The story of a 26-year-old, newly minted doctor from Brooklyn who joins the Indian Health Service to begin a 20-year odyssey that transforms a young physician into a healer. Along the way he realizes that the genius of Western medicine can effectively treat some conditions but not others, and that there are many different ways to heal. His experiences force him to confront his old certainties about how people get sick and how they get well. This fascinating account interweaves autobiography with stories of the Native Americans who challenged his medical school assumptions about their methods.