William LeMaire

medical-doctor, medical-perspective, travel, training, marriage *****

Fascinating! Born and educated in Belgium, he first came to Schenectady for practical training (with almost no English), he averted mandatory army service by choosing to perform medical services in what was then the Belgian Congo for a year until forced home by political unrest. His wife agreed with a decision to come back to the US with the children. A year in Cleveland was followed by 29 years in Miami specializing, teaching, and doing research while children grew. What changed was a good friend dying unexpectedly at age fifty. So they decided that when he turned fifty five they would travel by working. The short version is: Okinawa, Karachi, Sitka (they both loved it there and spent seven years total) North Queensland, Tazmania (1989), New Zealand working for the agency Global Medical Staffing. Then they began to work as volunteers in three to four month stints with Doctors of the World in St Lucia and Mexico. Running throughout the years after leaving Miami are beautiful descriptions of the energetic camping and travel done on days off wherever they were. Also running throughout are anecdotes related to languages and the performances in medicine in the varied places as well as the problems and improvements as time passed (he is now over 80). Come for the travelogue,the laughs, the hospital and clinic experiences, or the semi recent history of OBGYN, but read this book and maybe donate to charity.… (mehr)

In Crosscultural Doctoring. On and Off the Beaten Path. William LeMaire describes his career as a world traveling obstetrician and gynecologist. He relates how, after more than 20 years in an academic setting, at age 55 he gives up his position and decides to go off the beaten path. The book details his subsequent work in the US and abroad in many different cultural settings. He shares with the reader the satisfaction and excitement he and his wife derived from this change in career.

The book is written as a series of loosely connected anecdotes, some medical, some non medical, some funny, and some not so funny. The book aims to motivate others, medical as well as non-medical professionals, to dare to make the change they may have been dreaming about. The book may also inspire others, who have already made the change, to write their own story.

The book describes in vivid and sometimes amusing detail, how and why a successful academic professional, decides to give it all (almost all) up and in the process gained so much in cross cultural experience and personal satisfaction.

A quote from the author: " I was never interested in writing a book until many of my colleagues and friends , who listened over the years to many of our stories, started telling us that I should write a book. After much prodding and encouragement, I finally relented and voila, here it is.

The book is available for free downloading on Smashwords. The link is: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/165122 The reader can select the preferred format. It is also available through Amazon, which will charge 99 cents.

The author tells in the book and the related website http://www.freebooks.com/wimsbook why he makes the book available for free… (mehr)