This book does a great job of telling the whole story - the joys and sorrows of being a doctor. Doctors have been gifted in being able to heal the sick but this ability has come with a price that most people are unaware of or other doctors are unwilling to admit to. I admire Dr. Hilfiker's courage as he shares his personal story - a story that is not only very powerful but incredibly emotional. He has written a book that can serve as an inspiration and a source of strength for other doctors.

It is written by a doctor who has been working with innner city patients for over two decades. He understands their medical and psychosocial issues very well but he was puzzled by many things. Including, how is it that there is such sharp geographical clustering of poverty, how is this cycle perpetuated from one generation to the next, how does 'govt. assistance' work and how is it designed?

He tried to find the answers by surveying the sociological, economic, and public policy literature. He describes his book as the type of resource he wished he had access to in medical school. The book itself is only about 130 pages (not including endnotes which were quite interesting). Anyway, I found it to be very interesting and it is totally readable in one sitting so busy people might like it.

Because my understanding of what he was trying to explain is very unsophisitcated, I couldn't read the book with a critical eye (except one type where I'm quite sure he meant "integration" instead of "segregation" but that was just one word.)

I do warn you that it isn't a cozy book (although it wasn't a screamin' shockin', bleedin' liberal tryst either, thank goodness). Just so you're prepared.

Dr. Hilfiker's account is sad, rugged, and filled with faith and hope all at the same time! This doctor has set an example that would be worth following for doctors and nurses in the future who truly wish to make a difference in the world. Well-edited and sprinkled with humor this is a tremendously satisfying book to read. Well worth the money, this is legitimate inspiration. Hats of to Dr. Hilfiker and staff and may his tribe increase!

NOT ALL OF US Are Saints is a compellingly honest portrayal of both the brokenness of the people Hilfiker cares for day in and day out, and his intimate wrestlings with doubt, discouragement, and anger. The title speaks of the humility with which he approaches the task.

He confesses early in the book, while still living upstairs in Christ House:

"I live on the mainland of our society. No matter what route I choose, what decisions I make, I will always have a secure route back. The men downstairs live on an island, separated from me by waters deep and unbridgeable....

"The spiritual discipline of "voluntary poverty" has nothing in common with the oppression and despair of the ghetto. There is nothing beautiful or romantic in frostbitten toes or minds destroyed by alcohol, in lives crushed by the weight of indifferent history and cultural negligence....We betray those caught in [poverty's] web by romanticizing it or imagining that we-by divesting ourselves of some bits of our privilege-can choose to enter it. The landscape of poverty is inaccessible to most of us. We can barely imagine the scenery.

"But neither is it possible to live as a privileged person within the world of the very poor without undergoing some changes."

The stories Hilfiker relates about his patients are difficult to read. They start to sound tragically similar, and we are left longing for hope. But there are few "success stories" to tell, as anyone who is acquainted with the inner city knows.

Heartfelt--and heartrending--Not All of Us Are Saints paints a disturbing picture that America needs to see. It is important reading, both for those who have yet to have their eyes opened, and for those who live enmeshed in the issues with which Hilfiker daily struggles. It is honest, and truly courageous, guidance for the journey.

Dr. Hilfiker's book should be required reading of every medical student, physician, social worker, and minister. It should also be required reading of individuals and organizations, medical or not but especially medical, who in any way must brush up against or who work directly with the poor. An excellent read with profound implications.