Semi-Book Review:Mountain Beyond Mountain

I just finished reading Tracy Kidder's book and I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was so inspired by Paul Farmer's commitment to his work and his patients.

I loved the bluntness of Farmer and of Kidder; I loved their candor and their attention to detail. I especially loved Kidder's desire to accurately depict what was happening in all of Farmer's projects.. from Haiti, to Havana, to Peru. There were times I wondered, as I was reading it, where I was when all this was unfolding. . . why didn't I know of his cause. The book mentions an all-too-familiar case that I am sure we all are aware of: The Monica Lewinsky -Bill Clinton saga... oye! This saga took more precedence over Farmer's press conference. I can assure you, I was probably watching the saga unfold instead of watching more interesting things. Ugh! Ah well...

Despite some of the language,medical terminology and other rather obscene words, the reader feels as if (s)he was right there.. walking side by side. Again, the attention to detail, to describe every sight and every sound was astounding (at least to me).

Reading this book made me reassess my own life, my own goals, and the legacy that I wanted to leave behind. What did I want my life to represent? When I get to heaven and God reviews my life's work, will He say "well done my good and faithful servant; you have served my kingdom well" or will He say "you had desires to serve me however you turned away from me to serve yourself." I want to be a servant of God. I want to serve his Kingdom. His word clearly dictates what we as Christian's must do yet for whatever reason, we resist saying oh no Lord, you didn't really mean me. I go to church, I keep my house in order... certainly that is enough, right? WRONG! Sooo very wrong.

I would definitely read this book again... in a heart beat. I can't wait to read Angels of a Lower Flight and I am also looking into getting Troy Livesay's book Rocks In The Sun. I'll have to save up for that one.