Author hiring a publicist
A moving memoir of a young nurse's experience trekking with a local health team in rural Nepal, Beyond the Next Village chronicles how, after arriving in the roadless district of Gorkha in 1978, Mary Anne Mercer experiences firsthand the interlacing of modern medicine with an ancient culture-and her life is gradually transformed by immersion in the daily lives of villagers and her team.
Beyond the Next Village is Mary Anne Mercer's memoir of discovery, growth, and awakening in 1978 Nepal, which was then a mysterious country to most of the world. After arriving in Nepal, Mercer, an American nurse, spent a year traveling on foot-often in flip-flops-with a Nepali health team, providing immunizations and clinical care in each village they visited. Communicating in a newly acquired language, she was often called upon to provide the only modern medicine available to the people she and her team were serving. Over time, she learned to recognize and respect the prominence of their cultural beliefs about health and illness. Encounters with life-threatening conditions such as severe malnutrition and ectopic pregnancy gave her an enlightening view of both the limitations and power of modern health care; immersed in villagers' lives and those of her own team, she realized she was living in not just another country, but another time. This unique story of the joys and perils of one woman's journey in the shadow of the Himalayas, Beyond the Next Village opens a window into a world where the spirits were as real as the trees, the birds, or the rain-and healing could be as much magic as medicine.
“"Mercer's memoir of her months as a volunteer nurse in Nepal is moving, uplifting, and timely. Written with insight and humility, it illustrates the dilemmas of being a stranger in a strange land--even if you're a stranger with the best intentions and the tools to truly be of service. Mercer's eye for detail, humor, and frank self-reflections make Beyond the Next Village enjoyable as both memoir and travelogue. It's also a sobering reminder, during these pandemic years, of how wealth determines the standard of medical care--not just across international borders, but within developing countries." --Jeff Greenwald, author of Shopping for Buddhas and Snake Lake "'Was I ready to change my life?' a young American nurse asks as she ventures into Nepalese villages at a time when the Himalayas were mostly unknown. Mary Anne Mercer treks between worlds in this mesmerizing memoir of adventure and initiation into another culture, another way of healing, of understanding home." --Brenda Peterson, author of Wolf Nation and I Want to Be Left Behind "With deep compassion and sharp critical insight, Mercer chronicles the challenges of delivering healthcare in rural Nepal while also recounting a more personal story of a woman working through her own uncertainties and vulnerabilities to embrace her calling. This is a must-read for any traveler who hopes to 'help' in Nepal." --Elizabeth Enslin, author of While the Gods Were Sleeping: A Journey through Love and Rebellion in Nepal "You can only go to Nepal for the first time in your life once. The author came do meaningful work and has never really left Nepal. This candid, compelling memoir gives a glimpse why." --Stephen Bezruchka, author of Trekking in Nepal "This is a vivid and compelling story of a young nurse's challenging trek through rural Nepal to deliver health care to families in remote villages. With compassion and honesty, Mercer grapples with uncertainty and frustration as she adapts to local cultural beliefs and scant resources. In the process, she comes to better understand herself as a health-giver and to embrace the deeper mysteries of healing." --Margaret Combs, author of Hazard: A Sister's Flight from Family and a Broken Boy "Mercer's account of her year in Nepal takes us back to a formative time in the country, when modern medical care was making an inroads into rural communities in the 1970s. She examines local life with honesty, as an informed and engaged outsider, questioning local customs while also accepting her own limitations to change them. Beyond the Next Village will interest everyone who loves Nepal, with a portrait of times past that is vivid, tender, and deeply moving." --Manjushree Thapa, author of Forget Kathmandu "Mercer has written a vivid account of a volunteer American nurse in Nepal - honest, open, and thoughtful about health care and the bigger picture of international aid and volunteerism." --Naomi Bishop, author of Himalayan Herders "This is a personal story that takes the Western-world reader into the lives of Nepali women. Though the years described are four decades ago, the beliefs still hold today. Welcome to a glimpse of another culture among splendid mountains and people." --Daniel C. Taylor, President, Future Generations University and author of Cairns: A Novel of Tibet”
“Mercer’s memoir of her months as a volunteer nurse in Nepal is moving, uplifting, and timely. Written with insight and humility, it illustrates the dilemmas of being a stranger in a strange land—even if you’re a stranger with the best intentions and the tools to truly be of service. Mercer’s eye for detail, humor, and frank self-reflections make Beyond the Next Village enjoyable as both memoir and travelogue. It’s also a sobering reminder, during these pandemic years, of how wealth determines the standard of medical care—not just across international borders, but within developing countries.”
