Alison Reads

I picked up this book because books by Kidder are always worth reading. Among Schoolchildren, a year in the life of a fourth-grade teacher, is his best-known book, but he has written several others on diverse subjects and they are all excellent. Mountains Beyond Mountains is a profile of Paul Farmer, a Harvard-trained doctor who spends much of his time in Haiti running a hospital and clinic in the desperately poor central plateau. Farmer’s mission in life is to provide excellent free medical care to those who can’t afford it. He started a small foundation, Parners in Health, which has grown and spread to finance projects in several poor countries. Inspiring.