Overview

A celebrated doctor's coming of age story in Cambodia It was while in Uganda as a young and idealistic physician that Dr. Richard Heinzl finally heard his true calling: to set up a chapter of Doctors Without Borders in his native Canada. As a prerequisite to fulfilling his Medecins Sans Frontieres dream, Dr. Heinzl was sent to a war-ravaged town in Cambodia to work a year in the field. Cambodia Calling is this young doctor's harrowing personal story of setback and accomplishment in the dangerous and inhospitable environment of a remote Cambodian village. His compelling narrative details how he confronted his own illness and self-doubt, as well as the reality of treating those who could not be saved. Richard Heinzl, MD (Oakville, ON, Canada) founded the Canadian chapter of Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres), the Nobel Prize-winning humanitarian relief organization. He studied medicine at the University of Toronto, Harvard, and Oxford.

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9780470739532

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From Winnipeg Free Press <p>This non-fiction entry is an alluring chronicle of one young doctor's experience as a member of a Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres) team assigned to the impoverished village of Sisophon, Cambodia, during the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge civil war in the early 1990s.<p>This is not the typical memoir of heroic doctors braving war zones to save lives. Ontario-based Richard Heinzl, founder of the Canadian chapter of Doctors Without Borders, takes the reader past the expected sphere of the crisis in humanitarian aid.<p>He provides an honest and personal assessment of the challenges and professional obstacles that confronted him in Cambodia and within Doctors Without Borders.<p>Heinzl's coming-of-age story begins in Uganda in 1985. As though he were scripting an international movie drama, Heinzl shares the sense of being a fish out of water as he walks into a foreign country in plain view, a 22-year-old medical student from the other side of th

From Winnipeg Free Press <p>This non-fiction entry is an alluring chronicle of one young doctor's experience as a member of a Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres) team assigned to the impoverished village of Sisophon, Cambodia, during the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge civil war in the early 1990s.<p>This is not the typical memoir of heroic doctors braving war zones to save lives. Ontario-based Richard Heinzl, founder of the Canadian chapter of Doctors Without Borders, takes the reader past the expected sphere of the crisis in humanitarian aid.<p>He provides an honest and personal assessment of the challenges and professional obstacles that confronted him in Cambodia and within Doctors Without Borders.<p>Heinzl's coming-of-age story begins in Uganda in 1985. As though he were scripting an international movie drama, Heinzl shares the sense of being a fish out of water as he walks into a foreign country in plain view, a 22-year-old medical student from the other side of the world on elective in Africa. <p>So begins Heinzl's journey of self-discovery. He is looking for a taxi to take him from a Kenya-Uganda border crossing near Tororo along the Jinja-Kampala highway to work at Mulago Hospital with Liz and Don Hillman, Canadian pediatricians running a program called the Child Health and Maternity Program (CHAMP).<p>The story is compelling. Heinzl provides exceptional details of how he confronted his self-doubt as a newly trained doctor questioning his intent and commitment to humanitarian aid. He successfully captures his inner turmoil through his dialogue with his mentors, colleagues and friends. The reader becomes a true witness to Heinzl's experience.<p>The thread that ties his account together from Uganda, back to McMaster University in Hamilton and on to the Caribbean, Amsterdam and finally Cambodia in 1991 is Heinzl's exceptional ability to shine a light of all who affected him along the way.<p>It is as if you are sitting in very comfortable chair b

Author Information

Richard Heinzl is a medical doctor from Hamilton, Ontario, and is the founder of Doctors Without Borders / Medicins Sans Frontieres in Canada. He studied at the University of Toronto, McMaster University, Harvard University, and the University of Oxford. His travels and work have taken him to over 70 countries, and he is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including a citation from the Government of Cambodia and an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, McMaster University. He travels widely, speaking about his adventures in the field to enthusiastic audience at universities and organizations. He lives in Oakville, Ontario, with his wife and two sons.

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