Out of Assa : Heart of the Congo (Medical Adventures in Central Africa)

Rating:
Summary: A great hands-on read for aspiring Osteopathic Physicians
Review: Dr Glenn W. Geelhoed M.D. has shown in this book that the real treasures in life are available in the life of learning the unknown itself. In sharing his medical experience of Assa, a Congolese village in central Africa, he reveals what life's adventure is all about- a healing experience of the highest inspiration for all who wish to embrace the transforming power of giving one's self, heart and mind for the right cause, and the wealth of nourishment in learning from and with the poor, the destitute, and the neglected. As a future physician from an African village that is almost non-existent, I can only thankfully, applaud Glenn W. Geelhoed M.D for sharing his amazing adventures and truly, magnifying for the global medical community, the eloquent evidence of a physician's compassion and service of the under-priveledged. When each one of us thoroughly examines our respective lives, it becomes clear that in one way or another, we are just like the Assa people, faced with countless battles and fears in every corner of our modern hazardous lives and lifestyles: living as POWs of the American dream; MIAs of common sense and environmental/spiritual sensitivity; dealing with the "33 flavored icecream" stress package in the daily plight of maintaining balance in an unpredictable world of ever-approaching death; inevitable taxation of mind and body from oldage; protecting our "modern" minds from the deadly persuasions of popular media and chronic restlessness; and the internal ravaging war to reclaim the vast soil of our eroded peace of mind. This book shows the conscientious, reflective reader that the real adventures are available in accepting what life truly offers to us even in the most wretched, "beyond the creature comfort zone" conditions. I highly recommend this book to all true lovers of real adventure and real concern for the welfare of our neighbors. This book truly illumines the mental zipcode of the enzymes of one's organic imagination to wake up and LIVE a life of adventure in giving and serving others, of life, of learning, of learning to live life. Eventhough, my interest is in Osteopathic medicine, Dr. Geelhoed shows in his book, that the hidden dimensions of truly getting to know your patients is only revealed in treating and actively working with the patients. My appreciation and admiration of Dr. Geelhoed's work only goes to show that he is in practice osteopathic and undilutedly wholistic in practice. It is an attribute of osteopathic philosophy to "be there" with the patient and not on the HMO "been there, done that" clock-time approach. "Out of Assa: Heart of the Congo" is truly a hands-on experience of an M.D. whose "osteopathic" adventure is itself a celebration of the triumphant spirit of a destitute people's power of adaptation in extreme conditions and self-empowerment in the midst of unimaginable odds. There are no substitutes for the destitute other than in the vicissitudes of daily life. When people like Glenn W. Geelhoed M.D comes in the vicinity of such people as the Assa people in remote central Africa, the vicissitudinous realm of their exsitential paraphenilia takes on the enlightening face of true inner resource beyond the masks of daily-news/CNN stereotypes of indeginious and aborigional peoples of this amazing planet of true celebrations of ageles kinship to surving all odds and living living life like Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, without being our own greatest enemies...internal and external enemies. I hope Dr Geelhoed's book gets to arrive not only on our medical library bookshelves but also on the Hollywood screens of "Coming soon to a theatre near you." OUT OF ASSA: HEART OF THE CONGO (Medical adventures in central Africa) is a relish for any aspiring medical student/adventurer.It is a faithful account of the real worth of the materialization of a physician's inventive genius. This book is indeed the product of the highest genuine medical endeavour. Where the mediocre minds have failed, only the brilliant hearted endure.Dr Glenn W. Geelhoed M.D is truly a brilliant hearted. Truly, a thankful read for both M.D physicians and D.O. physicians. The cataract of current modern medical practices which is the root cause of numerous "destitute" health care systems in poor and rich countries gets a good look by this wonderful book which serves as both an X Ray and a CAT scan for the general exponetially decaying conscience of our modern, traditional practice of medicine. In this book, we have a George Washington University physician who is not just a Doctor but an orator of inspiration for well wishers of physician's care everywhere.With the clarity of laser-vision of a Radiologist,the insatiable taste for research and the olfactory capacity of an allopathic physician for ICU danger zone-trouble shooting, and the "knowing" hands-on experience and "elephant-ears" of an Osteopathic physician, Dr Geelhoed, M.D. shows in this book the histological aspects of medical adventure that will endorse our hopes to improve the plight of indeginious communties such as the Assa peoples of Central Africa. His book is like using a microscope to go into the heart of Congo and travel in the very anthropological tissues of human adaptation in the face of danger and basic need to exist.

