Mountains Beyond Mountains Chs 21-24 Reflection by Mike Diaz

The first time I read Mountains Beyond Mountains there was one particular line in the book that made a serious impact on me and is a major reason I wanted to write this reflection. It came when Paul Farmer was describing why he respected Dr. Pérez of Cuba as much as he does. Dr. Farmer says, “He believes in social justice medicine” (207). The reason this struck me is because I believe this description fits Farmer as well as it does Dr. Pérez. In one sentence, this is the essence of Farmer and I believe that if more people could be defined this way there would be far less health inequality in the world. I think this is a profound complement to Dr. Pérez and I certainly hope to be summarized this way some day.

These four chapters to me are some of the most important of the book because they truly show the sacrifices Farmer makes to pursue his “preferential option for the poor” while at the same time highlighting how he does it his own way. I think one of the most important lines to take away from the book comes from Jim Kim when he says, “Paul is a model of what should be done. He’s not a model for how it has to be done” (244). We cannot all be Paul Farmer, however, we can hold similar values and priorities and work in our own way to fight for them.

These chapters describe the intense travel that Farmer has to undergo to juggle the various project’s PIH has taken on and it is difficult not to be overwhelmed just imagining having to take trips like this. The thing that makes Farmer so special, in my opinion, is that his heart is always in Haiti and he is longing to return there. This is the engine that keeps his wheels turning and this seems like one of the key messages of the book. Find a cause you believe in, but more importantly find something you love to push you through the most difficult times. For Farmer this is Haiti and his clinical work, and, as he says to Kidder on page 237, he would be nothing without this. This part of the book highlights how large PIH has become and how that has forced it to evolve, but at its core it is still the organization the Farmer and Ophelia Dahl started so many years back.

Finding something as motivating as Farmer’s work in Haiti may be an impossible goal, but I believe that search is the most important part of being young. This is the best time for us to search out and try to discover what can empower us to accomplish feats as amazing as what Paul Farmer has achieved. This book to me shows just how much is possible when someone truly loves their work and believes in the good one person can create.