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Interviews | November 19, 2009

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1 Burnside Health and Medicine- AIDS

My Own Country: A Doctor's Story

by Abraham Verghese

My Own Country: A Doctor's Story Cover

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

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.

Out of his experience comes a startling but ultimately uplifting portrait of the American heartland as it confronts--and surmounts--its deepest prejudices and fears.

Synopsis:

Nestled in the Smoky Mountains of eastern Tennessee, the town of Johnson City saw its first AIDS patient in August 1985. Working in Johnson City was Abraham Verghese, a young Indian doctor specializing in infectious diseases who became, by necessity, the local AIDS expert. Out of his experience comes a startling, ultimately uplifting portrait of the American heartland.

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br6645, August 7, 2008 (view all comments by br6645)
This is a thoughtfully written first-hand account of the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States. Dr. Verghese was an infectious disease doctor in the tri-cities area of northeast Tennessee. Johnson City is a small pocket of HIV/AIDS infections, covering the gamut of high- and low-risk people. My Own Country describes each person infected with, and affected by, the disease. Each has their own unique story, and Dr. Verghese details their personal struggles, as well as family and community reactions, with insight, heartbreak, and humor. He gives names and stories to the first victims of this disease. They are your neighbors and your friends, not faceless people in far away places.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780679752929
Subtitle:
A Doctor's Story
Author:
Verghese, Abraham
Author:
Verghese, A.
Author:
Vergehese, Abraham
Publisher:
Vintage Books USA
Location:
New York :
Subject:
Social aspects
Subject:
AIDS (Disease)
Subject:
Medical
Subject:
Physicians
Subject:
Diseases - AIDS & HIV
Subject:
Aids
Subject:
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.
Subject:
AIDS (Disease) -- Social aspects -- Tennessee -- Johnson City. .
Subject:
Medical - General
Subject:
Verghese, A
Subject:
AIDS (Disease) - Social aspects - Tennessee -
Copyright:
Edition Description:
1st Vintage Books ed.
Series Volume:
87-10
Publication Date:
January 1994
Binding:
Paperback
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Yes
Pages:
448
Dimensions:
8.03x5.27x.98 in. .79 lbs.

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