16933: Lemieux: USA TODAY: Doctor's quest to heal Haiti moves 'Mountains' (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: JD Lemieux <lxhaiti@yahoo.com>

Posted 9/30/2003 9:59 AM

Doctor's quest to heal Haiti moves 'Mountains'
By Nicholas Thomas, Special for USA TODAY

Between the flimsy huts of Haiti, amid the stench of
poverty, there is a life-altering treasure, a gem so
beloved and rare that it has changed the way people live
and feel. That treasure is Dr. Paul Farmer: half
anthropologist, half saint.
In Mountains Beyond Mountains, Pulitzer Prize-winning
documentarian Tracy Kidder launches us into Farmer's world
of passion and angst.

Kidder, author of Among Schoolchildren, focuses on many
aspects of Farmer's life. As a renowned journalist, he
examines the dedication that pushes Farmer to success. He
traveled with Farmer for six years, interviewing his
friends and family and creating a compelling bond with the
man.

   More about the book

Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer: A
Man Who Would Cure the World
By Tracy Kidder
Random House, 317 pp., $25.95




In this masterpiece, Kidder will take you so deep into
their journeys that you can almost feel the oppressive
Haitian heat.

Farmer, a gangly, quirky character with a massive
imagination and intense goals, grew up in poverty but
worked his way through Harvard Medical School. Deemed a
medical genius by his peers, Farmer was drawn to the plight
of the Haitian people.

With his considerable determination, Farmer created Zanmi
Lasante (Creole for "Partners in Health"), a
community-based organization that was the sole health
provider in Haiti's Plateau Central. There, he treated
patients with tuberculosis and MDR, a drug-resistant form
of TB. His work was recognized by the MacArthur Foundation,
and he was awarded a "genius grant," a hefty sum that he
put into his organization.

Though much of the book focuses on Farmer's humanitarian
and entrepreneurial work in Haiti, it also covers the
doctor's medical programs in Boston and Moscow, relating
most every problem that Farmer faced.

Whether telling of his lobbying for lower drug costs, the
government's medical agenda or the alarming rate of TB and
AIDS in Moscow prisons, Kidder shows both the heroic and
human sides of Farmer.

Throughout their relationship, Kidder compiled an album of
memories, emotions and struggles. As the narrator, he
breaks down the medical jargon and political hubbub, often
focusing on the lighter side of Farmer's personality.

The most provocative part of this book, however, is
Kidder's own opinions of Farmer.

Kidder's criticism is out in the open, and the reader can
see that the author, like others, often strains under the
weight of Farmer's accomplishments. But the narration's
honesty and Kidder's attention to detail brings the story
to life. Page by page, Kidder opens a window into Farmer's
soul, letting the reader peak in and see what truly makes
the good doctor tick.

Mountains Beyond Mountains is an astonishing book that will
leave you questioning your own life and political views.
It's the perfect testament to a man who continues to
reshape medicine and who has become, undoubtedly, an
uncommon savior to a country that desperately needed one.

If this book doesn't scream Pulitzer, I don't know what
does.



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