—Jeff Greenwald, author of Shopping for Buddhas and Snake Lake
“‘Was I ready to change my life?’ a young American nurse asks as she ventures into Nepalese villages at a time when the Himalayas were mostly unknown. Mary Anne Mercer treks between worlds in this mesmerizing memoir of adventure and initiation into another culture, another way of healing, of understanding home.”
—Brenda Peterson, author of Wolf Nation and I Want to Be Left Behind
“With deep compassion and sharp critical insight, Mercer chronicles the challenges of delivering healthcare in rural Nepal while also recounting a more personal story of a woman working through her own uncertainties and vulnerabilities to embrace her calling. This is a must-read for any traveler who hopes to ‘help’ in Nepal.”
—Elizabeth Enslin, author of While the Gods Were Sleeping: A Journey through Love and Rebellion in Nepal
“You can only go to Nepal for the first time in your life once. The author came do meaningful work and has never really left Nepal. This candid, compelling memoir gives a glimpse why.”
—Stephen Bezruchka, author of Trekking in Nepal
“This is a vivid and compelling story of a young nurse’s challenging trek through rural Nepal to deliver health care to families in remote villages. With compassion and honesty, Mercer grapples with uncertainty and frustration as she adapts to local cultural beliefs and scant resources. In the process, she comes to better understand herself as a health-giver and to embrace the deeper mysteries of healing.”
—Margaret Combs, author of Hazard: A Sister’s Flight from Family and a Broken Boy
“Mercer’s account of her year in Nepal takes us back to a formative time in the country, when modern medical care was making an inroads into rural communities in the 1970s. She examines local life with honesty, as an informed and engaged outsider, questioning local customs while also accepting her own limitations to change them. Beyond the Next Village will interest everyone who loves Nepal, with a portrait of times past that is vivid, tender, and deeply moving.”
—Manjushree Thapa, author of Forget Kathmandu
“Mercer has written a vivid account of a volunteer American nurse in Nepal – honest, open, and thoughtful about health care and the bigger picture of international aid and volunteerism.”
—Naomi Bishop, author of Himalayan Herders
“This is a personal story that takes the Western-world reader into the lives of Nepali women. Though the years described are four decades ago, the beliefs still hold today. Welcome to a glimpse of another culture among splendid mountains and people.”
—Daniel C. Taylor, President, Future Generations University and author of Cairns: A Novel of Tibet
—Rachel Chapman, author of Family Secrets: Risking Reproduction in Central Mozambique
Mary Anne Mercer grew up on a Montana ranch and has spent most of her career working in public health in countries around the globe. A writer and activist, she coedited Sickness and Wealth: The Corporate Assault on Global Health and has published extensively in the Huffington Post on issues of social justice and health. Excerpts from her book have appeared in Tikkun magazine, the Communion Arts Journal, and the book Secret Histories: Stories of Courage, Risk, and Revelation. She received a 2012 Silver Solas Award from Travelers’ Tales for “Best Travel Writing” and the 2015 inaugural award for “Communicating Public Health to the Public” from the University of Washington. She lives in Seattle, Washington.
--Satisfies a long-held fascination with Nepal: Americans have an abiding interest in the south Asian country of Nepal, home of Mount Everest, and this book provides an inside look at the culture and lives of rural Nepali people. --Strong appeal for college students and recent grads: Interest in the rest of the world is strong in today's US university students--nearly 350,000 of them studied abroad in 2018-19, and nearly half went to a low or middle income country--and this book will prepare them for a range of issues they may experience with cross-cultural work and travel. --Valuable information for US health professionals volunteering abroad: Millions of American health professionals travel to low income countries to volunteer every year. The author's encounters with health problems and beliefs in the Nepal setting provide an introduction to the kinds of challenges they will encounter. -- Timely subject matter: The book combines interest in Nepal with the aim of many Americans to learn about health in low income countries, in particular in its exploration of how the practice of Western medicine can be beneficial but also at times misunderstood by people from other cultures.
This item is eligible for simple returns within 30 days of delivery. Return shipping is the responsibility of the customer. See our returns policy for further details.
