ONE BY ONE BY ONE Making a Small Difference Amid a Billion Problems

Michael David Axtell narrates this inspiring audio in an earnest, believable tone that is never too dramatic. He has an appealing way of varying his pacing--some phrases quick, others measured--that works well with this intense account by a thoughtful neurologist who responded to his calling by working in socially and economically impoverished Haiti. The contrasts are riveting on many levels: Western medical bravado clashing with the helpless and uneducated, costly individual procedures juxtaposed with vast public health needs, a surgeon's desire to fix versus minimal aftercare amid stifling poverty--all dilemmas the author struggles with thoughtfully. In such an underprivileged context, futility is never far from the surface. But for listeners, it is the sound of hope and noble intention--enhanced by the narrator's lyrical performance. T.W. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2020]