One Life at a Time : An American Doctor's Memoir of AIDS in Botswana

**A distinguished doctor recounts his experiences taking care of HIV/AIDS patients in Botswana in this memoir.**When Dr. Daniel Baxter arrived in Botswana in 2002, he was confident of the purity of his mission to help people with AIDS, armed with what he thought were immutable truths about life—and himself—that had been forged on his AIDS ward in New York City ten years earlier. But Baxter's good intentions were quickly overwhelmed by the reality of AIDS in Africa, his misguided altruism engulfed by the sea of need around him. Lifted up by Botswana's remarkable and forgiving people, Baxter soldiered on, his memorable encounters with those living with AIDS, and their unfathomable woes assuaged by their oft-repeated "But God is good," profoundly changing the way he thought about his role as a doctor.Now, after caring for innumerable AIDS patients for eight years in Botswana, Baxter has written an urgent, quietly philosophical account of his journey into the early twenty-first century's new heart of darkness: AIDS in Africa, where legions desperately struggled to be among the spared and not the doomed. Part memoir, part travelogue, part chronicle of the zaniness of Botswana (one of the questions on his driver's license application was "Are you or have you ever been an imbecile?"), and part witness to suffering unknown to most Americans, his testimony is an unforgettable tribute to the many people he cared for.Join Baxter on his life-changing journey in Botswana, as he recounts the stories of people like Ralph, a deteriorating AIDS and cancer patient who nonetheless always wore a smile, or Precious, a woman found sick and abandoned in the capital's slum, or "No Fear," a rude man in Baxter's gym whose descent he halted. After many years on the front lines of the African pandemic, Baxter realized that "one life at a time" was the only way to fight AIDS.**"Baxter's book is at once a meditation on lives saved and lost as well as a testament to the challenges inherent in humanitarian work. An honest, moving memoir giving voice to those without one." —__Kirkus Reviews__****"Daniel Baxter's memoir . . . reminds us that one of the most important responsibilities of the physician is to bear witness: to bring out of the occult spaces of the human body and the world this vivid testimony, both of the devastation wrought by neglect, and of the difference made by those who do not turn away." —Terrence Holt, MD, author of __Internal Medicine__****"Dr. Baxter tells the story of Botswana's struggle with AIDS, with the insight of a medical expert and the compassion of a decent human being. . . . This book forces us to face a world of suffering, but it is also brings a message of hope." —Anthony Appiah, author of __Cosmopolitanism__ and __The Lies that Bind__** A distinguished doctor recounts his experiences taking care of HIV/AIDS patients in Botswana in this memoir. When Dr. Daniel Baxter arrived in Botswana in 2002, he was confident of the purity of his mission to help people with AIDS, armed with what he thought were immutable truths about life—and himself—that had been forged on his AIDS ward in New York City ten years earlier. But Baxter's good intentions were quickly overwhelmed by the reality of AIDS in Africa, his misguided altruism engulfed by the sea of need around him. Lifted up by Botswana's remarkable and forgiving people, Baxter soldiered on, his memorable encounters with those living with AIDS, and their unfathomable woes assuaged by their oft-repeated "But God is good," profoundly changing the way he thought about his role as a doctor. Now, after caring for innumerable AIDS patients for eight years in Botswana, Baxter has written an urgent, quietly philosophical account of his journey into the early twenty-first century's new heart of darkness: AIDS in Africa, where legions desperately struggled to be among the spared and not the doomed. Part memoir, part travelogue, part chronicle of the zaniness of Botswana (one of the questions on his driver's license application was "Are you or have you ever been an imbecile?"), and part witness to suffering unknown to most Americans, his testimony is an unforgettable tribute to the many people he cared for. Join Baxter on his life-changing journey in Botswana, as he recounts the stories of people like Ralph, a deteriorating AIDS and cancer patient who nonetheless always wore a smile, or Precious, a woman found sick and abandoned in the capital's slum, or "No Fear," a rude man in Baxter's gym whose descent he halted. After many years on the front lines of the African pandemic, Baxter realized that "one life at a time" was the only way to fight AIDS. "Baxter's book is at once a meditation on lives saved and lost as well as a testament to the challenges inherent in humanitarian work. An honest, moving memoir giving voice to those without one." — Kirkus Reviews "Daniel Baxter's memoir . . . reminds us that one of the most important responsibilities of the physician is to bear witness: to bring out of the occult spaces of the human body and the world this vivid testimony, both of the devastation wrought by neglect, and of the difference made by those who do not turn away." —Terrence Holt, MD, author of Internal Medicine "Dr. Baxter tells the story of Botswana's struggle with AIDS, with the insight of a medical expert and the compassion of a decent human being. . . . This book forces us to face a world of suffering, but it is also brings a message of hope." —Anthony Appiah, author of Cosmopolitanism and The Lies that Bind Part 1: Beginnings First rumblings In the thick of it: "The new face of AIDS" First forays into Africa Part 2: The great experiment begins: Botswana 2002-2008 Not a community of Mother Teresa's Crash and burn Learning to dance Outreach 2003: Molepolole Local flora and fauna: "Are you or have you ever been an imbecile?" Holy Cross Hospice Local flora and fauna: "A first-rate country for second-rate people" All part of the package Enough is enough, or Not outstaying your welcome Part 3: American interlude Room 4224 Part 4: Botswana, 2013-2015: into the belly of the beast the more things changed... Princess Marina, I Outreach, ten years later Holy Cross Hospice: final lessons Princess Marina, II Final departure. "A physician gives voice to the powerful stories of AIDS patients in Botswana."--Jacket flap.