Gifts from the Poor

What the World’s Patients Taught One Doctor About Healing

Dr. Glenn W. Geelhoed & Patricia Edmonds

For more than four decades, surgeon and educator Glenn Geelhoed has taken medical missions to the poorest parts of the globe to treat patients at no cost and train locals to dispense care. Drawn from indelible memories, personal papers, and Geelhoed's daily journals, Gifts from the Poor takes readers along on his journey. Whether he is stitching wounds, delivering babies, mentoring younger colleagues, or challenging destructive cultural practices, Geelhoed constantly discovers the power and dignity of each individual.

From solid, Midwestern beginnings, Geelhoed developed a profound drive to explore the world. What he found both thrilled and goaded him, and shaped a career in which he jousted with medical establishments, confronted corruption, and followed his own instincts. Geelhoed exposes the true mechanics of foreign medical aid and development and proposes game-changing alternatives to the status quo. Most of all, he advocates an upside-down approach to international medical service in which the educated healer gathers a wealth of wisdom from the poorest patients.

A self-described hunter-gatherer whose interests range far beyond his profession, Geelhoed takes readers outside the medical tent to experience adventures in some of the worlds harshest environments. His exploits as a marathon runner, photographer, and hunter add an unexpected dimension to his portraits of life on the edge.

An inspiring tale of compassion, conviction and grit, Gifts from the Poor is Geelhoed's invitation to join him in healing a wounded world. His determination and energy will empower you in your own lifes journey.

All proceeds to be donated to the Medical Mission Hall of Fame Foundation.

Glenn W. Geelhoed is a Fulbright Scholar, past president of the Washington Academy of Surgeons, an inductee of the Academie de Chirurgie de Paris, the 2006 recipient of the GWU Medical Center's Faculty Distinguished Service Award, and in fall 2009 received the American College of Surgeons’ Volunteerism Award for International Outreach.

Veteran writer Patricia Edmonds has worked and consulted in the fields of journalism and communications for more than three decades. In addition to partnering with authors on book projects, Patty has held key positions in newspaper, magazine and online media organizations including NPR.org and USA TODAY. She lives with her family in the Washington, D.C. area.