Sarah Thebarge's book is about her three months living in Togo, West Africa, and working as a physician's assistant in a remote Christian hospital. I'm not a huge fan of Christian books, or missionary work, but gave the book a chance and am so glad I did. Although, the author talks about her faith throughout the book, I found her delving into it much more toward the end of the book, which I had to skip through. However, her medical stories about the people she treated, the diseases that she never came across while working in the U.S., and the difficulties in finding medicine and medical equipment that she and the other nurses and doctors needed to heal their patients, was very interesting and why, I ultimately, picked up her book. In addition, Thebarge's accounts of Togo brought me right back to Ghana, where I lived for five years.

The deaths that Thebarge experienced on a daily basis were overwhelming and crushing to read about. The journals that the author kept in Togo, and then brought to life in her book, gives readers a true sense of her experiences. Her writing is descriptive, emotional, and honest, and I was touched many times by her loving interactions with her patients as she tried to heal them, or help them pass away peacefully.

I highly recommend this book and thank Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review it.

Well

Healing Our Beautiful, Broken World from a Hospital in West Africa

by Sarah Thebarge

FaithWords / Center Street

FaithWords

Christian

Pub Date 07 Nov 2017

I am reviewing a copy of Well through FaithWords/Center Street and Netgalley:

When Sarah Thebarge applied to the Yale Physicians assistant program she told the admissions panel she would change the world someday.

Some decades later Sarah Thebarge finds herself on a plane reading up on Togo, somewhere she had not even heard of until she was asked to serve as a missionary in Togo serving at the Hospital Of Hope.

Just a year or two prior to her call to Togo, Sarah had been battling for her life, after being diagnosed with Cancer.

While in Togo Sarah experienced language difficulties, making conversations difficult and humorous.

By the time she had been there for six weeks Thebarge’s French had drastically improved.

Sarah Thebarge was deeply effected by her time in Togo, watching people die of conditions that were preventable in the U.S in a hospital that lacked modern equipment.

While in Togo Sarah Thebarge would battle Malaria, shed face the loss of patients. She’d see the realities of the conditions in Togo, the lack of medicines and medical equipment.

I give Well five out of five stars!

Happy Reading

Solid two and a half stars.
The first quarter of this book felt like the author patting herself on the back for her decision to spend three months working at a hospital in Togo, Africa for three months. Almost like she’s checking it off her Christian bucket list. There’s also a bit of self-promotion for her previous book. I couldn’t help think of the scripture in Matthew 6 that says do not let your right hand know what your left is doing when giving to the needy.
When Thebarge finally arrives in Mango and at the Hospital of Hope—a hospital she states if better than the government run facilities in Africa—she begins to question the organization and her follow workers (many of whom are lifetime missionaries). I couldn’t help but wonder why a journalist didn’t do more research into the organization before arriving.
The author states her time in Africa was lonely, that she never connected with any of the people there but proceeds to tell stories in which she is teased, encouraged, cared for during illness, and even asked when she will return. She seems to only connect with one person when they are working together. When you are a part-timer in a group of life-timers, connection is going to require some work on your part. An effort Thebarge didn’t seem to put forth.
The best—and most heartbreaking—parts of this book are the stories of the Togolese patients. In a world where “first world problems” is a popular hashtag, it’s easy to take the medical advancements of the western world we enjoy daily for granted. The African people daily fight diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis—diseases which are non-existent in the US.
There is a lot of medical jargon throughout the book and much recounting of Thebarge’s time in college and PA school. I would have rather read more stories—more happy ones—from Thebarge’s time in Africa.
Well does relay the practice of loving others, of showing compassion in a tangible way, of pouring ourselves into other lives until we have nothing more to give.
Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books for review from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.