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My Own Country: A Doctor's Story Paperback – April 25, 1995

by Abraham Verghese (Author)

259 customer reviews

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By the bestselling author of Cutting for Stone, a story of medicine in the American heartland, and confronting one's deepest prejudices and fears.

Nestled in the Smoky Mountains of eastern Tennessee, the town of Johnson City had always seemed exempt from the anxieties of modern American life. But when the local hospital treated its first AIDS patient, a crisis that had once seemed an “urban problem” had arrived in the town to stay.

Working in Johnson City was Abraham Verghese, a young Indian doctor specializing in infectious diseases. Dr. Verghese became by necessity the local AIDS expert, soon besieged by a shocking number of male and female patients whose stories came to occupy his mind, and even take over his life. Verghese brought a singular perspective to Johnson City: as a doctor unique in his abilities; as an outsider who could talk to people suspicious of local practitioners; above all, as a writer of grace and compassion who saw that what was happening in this conservative community was both a medical and a spiritual emergency.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Indian physician Verghese recalls his experience practicing in the remote, conservative town of Johnson City, Tenn., when HIV first emerged there in 1985.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST

“A fine mix of compassion and precision.... Verghese makes indelible narratives of his cases, and they read like wrenching short stories.”
—Pico Iyer, Time

“A richly textured portrait of a small Southern town.... Immensely moving. In describing his own odyssey as a healer, Verghese displays rare candor and eloquence.”
—USA Today

“Memorable.... Fascinating. We come away from My Own Country with an abiding admiration for the good and compassionate work Dr. Verghese has conducted.”
—Michael Dorris, Los Angeles Times

“Remarkable.... An account of the plague years in America. Beautifully written, fascinating and tragic, by a doctor who was changed and shaped by his patients.”
—Perri Klass, The New York Times Book Review

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Product details

Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Vintage (April 25, 1995)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0679752927
ISBN-13: 978-0679752929
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 259 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,501 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Diseases & Physical Ailments > AIDS
- #88 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Professionals & Academics > Medical
- #1427 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Memoirs

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AIDS and broadening one's horizons of humanity

June 4, 2017

Verified Purchase

Abraham Verghese is a physician, a specialist in internal medicine and infectious diseases. His medical training was in Ethiopia and India. He came to the United States as an FMG (foreign medical graduate). After finishing his residency and a fellowship, he settled in Johnson City, Tennessee in 1985. Because of his work in Boston, he was the most knowledgeable doctor in the Johnson City area about AIDS, but AIDS was not yet present when he arrived. Four years later, when he left Johnson City, there had been dozens of deaths from AIDS and he had over eighty HIV-infected persons under his care. Johnson City, with its 50,000 residents, had a hundred-fold more cases than the CDC would have predicted for it. MY OWN COUNTRY is Verghese's account of his four years in Johnson City, Tennessee, fighting an ever-mushrooming battle with AIDS and coming to love a corner of Appalachia.

Two subjects predominate. One, of course, is AIDS. The book is studded with case studies, as Verghese sees a wide array of the insidious ways in which AIDS manifests itself and kills. Most of his patients had obtained HIV elsewhere and had moved back to the Johnson City area once they became ill. Acquisition for most was via unprotected homosexual contact, but for a few it was through tainted blood or plasma or via heterosexual intercourse. The disease was hellish in and of itself, but often the social ripple effects were also dreadful -- from contempt and rejection on the part of family members and community, to refusals to treat by doctors and dentists, to boycotting by undertakers. As Verghese writes, "I was improvising constantly to deal with the moral, ethical and social subtleties that were so much a part of this disease."

The second principal subject involves medical practice in general in this country. When Verghese chose to specialize in infectious diseases, he relegated himself to second-tier status among his physician colleagues, especially financially. Medicine was transforming itself into a get-rich business, and the big money was in conducting processes and performing procedures, as opposed to diagnosing patients and being their primary care physician. As Verghese came to realize, proper treatment often required a holistic approach, which in turn required an understanding of the dynamics of the patient's relationships with family, friends, and community. In the thirty years since, the economics of medicine has gotten more out-of-control, and the quality of medical care has decreased. Even in 1985, many of the doctors and medical staff in rural hospitals and in urban public hospitals were foreign-trained, working in the U.S. with visas. If the U.S. continues to insulate itself from the world at large, how will these roles be filled in the future?

Verghese, however, does not harp on these and other social/medical policy issues or become preachy. Foremost, MY OWN COUNTRY contains umpteen different tales of human suffering and endurance, surprisingly often heroic and dignified in nature. For every incident of contempt and rejection, there is one of care and compassion. Two heroes in particular stand out -- Essie Vines, who cared and advocated for her brother Gordon, and Fred Goodson, who did likewise for his partner Otis Jackson and also was the principal organizer and force behind the local AIDS-support group. Anecdotally, there are a handful of intriguing "human interest" stories, such as "John Doe", a debilitated old man with a stroke, diabetes and pneumonia who had been left at the emergency room entrance while the family went to "park the car" and were never seen again; or Vickie McCray, who got HIV from her husband, who unbeknownst to her often had had sex with a male friend from his youth and then went on to give the virus to Vickie's sister as well (Vickie told Verghese that "ever since I found out he has AIDS, I've been feeling too sorry for him to be angry with him. No one deserves to be sick lik'at. No one deserves to lose their mind lik'at.").

