When I studied at NYU for a semester, I took a course under Prof. John Billings entitled “Topics in Health Policy: Policy, Politics, and Power.” One of the assignments was to do a book report on a book from a given list, and one of those books happened to be “Mountains Beyond Mountains” by Tracy Kidder. I procrastinated, of course, and ended up reading/writing the whole thing in one day, but what a day that was…
Dr. Paul Farmer is an extraordinary person. He has helped more people and saved more lives than I probably could in fifty lifetimes. His work, as evidenced by the crowd I witnessed on Tuesday, has inspired an entire new generation of thought, and will likely change the face of foreign aid and policy.
This is a wiki page about him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_farmer, but probably the best introduction to his work for the layperson is through “Mountains Beyond Mountains.”
I had heard Dr. Farmer was coming to Berkeley through a fellow public health enthusiast, and despite work and other engagements, I immediately made arrangements to go. I had missed an opportunity to see him the previous year in Berkeley, and I was not going to miss another one. He was apparently coming to receive the International Public Health Hero award, and was giving a lecture on campus during his stay.
I came an hour and a half early and there were already about 15 people in front of me. I got a seat in the second row, just one seat away from center, and I had a great view. He came up from the back with a big smile on his face, and thanks to a new friend I made (Hi Jon!), I got to shake his hand. (For any of you interested – his hand is very soft and kind of squishy).
His lecture, titled “Rethinking Health and Human Rights,” was enlightening, of course, and there was even a Q&A session. He was funny and articulate, and every sentence was like gold. (YouTube him, if you want to hear some of his work). After, there was a reception, and I filed along with two dozen other people, trying to talk to Dr. Farmer.
He is very gracious and listened intently to everyone who approached him. I didn’t want to take up too much of his time, so I simply thanked him for all his work. He signed my copy of “AIDS and Accusation” and I was lucky enough to get a photo with him.
It’s not everyday you get to meet your hero. He was every bit as wonderful as I expected him to be. My year is made.
