Book Review of Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man who would Cure the World

February 3, 2009 · Filed Under Book Reviews, Forums 

A review of Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man who would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder

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To sum this book up, it is the story of an extraordinary man: Dr. Paul Farmer. Farmer is caring, compassionate, smart, thoughtful, driven, and a champion of the rights of the poor. Farmer sees pathology, social medicine, politics, and anthropology as inseparable – and this drives the work he does.

Farmer helps save the world, but only by compromising other aspects of his life. He talks about the challenges of balancing meetings, raising money, politics, and direct care. And, certainly, his family and personal relationships suffer. But, Farmer doesn’t seem to mind. He criticizes “white liberals” who think that the world’s problems can be solved without sacrifice to them. He fights against the unfair distribution of wealth.

While the book does not explicitly talk much about religion, it does touch on the subject. Farmer says he does not act primarily out of religious or political motivations, but rather out of curiosity. In addition, Farmer sees anthropology as focusing on meaning. This entails exploring politics, economic systems, and histories. Farmer even tries to understand the causes of bad stuff, like suffering and illness from a holistic approach.

Among the many topics he studied, he learned a bit about liberation theology – a branch of Catholicism. Liberation theology was developed by Latin American theologians, and some of its tenets were endorsed in the 1960s by Latin America’s Catholic bishops. In this theology, it is the responsibility of the church to provide “a preferential option of the poor.” According to Farmer, this was quite different than the mainstream understanding of Catholicism which focuses its teaching on other areas, such as no premarital sex. Yet, he adds “if I had to choose between lib[eration] theo[logy], or any ology, I would go with science as long as service to the poor went along with it. But I don’t have to make that choice, do I?” (pg. 86).

Farmer even mentions how Haitian peasants understand how God allows suffering – they say “God gives but doesn’t share” (page 79). Farmer explains this: God gives people what they need, but people have to divide up what God has given. It’s fitting, because it is similar to liberation theology – which encourages people to face reality and to act quickly. It focuses on the horror of poverty and on fixing it immediately.

It is ironic how Farmer came to value faith; he says, “the fact that any sort of religious faith was so disdained at Harvard and so important to the poor…made me even more convinced that faith must be something good” (pg. 85). Yet, Farmer understands faith fairly broadly – he references faith in penicillin, faith in clinical trials, and faith in scientific progress.

I admire Farmer’s courage, dedication, and thoughtfulness. He does not view anything in isolation but rather chooses to delve into the interconnectedness of life. He fights for all people, saying that patients have priority, then prisoners, then students – which for Farmer, covers almost everyone. Dr. Farmer sees every person with illness as a potential patient and every healthy person as a potential student. Farmer almost seems a little too perfect, but he admits one of his flaws. Although all the major religions say “love they neighbor as thyself,” Farmer does not feel he can do that, though he strives to. His honesty is striking.

At heart, this book is uplifting, but I found at times that I felt like I was not doing enough. Dr. Paul Farmer is an extraordinary man, and I know my accomplishments, intelligence, and even aspirations fall short of his. What am I to do? Feel good that there are people like Farmer in the world, or feel badly that I am not up to his caliber? Does reading a book like this move me beyond my passivity – to a recognition that I can, indeed, make a significant difference in the lives of many?

Questions to consider:

  1. The book’s title, Mountains Beyond Mountains, comes from a Haitian proverb, “beyond mountains, there are mountains.” Why do you think Farmer chose this as the title for his book? Is it optimistic or pessimistic?
  2. The book quotes Margaret Mead who said: “Never underestimate the ability of a small group of committed individuals to change the world. Indeed, they are the only ones who ever have.” With the recent inauguration of President Obama and the associated emphasis on change and personal responsibility, does this book speak to us more than before? Are we empowered to bring about change, or is it daunting?
  3. How do we read books about such extraordinary individuals without feeling badly that we are not doing our part?
  4. Knowing that Farmer’s personal life and family suffered (he had a young child whom he rarely saw), how do we reconcile this with the work that he did? Do the ends justify the means? How do we find balance in our own lives?

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