My Own Country: A Doctor's Story | 
pickVerghese wrote two of my favorite works of fiction so I had to read his memoir about his time as an infectious disease specialist in Johnson City, TN during the early days of the AIDS crisis. His perspective as an immigrant was really unique I thought and the stories of his patients were very touching. This was another Verghese five star read for me.
Just realized the $3 copy of this paperback I got from Thrift Books is signed!
pickI read this book when it first came out. A friend of mine who is Black sent me his copy. He said that he thought the author was racist against Black people and wanted my opinion. I‘m not exactly the best person to ask about that since I‘m white, but he trusted my judgment. I remember thinking that Verghese seemed to dislike his own brown skin. At the time he wrote this book he was living in the same town in which I now live. (cont)⬇️
#12Booksof2021 @Andrew65
Abraham Verghese became the AIDS specialist in East Tennessee. He also became one of my heroes in January.
#My5Stars2021 @Tove_Reads
Other great reads in January were Thousand Splendid Suns and The Seven Sisters.
pickI will not forget this book for awhile. It touched my heart. Dr. Varghese took me on his journey of discrimination in a small rural community in Appalachia. He broke down the stereotypes of the AIDS epidemic and the gay men community by making each patient an individual. It broke my heart to learn how these patients suffered because of ignorance and narrow-mindedness. The courage of these people and their doctor is truly amazing and inspiring.
They had reached the point where they had contemplated moving back to Baltimore with Petie to get SOME kind of care. It took several visits before they began to believe that they had a RIGHT to medical care. The family had been made to feel like pariahs because of the disease that affected their son.
Utterly unforgivable. 😠
Day 19 of #adventrecommends I'm going to keep suggesting this excellent book until everyone reads it. It's the true story of a young Indian doctor who becomes the “AIDS expert“ in a rural conservative Tennessee town in the mid-1980s. It offers an unflinching look at how AIDS affected the gay community, how it made its way from the urban centers into the rural communities -- and how the American public responded to the public health crisis.
pickExcellent narrative of a young doctor who becomes the "AIDS expert" in a small rural setting of East Tennessee in the mid-1980s, when the number of HIV-infected patients begins to rise. Though it's nonfiction, it reads like a novel while providing an unflinching look at how AIDS affected the gay community, how it made its way from the urban centers into the rural communities -- and how the American public responded to the public health crisis.
I'm sitting super close to the stage for Cirque du Soleil's Love. If this is my last post I was killed by a falling acrobat. I don't have expensive tickets either. Way to go Tix4Tonight!
"I'll only take a quick peek..." #twohoursandfivebookslater #iregretnothing #poorbuthappy #bookgalore
