A Fortunate Man : The Story of a Country Doctor

Author: Berger, John, Francis, Gavin, Mohr, Jean

Biography & True Stories

Published on 4 February 2016 by Canongate Books (Canongate Canons) in the United Kingdom as part of 'the Canons' series.

Paperback / softback | 176 pages, numerous b&w integrated photos
129 x 198 x 16 | 164g

In 1966 John Berger spent three months in the Forest of Dean shadowing an English country GP, John Sassall. Sassall is a fortunate man - his work occupies and fulfils him, he lives amongst the patients he treats, the line between his life and his work is happily blurred.

In A Fortunate Man, Berger's text and the photography of Jean Mohr reveal with extraordinary intensity the life of a remarkable man. It is a portrait of one selfless individual and the rural community for which he became the hub. Drawing on psychology, biography and medicine A Fortunate Man is a portrait of sacrifice. It is also a profound exploration of what it means to be a doctor, to serve a community and to heal.

With a new introduction by writer and GP, Gavin Francis.