MY OWN COUNTRY is not a perfect book. At times, Verghese goes too far down rabbit trails of marginal relevancy (especially when he describes geography and the routes from one place to another); the book is a tad manipulative; occasionally Verghese, although a truly remarkable person, comes across as a little holier-than-thou; and the sentimental reference to "my own country" seems a wee bit hypocritical given that Verghese left the Johnson City area after four years, never to live there again.

That said, and even though the book now is over twenty years old, MY OWN COUNTRY deserves to be read. It is interesting throughout, it is very readable, and reading it will surely broaden almost everyone's horizons of humanity.

4 people found this helpful5 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

At first Verghese seems like an interested outsider

December 11, 2016

Verified Purchase

In My Own Country is an autobiographical narrative of Dr. Abraham Verghese and his work as an infectious disease physician in rural Tennessee during the early years of the HIV pandemic. Verghese is a powerful writer, and his rendering of the AIDS crisis immortalizes the victims of the AIDS crisis in Johnson City. More than that, Verghese offers a rare perspective of the time—he starts out his story as little more than an outsider stumbling into an interesting medical phenomenon. He was not gay, had little connection with gay community, and was neither an advocate nor an enemy of gay men. Yet, over the course of the novel we see how their stories begin to envelope him. At first Verghese seems like an interested outsider, and we wonder if his fascination is purely medical. But when the young men come to him he learns their names, and he asks for their stories. Perhaps because he is a real foreigner in a place that has made them to feel foreign too, they open up to him. Giving his patients the opportunity to speak is one of the few medicines Verghese has. Medically speaking, he offers little in terms of real therapy. He becomes a doctor specializing in palliative care.

Over the course of the novel, Dr. Verghese shows his readers the immense role a physician can play in the lives of patients. His patients are dying. They are afraid. There is little he can do to ease these physical pains. But he is there for them. And it is clear that many of them feel a true patient-physician bond with him as he helps them navigate their journey from life to death. This isn’t an easy process for the patients dying of AIDS, or for Dr. Verghese.

As we see a community form around his perseverance to treat his patients with dignity, we also see how his job begins to overtake his life. As Verghese becomes indispensible to his patients, his relationship with his wife and family deteriorates. We feel for the doctor as he misses important moments in his personal life. We can feel how he is pulled in different directions. He needs to choose between his patients and his family. We see how he chooses his patients. By the end of the novel, it is clear that Dr. Verghese is burned out. His marriage is strained and he has nightmares about the infection that consumes his working hours. We end the book with the same uncertainty that he feels. It turns out that the doctor’s calling has drained his spirit.

The book ends with Dr. Verghese making an important discovery about the pattern of AIDS in rural areas, and deciding to leave Johnson city for somewhere new and more detached. It is a conclusion that fits the topic. This book is not just about a viral pandemic. It does a good job of detailing HIV before treatments, but it’s mostly about the evolution of an idealistic physician. Read this book if you’d like to understand how incurable diseases affect both patients and their healthcare providers. You’ll get a glimpse into the hidden and sometimes heart-wrenching world of doctor-patient relationships.

4 people found this helpful5 people found this helpful

... 1980's as told by a transplanted Indian doctor seemed pretty remote. But as I heard each of these ...

April 15, 2018

Verified Purchase

The thought of me reading and being transfixed by a book about the Aids Epidemic in rural Kentucky in the 1980's as told by a transplanted Indian doctor seemed pretty remote. But as I heard each of these patient's heartbreaking stories and how this internist tries to humanly treat their health concerns with compassion and love, I couldn't stop reading. Abraham Verghese paints a vivid literal picture of life in rural Kentucky and the personal struggles of the patients and the doctor who feels compelled to treat them when other medical professionals shun them. These deeply personal tragic stories will bring you to tears and touch your heart. I highly recommend this book and Verghese's other best seller "Cutting for Stone".

One person found this helpful2 people found this helpful

Erin Kucera Morgan

A poignant and deeply emotional book about a doctor's time treating AIDS patients in rural Virginia in the 80's and '90s.

August 27, 2017

Verified Purchase

A unique picture of the AIDS epidemic in the rural south. Intimate and detailed portraits of each person, their different circumstances and how it affected their family and friends. Poignant and personal. Verghese brings the reader with him as he becomes immersed in the lives and personal devastation unleashed by this terminal and vicious disease. Finally, he lets us see the problems and frustrations in his own family by his overwhelming emotional ties with his patients and the hours upon hours required of him to adequately care for them as well as the affects on his family.

2 people found this helpful3 people found this helpful

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