Born Sick in the USA: Improving the Health of a Nation
Stephen Bezruchka
How healthy you are is dependent on where you live. Americans suffer more cancers, heart disease, mental illness, and other chronic diseases than those who live in other wealthy nations, despite having the most expensive healthcare system in the world. Why? Embark on a journey to unravel the profound impact of public policies on American health from before birth in Born Sick in the Improving the Health of a Nation. Delve into the intricate web where economic inequality weaves a tapestry of sickness stemming from a highly stressed society. This compelling read illuminates the need for transformative change in social safety nets and public policies to uplift national health and well-being. Through vivid storytelling, the book unveils the symptoms, diagnosis, and ‘medicine’ required to steer the nation toward a healthier future. Join the movement for a healthier America by embracing the insightful revelations and empowering calls to action presented within the pages of this eye-opening book.
About the author
Stephen Bezruchka
Stephen Bezruchka began his journey as a Harvard mathematics graduate who fell in love with the mountains of Nepal. There, he wrote the country’s first trekking guidebook before returning to the U.S. to study medicine at Stanford University. In the mid-1970s, he went back to the Himalayas to establish a community health project in a remote valley, far from any roads. This experience shaped a unique career where he alternated between working as an emergency physician in the U.S. and teaching medicine to local doctors in the most isolated regions of Nepal.
Through his travels, Stephen noticed a puzzling gap between America’s vast wealth and its actual health outcomes. This realization led him to earn a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University to study the social and political factors that drive health. Today, he views the country itself as a “patient” in need of treatment. He focuses on educating the public about the root causes of health through the Population Health Forum, which he founded in 1998, and his leadership roles with organizations like Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility.
Currently, Stephen is an Associate Teaching Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington, where he has received numerous awards for his teaching and community service. As an author, his works include popular titles such as A Guide to Trekking in Nepal, The Pocket Doctor, and Altitude Illness, many of which have been translated into multiple languages. When he isn’t busy as an academic or economic inequality activist, he continues to pursue his passion for mountaineering, having explored the highest peaks of North America, Pakistan, and China.
(Goodreads.com)