Customer Reviews

The Poetry of Healing: A Doctor's Education in Empathy, Identity, and Desire

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Dr. Campo provides a sensitive and sometimes provocative look at the life of a gay, minority, physician who treats patients suffering from the plague of the 90s, AIDS. Moreover, Dr. Campo, a true humanist and poet, discusses how his passion for medicine and writing have oftentimes seemed at odds with each other. He was able to deal with many, many issues in his life and to use both medicine and writing to heal himself, his patients, and, I believe, some of his readers. He is courageous, too, just by writing this kind of book. I couldn't have imagined a Yale-educated physician acting so "un-Ivy." But, Dr. Campo has spoken out to describe, in vivid detail, his love of medicine and of words and, most importantly, of his patients.

This book is a wonderful, wonderful read.

I read Campo's poetry before I knew he was a doctor; therefore, I hope he forgives me for thinking of him as a poet first, a doctor second. But this eloquent book--and indeed, Campo's life--exemplifies the benefits of accessing both sides of one's brain, the creative as well as the analytical/scientific. At times soaring with hopefulness and at others questioning the purpose of life and pondering the darkest moments of despair, Campo writes passionately and intimately about his role in the healing arts. This calling is informed as much by his poetic genius and ability to come face to face with raw emotion, unflinchingly, as it is by his doctoral training.

Campo writes powerfully about AIDS and our relationship to the plague in a way one seldom reads: with practical guidelines, not moralistic platitudes and empty slogans. His essay "Imagining Unmanaging Health Care" is worth the price of the book.

An excellent volume of essays, full of warmth, compassion, and most of all, humanity. Campo has truly become the "warrior-physician" he aspired to be--let's hope managed care doesn't drive him from the profession.

Campo has created a poetic autobiography which describes his life as a gay, Latino doctor and poet. This book exemplifies that a person can be proud of being both a person of color and gay. In addition, we can be artists, healers, and so much more. Though not as effective as Gloria Anzaldua's work, Campo still demonstrates the wonders of inhabiting multiple identities and spaces. At times, he leaves his class-privilege unexamined. Some portions are repetitive. Nevertheless, I feel fortunate that I found and read this series of essays. Knowing that a gay man of color can strive in a demanding field despite bigotry, can perform well at prestigious universities, and can have a long-term partner is quite inspirational for me.