Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1556705 in Books
• Published on: 2002-01-01
• Binding: Paperback
• 231 pages

Review
"Combined with an open heart and a teachable spirit, [this book] is an indispensable tool for health care professionals..." -- Jerilyn Cochran in Health and Development, vol 22, No 3 (2002)

"This book offers several levels... to feast on: ... 'poverty medicine'..., a culture so different..., a grasp of the greater truths." -- Richard Belair, The Auburn News, Dec 4, 2002

"[This book] shows... that in the midst of suffering, African wisdom and strength persists." -- Tufts Magazine, Fall, 2002

From the Back Cover
Some of us see poverty as an embarrassment, others as a curse, still others as a scandal. We may not hope to completely eliminate it, but many of us would like to reduce it, and are working in 'anti-poverty' efforts. This is honorable work, and much has been written about it.

The problem is that focusing on poverty focuses, of course, on what people don't have. It is not bad to address their poverty, but this gives an incomplete view of them because it does not tell us what they do have. the author's experiences in 'poverty medicine' have taught him this, and he has written his story to suggest another perspective for anti-poverty efforts.

Written as two stories, this book supplements conventional approaches to poverty by acknowledging, in tribute, the wisdom of Africa in the process.

About the Author
Thee author is an American physician who worked for 7 years in Appalachia followed by 16 years in Africa. He now works for the Indian Health Service on the Navajo Reservation.

Customer Reviews

The rest of the world
Dr Downing shows us his compasion and his willingness to be wrong when faced with questions without answers. This book should be required reading for anyone who practices medicine for more then just money.

Seeing Africa
In this book Dr. Downing invites us on his journey to provide medical care for those who need it first in Appalachia and then in Africa. He is a careful observer, and a skillful storyteller. Through the stories of memorable people he has encountered, he tells us his own story--how the people he serves, though poor, have much to offer him.