Rating:
Summary: Into the Heart of Africa
Review: I found this book very informative and fun to read. I met Dr. Geelhoed in Africa and was amazed at his knowledge of the continent. This book is basically his diary of a summer in a remote part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo followed by a little side trip through Zimbabwe and Zambia. There is some repetition, but this might be expected given the difficulties of writing the book while trying to splice electric lines together. This is amply explained by Dr. Geelhoed. I would have appreciated perhaps more detail of the medical work in Assa and less about the running adventures, but Dr. Geelhoed is basically an explorer. He is willing to take us along with him as he visits out of the way places, meets the people living there, and enters their world. He is willing to use his skills to help, but is always sensitive to the local culture. The political situation was dangerous during his time in the village of Assa. Information about fighting and death are hard to get from the local people, but little by little we learn of their suffering. Dr. Geelhoed's humanity and concern for others comes through clearly. His visit to the David Livingstone Memorial in Chitambo is a moving experience. I feel anyone who has an interest in Africa, or even anyone with a desire to experience a bit of the Congo in the comfort of their own home, will find this book a very informative and enjoyable reading experience.

Rating:
Summary: Into the Heart of Africa
Review: I found this book very informative and fun to read. I met Dr. Geelhoed in Africa and was amazed at his knowledge of the continent. This book is basically his diary of a summer in a remote part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo followed by a little side trip through Zimbabwe and Zambia. There is some repetition, but this might be expected given the difficulties of writing the book while trying to splice electric lines together. This is amply explained by Dr. Geelhoed. I would have appreciated perhaps more detail of the medical work in Assa and less about the running adventures, but Dr. Geelhoed is basically an explorer. He is willing to take us along with him as he visits out of the way places, meets the people living there, and enters their world. He is willing to use his skills to help, but is always sensitive to the local culture. The political situation was dangerous during his time in the village of Assa. Information about fighting and death are hard to get from the local people, but little by little we learn of their suffering. Dr. Geelhoed's humanity and concern for others comes through clearly. His visit to the David Livingstone Memorial in Chitambo is a moving experience. I feel anyone who has an interest in Africa, or even anyone with a desire to experience a bit of the Congo in the comfort of their own home, will find this book a very informative and enjoyable reading experience.

Rating:
Summary: Missed opportunity
Review: OK, after all those glowing reviews coming from Dr. Geelhoed's friends and colleagues, it's time for a neutral reader to voice her opinion.

I love Africa. In fact, I love it so much that I lived there for three years. During that time, I also traveled to the Congo. So I did approach this book with a certain frame of reference.

What I was hoping for was a description of the author's day by day work as a doctor, stories about his patients, or life in a remote Congolese village in general. Instead, the reader is tormented with multiple and tedious repetitions of the exact same tear-jerkingly boring non-events like his obsession with GPS, the loss of his shoelaces for his running shoes, his last name (!), and similarly unstimulating situations, all written in a scientist's typical overly verbose style. The editor must have been pretty bored, too, because he/she overlooked some bad factual and grammatical errors and typos.

Once in a long while, he does come up with half a page of a mildly interesting description about village life and his patients though, and when that happens, the book gains momentum for a brief moment.

I am sure there is so much more to the story and to life out there. Too bad he didn't leave the writing to a professional. As it is, the book is a missed opportunity.

