Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World

by Tracy Kidder

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Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World Questions and Answers

In Tracy Kidder's Mountains Beyond Mountains, describe why Paul Farmer is dissatisfied with the current distribution of money and medicine in the world. 

The title of the book Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder comes from the Haitian proverb "Beyond mountains there are mountains." What does the saying mean in the context of the culture it comes from?

Paul Farmer believes that “if you’re making sacrifices...you’re trying to lessen some psychic discomfort” (24). Do you agree with the way that Farmer makes personal sacrifices in Mountains Beyond Mountains? What are your expectations about sacrifices for both you and others? What things are worth your sacrifice? Under what circumstances do you think others should make sacrifices?

Dr. Paul Farmer designed a study to find out if there was a relationship between his Haitian patients’ beliefs in sorcery as the cause of TB and their recovery from TB through medical treatment. Do you think this discovery might have a broader application—for instance, to situations in the United States?

Paul Farmer had an eccentric childhood, and his accomplishments have been unique. Do you see a relationship between the way Farmer was raised and how he has chosen to live his life? How has your own background influenced your life and your decisions?

Mountains Beyond Mountains is written by a white man from the US about another white man from the US who seeks to improve the lives of poor people of color in Haiti and other parts of the so-called Third World. What issues and assumptions regarding race, class, and nationality in relation to service and activism are raised, both implicitly and explicitly, by the book?

In Mountains Beyond Mountains, Paul Farmer believes that “if you’re making sacrifices...you’re trying to lessen some psychic discomfort” (p. 24). Do you agree with the way that Farmer makes personal sacrifices?

There are many moral lessons to be learned from the work of Dr. Farmer in Mountains Beyond Mountains. What are some of the lessons that cause one to think differently about oneself and one's future?

How does Paul Farmer connect with people whose backgrounds are vastly different from his own in Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World?

Kidder points out that Farmer is dissatisfied with the current distribution of money and medicine in the world. What is your opinion of the distribution of these forms of wealth?

What are the 5 major lessons that can be derived from the book?

In Mountains Beyond Mountains, Kidder points out that Farmer is dissatisfied with the current distribution of money and medicine in the world. What is your opinion of the distribution of these forms of wealth? What would you change about these distributions, if you could?

The title of the book comes from the Haitian proverb, “Beyond mountains there are mountains." Can you think of other situations—personal or societal—for which this proverb might be appropriate?

What responsibilities do individuals in wealthier nations have toward people in poor countries? How has reading about Paul Farmer’s work in Mountains Beyond Mountains impacted ideas about responsibility or obligations toward people who are poorer than you are?

Paul Farmer believes that “if youre making sacrifices…youre trying to lessen some psychic discomfort” (24). Do you agree with the way that Farmer makes personal sacrifices? For what kinds of things do you make sacrifices, and when do you expect others to make them?

What is the thesis for Dokte Paul in Mountains Beyond Mountains? I was thinking something along the lines of "treat others the way you want to be treated" or "do for others as they do for you," but I'm not sure.

According to Kidder in Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World, what religions are dominant in Haiti?

Why is it important to Farmer to show both photos in Tracy Kidder's book Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World?

In his nonfiction study Mountains Beyond Mountains, Tracy Kidder writes in Chapter 22 that Dr. Farmer embraces “a continuity and interconnectedness that excluded no one.”  What does he mean by this and how does he think this guides Farmer’s life choices?

How is Dr. Paul Farmer similar to philosopher Peter Singer in regards to social justice?

Why does Farmer believe that his form of treating AIDS and TB afflicted patients is viable and effective?

What are the barriers to accomplishing provision of basic health care to people of all socioeconomic levels?

In Tracy Kidder's Mountains Beyond Mountains, what is "the long defeat" for Dr. Farmer and why is it so important to him?

In the book Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder, what were Paul Farmer's methods to treat Tuberculosis?

In the introduction to his book Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World, how does the author Tracy Kidder describe Haiti?

What are the most important or valuable ideas or arguments in this book?  Where does Kidder's text best convey these ideas and why?  Why do those ideas matter so much to Farmer and to you (should they matter to the rest of us as well)? Make your case.

In Mountains Beyond Mountains, how does Paul Farmer use his anthropological background to improve healthcare for the poor in Haiti?

Is "House" based on Dr. Paul Farmer? Dr. Paul Farmer