NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The powerful story of an inspiring doctor who made a difference, by helping to create a program to care for Bostons homeless communityby the Pulitzer Prizewinning, New York Times bestselling author of Mountains Beyond Mountains

I couldnt put Rough Sleepers down. I am left in awe of the human spirit and inspired to do better.Abraham Verghese, author of Cutting for Stone

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: NPR, BookPage, Chicago Public Library

Tracy Kidder has been described by The Baltimore Sun as a master of the nonfiction narrative. In Rough Sleepers, Kidder tells the story of Dr. Jim OConnell, a gifted man who invented a community of care for a citys unhoused population, including those who sleep on the streetsthe rough sleepers.

After Jim OConnell graduated from Harvard Medical School and was nearing the end of his residency at Massachusetts General, the hospitals chief of medicine made a proposal: Would he defer a prestigious fellowship and spend a year helping to create an organization to bring health care to homeless citizens? That year turned into OConnells lifes calling. Tracy Kidder spent five years following Dr. OConnell and his colleagues as they work with thousands of homeless patients, some of whom we meet in this illuminating book. We travel with OConnell as he navigates the city streets at night, offering medical care, socks, soup, empathy, humor, and friendship to some of the citys most endangered citizens. He emphasizes a style of medicine in which patients come first, joined with their providers in what he calls a system of friends.

Much as he did with Paul Farmer in Mountains Beyond Mountains, Kidder explores how Jim OConnell and a dedicated group of people have improved countless lives by facing and addressing one of American societys most difficult problems, instead of looking away.

The powerful story of an inspiring doctor who made a difference, by helping to create a program to care for Bostons homeless communityby the Pulitzer Prize-winning, New York Times bestselling author of Mountains Beyond Mountains.

Nearly forty years ago, after Jim OConnell graduated from Harvard Medical School and was nearing the end of his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, the chief of medicine made a proposal: Would Jim defer a prestigious fellowship and spend a year as a doctor to homeless citizens? Jim took the job because he felt he couldnt refuse. But that year turned into his lifes callingto serve the citys unhoused population, especially the rough sleepers, borrowing the British term for people who sleep on the streets, in the rough.
Today, Dr. Jim and his colleagues lead an organization that includes clinics affiliated with Massachusetts General Hospital and the Boston Medical Center, and a host of teams that serve special groups. One of these is a street team who reach rough sleepers by van. Tracy Kidder spent time over five years riding with Dr. OConnell as he navigated the city at night, offering medical care, socks, soup, empathy, and friendship to some of the citys endangered citizens.
A symptom of the systemic failures that feed American povertyracism, childhood trauma, violencehomelessness afflicts a broad and diverse population. To treat their many illnesses, Dr. OConnell emphasizes a style of medicine in which patients come first, joined with their providers in what he calls a system of friends. In Rough Sleepers we meet some of the people Dr. OConnell has cared for over the years, including Tony, a protector of others on the streets, and Joanne who spent many years on the streets and now lectures each new Harvard Medical School class, offering them a rough sleepers view of what makes a good doctor.
Tracy Kidder, a master of reporting and nonfiction storytelling, takes us deep into Jim OConnells world, much as he did with Paul Farmer in Mountains Beyond Mountains. This magnificent, deeply researched, and inspiring book explores how one doctor has changed countless lives by facing one of American societys most shameful problems, instead of looking away.