In the spirit of Tracy Kidder's Mountains Beyond Mountains, and
joining the ranks of works by Bryan Stevenson, Matthew Desmond, Abraham
Verghese and Oliver Sachs, the inspiring story of a young American
neurologist's struggle to make a difference in Haiti by treating one
patient--a story of social justice, clashing cultures, and what it means
to treat strangers as members of our family.
Dr. Aaron Berkowitz had just finished his neurology training when he was
sent to Haiti on his first assignment with Partners In Health. There, he
meets Janel, a 23-year-old man with the largest brain tumor Berkowitz or
any of his neurosurgeon colleagues at Harvard Medical School have ever
seen. Determined to live up to Partners In Health's mission statement
"to bring the benefits of modern medical science to those most in need,"
Berkowitz tries to save Janel's life by bringing him back to Boston for
a 12-hour surgery. In One by One by One, Berkowitz traces what he learns
and grapples with as a young doctor trying to bridge the gap between one
of the world's richest countries and one of the world's poorest to make
the first big save of his medical career.
As Janel and Berkowitz travel back and forth between the high-tech
neurosurgical operating rooms of Harvard's hospitals and Janel's
dirt-floored hut in rural Haiti, they face countless heart-wrenching
twists and turns. Janel remains comatose for months after his surgery.
It's not clear he will recover enough to return to Haiti and be able to
survive there. So he goes for a second brain surgery, a third, a fourth.
Berkowitz brings the reader to the front lines of global humanitarian
work as he struggles to overcome the challenges that arise when
well-meaning intentions give rise to unintended consequences, when
cultures and belief systems clash, and when it's not clear what the
right thing to do is, let alone the right way to do it.
One by One by One is a gripping account of the triumphs, tragedies, and
confusing spaces in between as an idealistic young doctor learns the
hard but necessary lessons of living by the Haitian proverb tout moun
se moun--every person is a person.
