Matt McAvoy Book Review

Absolutely riveting. Written by his wife in a vibrant Greek style, From Doctor to Guinea-pig is the story of Alex, a Greek doctor in Zaire in Central Africa, gifted and generous, who contracts HIV. There are a lot of twists and turns to this story. Alex is not a typical AIDS patient.   

The author has the gift of making the little things in life absorbing to her readers. With honesty, compassion and humour, she has written a beautiful tribute to a remarkable man. 

Trained in the university hospital in Zaire, Alex first takes his teenage bride and baby daughter into the wilds of Africa where, amidst deadly snakes, witch doctors and a superhuman workload, his devotion to the hundreds of poor patients he ministers to every day earns him the love and respect of all. The medical stories that the author relates and the culture in which they live are equally fascinating.

I admire her courage. You will weep with her and laugh with her, and understand the strain she is under living with a man whom she loves but who is married to his profession. As their relationship becomes fraught and increasingly complicated, the reader is caught up in the unfolding catastrophe. Alex's initial denial of his diagnosis to his family, and the trauma regarding confiding the truth about AIDS, are gripping.

It is clear that the suffering due to Alex’s disease is very great, but it is equally clear that the author has suffered during her marriage and afterwards. The beauty of this book is that the reader is not tempted to judge between ex-husband and wife, though best of friends. Rather, the author brings her readers to a point of peace in which they are able to understand each protagonist.

This book is a lesson about life, faith and learning to die. One of the most remarkable human dramas I have read in a long time.  5 stars – outstanding.

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