Description

 Healing Our Beautiful, Broken World from a Hospital in West Africa

Sarah Thebarge, a highly educated physician assistant from Yale, faced a life-threatening battle with breast cancer at the young age of twenty-seven. However, this did not deter her from pursuing her spiritual calling to provide medical aid in Africa. Despite the risks to her health, she made the courageous decision to move to Togo, a country ranked as the least happy in the world by the United Nations, to care for the sick and suffering.

Without any financial compensation, Sarah dedicated herself to working in a mission hospital, where she constantly contemplated the intersection of faith and medicine. Witnessing death repeatedly in the hospital wards and diagnosing patients with incurable diseases in the outpatient clinic, she was confronted with the harsh reality of limited medical resources. Living in extremely basic conditions, she even faced her own near-death experience when she contracted malaria.

Sarah vividly recounts her experiences, providing gripping details that allow readers to truly understand the challenges she faced. She also fearlessly reflects on the profound connections she formed with individuals from different races, cultures, and socioeconomic backgrounds, all while grappling with the complexities of medical access.

Through her remarkable journey, Sarah exemplifies the triumph of survival and the importance of sharing untold stories. Ultimately, her book, WELL, serves as an invitation for readers to question not why God allows suffering in the world, but rather why we, as humans, allow it to persist.

About The Author

Sarah Thebarge is a remarkable individual who has made a significant impact in various fields. Not only is she an international speaker, but she is also an accomplished author, with her book The Invisible Girls being recognized as a World Magazine 2013 Notable Book. Sarah’s educational background is equally impressive, having earned her physician assistant degree at Yale and studying journalism at Columbia.

However, Sarah’s journey took an unexpected turn when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Despite facing the daunting challenge of fighting for her life, she displayed incredible resilience and determination. Instead of letting her illness define her, Sarah used her experience as a catalyst to help others. She dedicated herself to caring for refugees in the United States and providing much-needed medical assistance to those living in developing countries.

Sarah’s commitment to making a difference led her to practice medicine in Togo, serve in the Dominican Republic, and establish a clinic in Kenya specifically for children who had lost their parents to AIDS. Her selflessness and compassion have not gone unnoticed, as she has become a spokesperson for Compassion International. Although her work takes her all over the world, Sarah always finds her way back to San Francisco, her home base when she is not traveling.

“Sarah’s story-telling is so engaging that you won’t want to put this book down, but it is her heart that will grab you. Her observations are honest and gritty at times, and you will wrestle with her through difficult tensions. But in her exploration of brokenness, you will also find grace and beauty. On a planet loaded with pain, death, and poverty, Sarah’s words are a gentle reminder that each of us is called to participate in the healing of our world as we seek to follow Jesus.“―Santiago “Jimmy” Mellado, President and CEO, Compassion International

“With a style and voice that is powerful, eloquent, and sincere, Sarah Thebarge takes us on a journey of faith through her physical struggles as well as those experienced while working in a hospital in Togo, West Africa. Many books attempt to provide answers, but few do it in such a profound way while walking us through the honest deep questions that arise from the messiness of life and the mystery of God. WELL is an important book that will stand the test of time and it will profoundly shape and inform your understanding of Christian spirituality and the love of God.”-Ken Wytsma, founder of The Justice Conference and author of Pursuing Justice and Create vs. Copy

“Sarah Thebarge has penned a magnificent and moving book! It reminds us the question in life isn’t ‘Why does God allow suffering to happen in the world?’ but rather, ‘Why do we?” A must read!”―Ian Morgan Cron, author of Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me and The Road Back to You

“Sarah Thebarge’s WELL doesn’t simply teach us about God’s love and compassion in a world of suffering but takes us on a journey with her to experience God’s healing in the places most of us would rather not go. Courageous, vulnerable and uplifting, you will be equally enchanted by Sarah’s daring and her writing as she reveals the faces of people God loves and Christians often forget.”―Sean Palmer, teaching pastor at Ecclesia Houston, author of Unarmed Empire.