Not All of Us are Saints; A Doctor's Journey with the Poor
New York, N.Y. Hill and Wang, 1994. First Edition [stated], presumed first printing. Hardcover. ix, [3], 259, [1] pages. Inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper. Inscription reads: Steve- Thank you for a wonderful hour together on radio. Some underlining noted. Dr. Hilfiker became Finance Director for Joseph's House. He was a family practitioner who spent 7 years practicing in rural Minnesota and 10 years in the inner city of Washington, DC. He began working at Community of Hope in 1983 in Washington, and then helped found Christ House. a 34-bed medical recovery shelter for homeless men, and for 3 years at Joseph's House, which he founded. The experience changed him in a profound way: "When you put yourself in a relationship with the poor, you begin to see the world in a very, very different way," he stated. He is also critical of our health care system, which privileges the middle class and marginalizes the poor. He is the author of Healing the Wounds and Not All of Us Are Saints as well as articles, most dealing with the medical care of the poor. Derived from a Kirkus Review: A powerful report of the experiences of a physician living and practicing medicine in the inner city. Hilfiker, moved to Washington, DC, in 1983 to join a small ecumenical religious community dedicated to working with the urban poor. Besides caring for patients, he practiced at a community clinic. This book is less about medicine than about class, race, and culture. Often his patients are beaten down by life, addicted to drugs or alcohol, mentally disturbed or incompetent, and living on the street or in shelters for the homeless. The chasm between the middle-class, white Hilfiker and his poor, black patients is ultimately unbridgeable, and he confesses to his feelings of helplessness, anger, frustration, and guilt as he comes to understand that he cannot redress all of society's wrongs—the problems of education, housing, and jobs are too enormous. A disturbing picture of the degradation of ghetto life and a painfully honest account of one man's attempt to do something about it. Condition: Good / Very good.
Keywords: Physicians, Medical Care, Health Care, Poverty, Washington DC, Clint Wooder, Ghetto, Spirituality, Homelessness, Compassion, Faith, Discrimination
[Book #79123]
Price: $45.00