Raymond Downing

Family physician Raymond Downing offers a bold critique of western medicine and sees medical care as one of the fallen "principalities and powers" in need of redemption. But Downing's hope lies beyond biomedicine--in biblical healing, especially the healing miracles of Jesus. In conversation with the Bible, Ivan Illich, William Strongfellow, Susan Sontag, and others, Downing revisits how Westerners approach medicine. He sees suffering and healing as essentially spiritual experiences at the roots of death and life.

Family physician Raymond Downing offers a bold critique of western medicine and sees medical care as one of the fallen "principalities and powers" in need of redemption. But Downing's hope lies beyond biomedicine--in biblical healing, especially the healing miracles of Jesus. In conversation with the Bible, Ivan Illich, William Strongfellow, Susan Sontag, and others, Downing revisits how Westerners approach medicine. He sees suffering and healing as essentially spiritual experiences at the roots of death and life.

Family physician Raymond Downing offers a bold critique of western medicine and sees medical care as one of the fallen ""principalities and powers"" in need of redemption. But Downing's hope lies beyond biomedicine--in biblical healing, especially the healing miracles of Jesus. In conversation with the Bible, Ivan Illich, William Stringfellow, Susan Sontag, and others, Downing revisits how Westerners approach medicine. He sees suffering and healing as essentially spiritual experiences at the roots of death and life.

Accustomed to navigating a world of medical emergencies, institutional politics, and donor-driven projects, two doctors-one Kenyan, one American-unexpectedly find themselves on the edge of an isolated refugee camp near Somalia at the wrong end of an automatic weapon. As the tale unfolds, an eclectic cast of characters grapples with challenges both delicately spiritual and abrasively physical, and in the ensuing dust storm, worldviews and agendas clash. Personal and humorous, Downing's carefully woven story is warmly human and deeply engrossing.

Such a Time of It They Had is history that reads like a story: it is popular history and academic history...and also medical history, focused on global health. It is a fascinating saga, if often a sordid one. According to Dr. Downing: "Many of the global health pioneers in this book were global health heroes in their day; a few were global health villains. We don't need more global health heroes-or villains." Looking back at global health in Africa, and his own thirty years on the continent, Dr. Downing insists on reflecting on global health as it relates to patients. This is an extremely important story-a cautionary tale heavy with experiences both old and new-and his is a vital perspective.

At the turn of the century, international health development refashioned itself with a new name: Global Health. In these collected writings, Raymond Downing reflects on his thirty years working in health in Africa and considers the need to listen...mostly "to the people we have come to serve." Dr. Downing notes that global health is not focused on how people used to do things and tends to listen to statistics more than people. His insights are a crucial contribution to the unfolding conversation: "Global health has the opportunity to expand its knowledge base significantly by listening to ancient and indigenous wisdom. It can enhance known interventions by listening to the priorities of local people. Global health can help to ensure its relevance and effectiveness by continuing to monitor not just what happens to people, but especially what those people think about what's happening to them."

This book contains a forword by Ron Pust, Professor of Family Medicine, University of Arizona, USA. Written by a practicing physician with 30 years experience both in America and Africa, "Suffering and Healing in America" takes a critical look at Western health care and examines its weaknesses. With a thought provoking rather than prescriptive approach, this extraordinary book offers a new reasoning in health care: learning from history and traditional cultures. "Suffering and Healing in America" will be of great interest to all health care professionals and researchers with an interest in public health. Religious and spiritual leaders will find this book a source of inspiration, and policy makers and shapers worldwide will find plenty to inform and guide their thoughts on the future of health care in America and beyond. 'It doesn't matter whether you are a provider or a consumer of health care, whether in the USA or outside, this book continues to draw keenly reflective cultural insights to challenge us all. America has money and science, but we may have abandoned the spiritual and social context of our lives and deaths. In Africa, and in many other places on our planet, it is quite the opposite. I invite you to explore these contrasts with Ray Downing. This book's lessons have much to teach us.' - Ron Pust, in the Foreword.