Rating:
Summary: Beam me up! Can we talk?
Review: There are quite a number of wannabe adventure travelers who enjoy the thrill, as eye-witnesses or vicariously, of exploring remote corners of the world and learning about the peoples and cultures in these exotic places. I would be happy to consult with you about your interests in the wonderfully diverse world beyond these windows into the great variety of geographic and human landscapes I continue to explore.

It is not always comfortable and convenient to be undertaking such a discovery voyage, however. Beyond the bugs, beasts, and bathrooms (or, lack thereof) there may be further discovery of restless, destitute or unfriendly "natives", or downright hostile "bad guys"--and the even less comfortable realization that one of these may be the explorer.

Any good adventure is ultimately an exploration of self, and a realization of the power, potentials and problems we carry into confrontation with the unknown. The indigenous peoples have adapted to some of these extreme environments--we can be sure of that since they still exist, however precariously. They accomplish this through lessons we need to learn---how to make do with less, while dealing with ever greater problems.

How we adapt to our own ambiguity in this process of discovery may be the best souvenir we might carry back with us in learning from these planetary neighbors, who, like us, must keep on keeping on, for the moment, in continuously adapting human needs.

This ongoing process of adaptation to their environment, or to ours, is not always comfortable or easy; but there is nothing trivial about this intensive learning process--it is called "life."

Rating:
Summary: Missed opportunity
Review: What follows is an excerpt from a letter received by Kurt E. Johnson, President and Publisher, Three Hawks Publishing LC, from Professor Harrison. "Glenn Geelhoed makes his characters real because they are real. Through leaps and contortions not required of many he listens to their concerns in remote Congo with no condescension whatsoever. Their medical needs are colossal and, in fact, unmet. Glenn tells us not to ignore the neglected-the inner message is that some day, change and hope will enter the scarred world of the Azandis in Congo. The chapter "Life and Death" brings together the meaning of life and the dignity of death in this African culture with moving stories of family life under trying conditions, and all of them true. The blessing of President Trachtenburg of George Washington University appears on the back cover."

Timothy S. Harrison, MD Professor Emeritus, Surgery and Physiology, Penn State Medical School- Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Hershey PA 17033

Rating:
Summary: Out of Assa is wroth several detours
Review: What follows is an excerpt from a letter received by Kurt E. Johnson, President and Publisher, Three Hawks Publishing LC, from Professor Harrison. "Glenn Geelhoed makes his characters real because they are real. Through leaps and contortions not required of many he listens to their concerns in remote Congo with no condescension whatsoever. Their medical needs are colossal and, in fact, unmet. Glenn tells us not to ignore the neglected-the inner message is that some day, change and hope will enter the scarred world of the Azandis in Congo. The chapter "Life and Death" brings together the meaning of life and the dignity of death in this African culture with moving stories of family life under trying conditions, and all of them true. The blessing of President Trachtenburg of George Washington University appears on the back cover."

Timothy S. Harrison, MD Professor Emeritus, Surgery and Physiology, Penn State Medical School- Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Hershey PA 17033

Rating:
Summary: Out of Assa is wroth several detours
Review: What follows is an excerpt from a letter received by Kurt E. Johnson, President and Publisher, Three Hawks Publishing LC, from Professor Harrison. "Glenn Geelhoed makes his characters real because they are real. Through leaps and contortions not required of many he listens to their concerns in remote Congo with no condescension whatsoever. Their medical needs are colossal and, in fact, unmet. Glenn tells us not to ignore the neglected-the inner message is that some day, change and hope will enter the scarred world of the Azandis in Congo. The chapter "Life and Death" brings together the meaning of life and the dignity of death in this African culture with moving stories of family life under trying conditions, and all of them true. The blessing of President Trachtenburg of George Washington University appears on the back cover."

Timothy S. Harrison, MD Professor Emeritus, Surgery and Physiology, Penn State Medical School- Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Hershey PA 17033