Week Five: "Is America a Democracy?"

Dr. Paul Farmer answers the question “Is America a democracy?” by saying:

“I think whenever a people has enormous resources, it is easy for them to call themselves democratic…Americans are lazy democrats…I think that the rich can always call themselves democratic, but the sick people are not among the rich.” He goes on to say, “Look, I’m very proud to be an American. I have many opportunities because I’m American. I can travel freely throughout the world, I can start projects, but that’s called privilege, not democracy.”

What are some examples of opportunities that have been afforded to you as an American? How would you relate those opportunities to democracy rather than privilege? Is privilege always an outcome and/or requirement in order for a people to call themselves “democratic?” How have you best used the “enormous resources” available to you as an American?

Week Four: Liberation Theology

Early members of Partners in Health refer frequently to an idea from the Catholic liberation theology movement of “preferential option for the poor” (pg 78-81). How does Farmer’s life and work reflect this particular theology? What are some other examples of the role of faith and religion in Paul Farmer’s work?

Week 3: "You Must Change Your Life"

The poet Rainer Maria Rilke famously wrote of the power of art to challenge your perspectives and make you say to yourself, "You must change your life" ("Archaischer Torso Apollos"). In many ways Mountains Beyond Mountains is a direct call to change our lives, if not to duplicate Farmer at least to strive to make the world a little better place. This is a disturbing idea, to alter our attitudes and actions.

How inspired are you by the book to act differently than before? How much does it make you want to change who you are? Are you selling your house and moving to Haiti or perhaps something more subtle?

Week 2: Farmer's Childhood

Paul Farmer had an eccentric childhood and his accomplishments have been unique. Do you see a correlation between the way he was raised and how he's chosen to live his life?

Week 1: Let the discussion begin!

We kick off discussion for the alumni book club with a thought from Dr. Farmer about sacrifice. Here is a man who has essentially abandoned all hope of having what we might think of as a "normal life." He is so completely devoted to his work—and, crucially, the people that his work benefits—that he has little left for himself. So, what does it mean to "sacrifice"?

“If you’re making sacrifices … you’re trying to lessen some psychic discomfort. So, for example, if I took steps to be a doctor for those who don’t have medical care, it could be regarded as a sacrifice, but it could also be regarded as a way to deal with ambivalence” (p.24).

Farmer implies that “ambivalence” is a “psychic discomfort,” which he resolves by working for the poor. Here are some questions to get us started: What is he ambivalent about? How do teachers and counselors encounter ambivalence? What kinds of sacrifices are involved in resolving it?

Spring 2008: Mountains Beyond Mountains

This semester, spring 2008, we will be discussing Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder.

"This powerful and inspiring book shows how one person can make a difference, as Kidder tells the true story of a gifted man who is in love with the world and has set out to do all he can to cure it."
- From Random House

About This Book (from Random House)

Tracy Kidder is a winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the author of the bestsellers The Soul of a New Machine, House, Among Schoolchildren, and Home Town. He has been described by the Baltimore Sun as the “master of the non-fiction narrative.” This powerful and inspiring new book shows how one person can make a difference, as Kidder tells the true story of a gifted man who is in love with the world and has set out to do all he can to cure it.

At the center of Mountains Beyond Mountains stands Paul Farmer. Doctor, Harvard professor, renowned infectious-disease specialist, anthropologist, the recipient of a MacArthur “genius” grant, world-class Robin Hood, Farmer was brought up in a bus and on a boat, and in medical school found his life’s calling: to diagnose and cure infectious diseases and to bring the lifesaving tools of modern medicine to those who need them most. This magnificent book shows how radical change can be fostered in situations that seem insurmountable, and it also shows how a meaningful life can be created, as Farmer—brilliant, charismatic, charming, both a leader in international health and a doctor who finds time to make house calls in Boston and the mountains of Haiti—blasts through convention to get results.

Mountains Beyond Mountains takes us from Harvard to Haiti, Peru, Cuba, and Russia as Farmer changes minds and practices through his dedication to the philosophy that "the only real nation is humanity" - a philosophy that is embodied in the small public charity he founded, Partners In Health. He enlists the help of the Gates Foundation, George Soros, the U.N.’s World Health Organization, and others in his quest to cure the world. At the heart of this book is the example of a life based on hope, and on an understanding of the truth of the Haitian proverb “Beyond mountains there are mountains”: as you solve one problem, another problem presents itself, and so you go on and try to solve that one too.

“Mountains Beyond Mountains unfolds with the force of a gathering revelation,” says Annie Dillard, and Jonathan Harr says, “[Farmer] wants to change the world. Certainly this luminous and powerful book will change the way you see it.”

About the Author

Tracy Kidder has won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the Robert F. Kennedy Award, among other literary prizes. The author of The Soul of a New Machine, House, Among Schoolchildren, Old Friends, and Home Town, Kidder lives in Massachusetts and Maine.