it's about a doctor, it raised some universal questions about how much service is enough--or, even, too much.
This is required reading for all PC health volunteers. Just remember “If Paul is the standard, we are all fucked.” Farmer is a doctor working in rural Haiti, a land that many have forgotten and others are willfully ignoring. Tracy Kidder is a journalist who runs across Farmer while on assignment covering the political turmoil of Haiti in 1994. Kidder unexpectedly finds a man many would call (and have called) a saint. A enigmatic figure in jeans and a black shirt, Paul Farmer has taken on crippling rural poverty, institutionalized racism (or classism), TB and HIV and largely won. By focusing on the individual patient and with a clear understanding that the poor deserve no less than the rich, he has surpassed every expectation of what can be accomplished.
A TB patient stops his treatment. Instead of trusting the axiom that the poor believe they are cured once the symptoms stop, he investigates deeper to find their family was starving. TB medication is important, but feeding your children will always be a priority. Faced with a new challenge, he decided to treat the malnutrition by providing food for the families of his patients, and went further to provide a floor and a roof for their homes, potable water systems to avoid water born illnesses, and basically anything any of his patients asked of him. His methods are far from what we like to call sustainable. What would Farmer say to that? “Fuck You.”
Paul Farmer did not set out to change the world. He just wanted to help people, and he has, millions of them. He did not design his project for imitation or broad appeal. He just viewed every person individually and tried to picture each one as himself. Using this simple method of human decency he has created one of the best clinics in the world, in a country with no health care to speak of and no governmental support. He has moved on to other projects internationally, in Peru, Mexico, and Russia. Lauded by all who know him personally, and attacked by those whose worldview he disturbs.
Tracy Kidder has strong presence in his book. It is the first time, says the reader’s guide, that he has chosen to write in first person narrative. In doing so he allows himself personal bias. He connects us to the characters and gives us a strong sense of how amazing and unique Paul Farmer is. He lets us know its okay to feel annoyed at Farmer for his disregard for the norms. He lets us know its okay to feel guilty for not being able to dedicate our lives so fully to the poor.
Despite having spent the last year working in Public Health, I never really understood it and its global implications until I read this book. For Farmer healthcare for all is a moral imperative. It makes me feel a little bit better about the work I’m doing, while at the same time making me feel like I could never quite do enough.
A TB patient stops his treatment. Instead of trusting the axiom that the poor believe they are cured once the symptoms stop, he investigates deeper to find their family was starving. TB medication is important, but feeding your children will always be a priority. Faced with a new challenge, he decided to treat the malnutrition by providing food for the families of his patients, and went further to provide a floor and a roof for their homes, potable water systems to avoid water born illnesses, and basically anything any of his patients asked of him. His methods are far from what we like to call sustainable. What would Farmer say to that? “Fuck You.”
Paul Farmer did not set out to change the world. He just wanted to help people, and he has, millions of them. He did not design his project for imitation or broad appeal. He just viewed every person individually and tried to picture each one as himself. Using this simple method of human decency he has created one of the best clinics in the world, in a country with no health care to speak of and no governmental support. He has moved on to other projects internationally, in Peru, Mexico, and Russia. Lauded by all who know him personally, and attacked by those whose worldview he disturbs.
Tracy Kidder has strong presence in his book. It is the first time, says the reader’s guide, that he has chosen to write in first person narrative. In doing so he allows himself personal bias. He connects us to the characters and gives us a strong sense of how amazing and unique Paul Farmer is. He lets us know its okay to feel annoyed at Farmer for his disregard for the norms. He lets us know its okay to feel guilty for not being able to dedicate our lives so fully to the poor.
Despite having spent the last year working in Public Health, I never really understood it and its global implications until I read this book. For Farmer healthcare for all is a moral imperative. It makes me feel a little bit better about the work I’m doing, while at the same time making me feel like I could never quite do enough.
Read this in a management class, junior year of college. I loved the way Paul Farmer is willing to change the discussion and challenge the common approach to medicine.
Partners in Health is one of my favorite charities, so I really enjoyed learning about its origins and more details of the good work Dr Farmer and his following have done. This book is almost 20 years old, so I'll have to do some more research now to fill in the time since then and complete the picture. Dr Farmer is an inspiration but also a bit of a madman, which is often true to people that really manage to make big changes in the world. He has created a great force for good and I add him to my list of idols, even if I' would never want to be him.
I had been planning to read this book for years but somehow never got around to it. Because of my public health background, I was intrigued by Paul Farmer's thoughts on the health care system and how things could be changed in Haiti. While I didn't always agree with his opinions, I was impressed with his dedication to the poorest of the poor.
Wow. Want to feel like you're not doing enough? Contrast yourself with Doctor Paul Farmer. This is the kind of man who should be a regular correspondent on news shows and a regular writer in magazines. His message should be out there again and again because it is like the moral conscience of our time. Instead, the news would rather obsess over whether the president is mad at a congressperson because the congressperson didn't say he was mad at a lawyer who said he was mad about something some Kardashian posted on Twitter.
There's a big world out there with big problems. And people who struggle every day just to have a tomorrow. To read about someone leading a fight that really matters can be so inspiring. But it can also call you out. Very likely what you consider an okay day is a wish dream to a large percentage of the world. You have luxuries and privileges that have become addictions to you. There will never be enough, not enough for you to feel completely satisfied, let alone to share a lot of it with those desperate masses, let alone to dedicate your life to helping those who need it most.
So tread carefully. Paul Farmer's message may make you very proud of him. But it might not make you so proud of yourself.
There's a big world out there with big problems. And people who struggle every day just to have a tomorrow. To read about someone leading a fight that really matters can be so inspiring. But it can also call you out. Very likely what you consider an okay day is a wish dream to a large percentage of the world. You have luxuries and privileges that have become addictions to you. There will never be enough, not enough for you to feel completely satisfied, let alone to share a lot of it with those desperate masses, let alone to dedicate your life to helping those who need it most.
So tread carefully. Paul Farmer's message may make you very proud of him. But it might not make you so proud of yourself.