Mountains beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer,A Man Who Would Cure the World

Abstract

Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World. By Tracy Kidder. New York: Random House, 2003. ISBN 0 8129 73011.301 pp. $14.95 paper. Those of us privileged enough to benefit from the health care in the United States will agree that it is equaled by few other systems in the world. Unfortunately, a majority of the world's population must endure a much lower quality of medical care. Dr. Paul Farmer has taken it upon himself to rectify this inequality. In Mountains Beyond Mountains, Tracy Kidder describes the life and work of Farmer, a Harvard trained physician and anthropologist, who has devoted his life to bringing the benefits of modem medicine to the underserved. Dr. Farmer built a clinic named Zanmi Lasante-Creole for Partners in Health-to service the central plateau of Haiti, but his influence has reached well beyond its walls. He has taken on the epidemics of tuberculosis and AIDS worldwide, changed global health policies, and challenged the conventional ideas about how illness should be treated in poor countries. Tracy Kidder narrates the story as an eyewitness while spending time with Farmer at his clinic in Cange, Kidder recounts, from his experience, the disturbing images of suffering and disease in Zanmi Lasante's catchment area-caused in part by the flooding of peasant land by the Lac de Peligre reservoir. Through the author's eyes, the reader has the opportunity to become acquainted with Farmer and to experience his deep commitment to treat disease and to, as Farmer says, Lend a voice to the voiceless. (74) His description of specific patients brings to light the depth of human pain when there is no medicine and no food. Stories of human suffering abound, including children with the characteristic red hair and bloated stomachs of kwashiorkor-a medical term for severe malnutrition-and men and women debilitated by untreated tuberculosis and the AIDS virus. Kidder also accompanies-Farmer as he jet sets around the world. From the slums of Lima, Peru to the epidemics in Russia's overcrowded prisons, Farmer's desire to treat patients is boundless-limited only by sometimeslacking funds and expensive drugs. But his trips always begin and end in It is the site of Farmer's original project and his self-proclaimed homeland. Farmer's hikes to see isolated patients make evident the doctor's deep connection to the land and people. He truly is, as the author says, a compass, with one leg swinging around the globe and the other planted in Haiti. (260) Through interviews with Farmer's friends, family and colleagues, Kidder also highlights one of Farmer's most important talents: his ability to inspire action in others. What started as a personal campaign for Farmer has gained a following among physicians at Brigham and Women's and Massachusetts General Hospitals, and has resulted in thousands of dollars of donated medical care. The combination of story-like narration interspersed with dialogue from Farmer and others close to him makes for a compelling read. The reader gets to know Farmer as a physician and as a human being and gets to feel, for a short while, like part of his inner circle. Kidder's attention to personal details makes Farmer and his colleagues easy to relate to. …

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