Urgent Calls from Distant Places: A Doctor’s Life-and-Death Journey to Rediscover Meaning in Medicine
About this audiobook
In this riveting true-life thriller, a doctor flying out to frontline medical emergencies in Africa shares the daring adventures, victories, and heartbreak of trying to heal.
As a physician, Dr. Marc-David Munk never knew when his team's small plane landed in a remote spot in East Africa what he would find on the ground. He and his team—the famed AMREF East African Flying Doctors Service—had been summoned to treat health emergencies too dire for local care. Over his time as a volunteer, he found the essence of life as a physician.
In the fascinating and dangerous landscape of East Africa, Dr. Munk treated patients with bullet wounds, malaria, parasitic tropical diseases, routine heart attacks and overdoses. The medicine is complex and fascinating, but even more engaging are the people, geographies, and political situations that the team encounters. Alongside Dr. Munk, we:
- meet the AMREF air crew, filmmakers, refugees, cow rustlers, NGO volunteers, Ugandan soldiers, American snipers, herders from ancient tribes, children with albinism, Kenyans suffering from psychotic breaks, and tourists on safari
- dodge corrupt officials and navigate war zones
- observe the enduring impacts of colonialism, terrorism, and war on the region
- witness the sweeping, stunning landscapes of East Africa from AMREF's "air ambulance"
- grapple with the philosophical questions raised by international medicine
Along the way, we learn about the doctor’s unconventional path to emergency medicine and witness his evolution as both a healer and a human. This exquisitely written book stretches our emotions and delves into high-stakes decision-making: who to save and who to leave behind.
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About the author
Dr. Marc-David Munk is a palliative medicine physician and writer whose career has spanned emergency medicine, healthcare leadership, and global health. Born in Switzerland and raised in Canada, Dr. Munk holds degrees from Colgate University, Jefferson Medical College, Boston University, and Harvard University. He completed a residency in emergency medicine and a fellowship in global health at the University of Pittsburgh, and later a fellowship in palliative medicine at Tufts Medical Center. He lives outside Boston with his wife and two children.
