Thirty Years of Providing Medical Care to the Amish and English: Reflections from a Rural Medical Practice

JE: Wasn't sure if this was going to be a good read, but I enjoyed it. Well thought out and well written. I enjoyed all the stories, including the Amish ones which described how he understood the community he served.

United States on May 31, 2023

Farm Girl: Pretty amazing stories of health care provided by this physician to his rural and Amish patients. They are fortunate to have a doctor with such dedication and knowledge. The book is too short, though! But considering his long hours in his office on top of all the house calls, he probably has little time for writing books.

United States on Mar 26, 2023

Sandra Herrmann: This is a great read. Dr Yarbrough does not use medical terminology without explaining what all those words mean. More, he explains why he does what he does for each patient. This makes his stories very moving sometimes and quite funny other times. More important, every case rings true.
A friend recommended this book to me, and since she worked as a nurse for over 30 years, I knew she wouldn't recommend a book about a doctor's practice unless it reflected real life experiences. So I picked it up on a Saturday afternoon and finished it on Monday. The fact that he concentrates on his practice with the Amish in his area was a double attraction for me, as I have lived in an area where there was an Amish community, and I bought all my milk and eggs from a near neighbor for three years. This experience didn't really teach me much about my neighbors because they seemed to be very private people. I learned from this book that they were probably just shy. That many of the Amish are shy because of their cultural differences.

United States on Aug 10, 2021

Marcia Stanton: I liked the chapters being seperate stories and the way the author shared his experiences. I especially liked his sharing of why a Non Amish Country doctor was wearing Amish clothes. I would love to go a doctor like him.

Australia on Jun 16, 2020

Mrs Jennifer Jarvis: Probably not everyone's cup of tea but I enjoyed reading it. A lot of the patients he talks about are Amish so it gives you an insight into their way of life.

United Kingdom on Jun 10, 2020

Cathy Morgan: For a book that is really just a brief retelling of a bunch of house visits made by a doctor, I found this surprisingly enjoyable. It reminded me a bit of James Herriot, but obviously for people, and without the bad language that I seem to remember from years ago. Well written, clean and enjoyable, this is a very small glimpse into the life of a doctor. Nothing too deep, but a nice change from the Christian/historical romance I mostly read.

Australia on Feb 20, 2018

Ali Julia: This book will make you nostalgic for the good old days when the doctors made house calls and spent a lot of time and thought on each patient rather than insurance paperwork. The compassion and caring is in every story, and some of them are quite educational about symptoms of various deceases and how the doc thought about diagnosing patient's problems.

Ali Julia review

United States on Feb 13, 2018

Veronica Moore: This book combined two of my great interests: medicine (I am a nurse) and the lifestyle and beliefs of the Amish people, of whom I've read a great deal. It is a series of short accounts of house calls made by this rural physician in a career spanning more than thirty years. He comes over as a very knowledgeable practitioner and his compassion and respect for all he treats shines throughout. He is also not without humility and readily refers for specialist help when a case is beyond his expertise or resources, as well as being prepared to listen to some of the more unconventional remedies tried and tested by some of his patients. My only criticism? Far too short and left me wanting more!

United Kingdom on Sep 13, 2015

Hoener, Birgit: The only thing wrong with this book was: it was way too short!!!
Gary Yarbrough is the doctor for a widespread community in a rural area, and for a lot of the Amish people. He tells us about some of his more interesting cases, in an easy to understand manner, although some medical terms are used, but explained in plain English.
I loved this book.

Germany on Mar 16, 2015

Kacmor: First of all, I have no idea what book some of the other reviewers read, but this is the book about NOW, not in the past. I know, that in the past everyone had doctor coming to their house, but I think we should fight to have that privilege back. This magnificent doctor - author, who braved ignorance and ridicule wearing Amish clothing to ease the little ones and their fears, tells us in story after story how important it is to get medical care that is not always about tests and machines.
I live in a very big city, where elderly FINALLY have doctors coming to them for a check up and wellness visit. But that's only if they are well. Don't you think, that it would be ideal to have a doctor come to you, when you are sick and are feeling miserable, check your illness, give you a shot or other something, tap you on your head, say "keep on sleeping, take your meds and you'll be better in no time"? If you needed hospital, that same doctor could send your ambulance to the right place and make sure the right people wait for you. Instead, you know what we have. And how much it costs.
Thanks goodness, for people like Dr. Y. who remind us that the other ways still survive and can teach...

United States on Mar 24, 2014