La Doctora: The Journal of an American Doctor Practicing Medicine on the Amazon River (Paperback)

by Linnea Smith (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This doctor still makes house calls. In 1990, Dr. Linnea Smith went on vacation. The result? She abandoned a thriving medical practice in Wisconsin to serve the Yagua Indians in the deepest part of the Amazon rainforest of Peru alone.

Today, Dr. Smith routinely hears the midnight cry of "Doctora!" from patients facing life-and-death emergencies. Accompany her on house calls where the unknown often awaits. Observe how she treats exotic diseases, alligator bites and complicated births almost a day's journey away from the closest hospital.

Taken straight from the pages of Dr. Smith=9's journal, La Doctora offers readers a rare glimpse into the suspense and drama of practicing medicine in a culture far removed from the sophisticated supplies and supports of 20th-century medicine.

Learn how Dr. Smith evolved from a "strange white woman" to an adopted member of the indigenous community. Her story of adventure, self-discovery and service creates an inspirational testimonial to one person's power to make a lasting difference.

About the Author
Linnea Smith, a native of Wisconsin, entered medical school at age 30. After graduating and receiving board certification in Internal Medicine, she joined a small medical group in rural Wisconsin. She left that practice in 1990 to set up a remote jungle clinic on the banks of the Amazon River, three hours down river from Iquitos, Peru.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 238 pages
• Publisher: Pfeifer-Hamilton Pubs (October 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570251401
• ISBN-13: 978-1570251405
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,029,766 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #32 in	Books > Travel > Latin America > South America > Brazil > Amazon
  #44 in	Books > Science > Medicine > Internal Medicine > Infectious Disease > Tropical Medicine
  #44 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Medical > Medicine > Internal Medicine > Infectious Disease > Tropical Medicine

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring book -- a pleasure to read! Brava! Good Doctora., October 2, 1999

By	Vincent W. Mooney "vinceplato" (Tulsa, OK USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an inspiring book that's a pleasure to read. It gives the reader the vicarious enjoyment of being part of a noble endeavor. In an age of "road rage" and the obsessive accumulation of more and more things (which often do not make us happy), it's exhilarating to experience a taste of Dr. Linnea's life.

Dr. Linnea shows us how one can give up almost all the material possessions and creature comforts of the modern world and still find meaning, happiness, and personal fulfillment. Dr. Linnea has created for herself a significant life. A life with much to teach a troubled world.

While missionaries have long sacrificed themselves to serve God, win the eternal salvation of lost souls, and earn a place in the pantheon of saints, Dr. Linnea does it for the pure humanity of the effort. Goodness is indeed its own reward in this Amazon outpost.

Because of Dr. Linnea's "wonderful life", many lives have been enriched and some even saved. More importantly, countless hours of suffering have been alleviated. This is the most humane thing: ending or reducing pain. We all have to die but we shouldn't have to suffer or endure years of pain when a cure is available. Dr. Linnea provides the cures that often would not be provided otherwise.

She treats the sick and asks nothing in return; she allows her patients to keep their personal integrity; she respects their beliefs; she grants them respect and maintains their dignity; I think this could be called love.

On the surface, this book is about a one woman medical practice hidden in the Amazon rain forest. Beneath the surface, however, it is about finding meaning in a world that too often seems to be without meaning. Dr. Smith's "life-example" has the power to let you view your own life differently; perhaps with a clearer insight. With one brave decision, everything can change. For Dr. Smith and thousands of her patients, the change has had life-sustaining significance.

I felt a similar elation reading this book that I experienced when the US Women's Soccer Team won the World Cup. I was proud that our young women could show the world such excellence in a non-American sport. What else would this generation of young American women do in the future now that they saw what they could do? It is the power of their "example" that is so exciting. I stood and cheered in the privacy of my living room.

Dr. Linnea is such an example, as well. She's one of our own; a human we can be proud of -- a human we would gladly point to if Extra Terrestrials came to earth and wanted to interview an exemplar human being for the Encyclopedia Galactica. Better yet, she is in "real time"; she is alive and still "on-mission". You can be a part of her life. You can support her efforts. You can even bring her medicine if you visit the Amazon -- as some adventurous tourists do. You can visit her website (run by her relatives in the USA.)

As a bonus, the book is very well written and designed. It is also moderately priced.

La Doctora demonstrates the best in mankind. The message is optimistic; the ending, happy. Reading it may make you happy. And maybe, as in my case, it may make you want to stand and cheer as you finish the last page.

Keep up the good work Dr. Linnea and please write a sequel. Feeling good and feeling proud and feeling optimistic is definitely worth the price of admission.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing Amazonian from Wisconson, August 10, 2000

By	Marilee (Florida USA) - See all my reviews

It wasn't so long ago that I had the privilege of meeting Linnea in Peru. She was just coming back from a fundraising journey to the States, where she received a prize of recognition for her selfless work in Amazonia. I was with a tour group that was to stay at several Amazonian jungle lodges. The Amazon was in it's annual flood stage and the only way any of us could get around was by small boat. La doctora Linnea had her own dugout which she paddled to and from the clinic, the lodge and her patients all by herself, in a dress. She wore skirts almost entirely because of the humidity and local custom. The only women who wear shorts or pants in Amazonia are tourists and scientists. Every evening Linnea would come to the lodge for a bit of relaxation and conversation with whomever was staying there, but one couldn't help but notice how more comfortable she was in the company of the locals and guides. The Ribiernos [local river dwellers] didn't ask rude or probing questions. They were friendly without conpromising her privacy.This ingrained need to keep part of herself to herself comes through in the book she's written. She's happy to talk about her work and her love of the people, but reveals little of her previous life. I recommend this book for the incredible story, the sense of place, to learn about people we would otherwise never know. She may not speak book-learned Spanish, but communicates fluently with her friends and patients. As she writes, she arrived in Peru speaking no Spanish.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An account of a woman doctor's life in the rain forest., January 8, 1999

By	Dick Lutz "dickbook" (Salem, Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews

As the author of a book about the same region, HIDDEN AMAZON, I found Linnea Smith's book fascinating. From Wisconsin, Linnea tells why she has gone to the Amazon (she's still there) and how she feels about the conditions, the jungle, and the people. Perhaps most instructive is her detailed account of the medical conditions she encounters and how she treats them under the most primitive conditions. She works, lives, and eats at Explorama Lodge, a popular stop for trekkers in the area. This is one of the few jungle lodges with a doctor on the staff. And LA DOCTORA is one of the best books about the rain forest and its medical services.