Ask Me Why I Hurt, Randy Christensen, M.D.
Ask Me Why I Hurt, Randy Christensen, M.D.
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Ask Me Why I Hurt
The Kids Nobody Wants and the Doctor Who Heals Them

Author: Randy Christensen, M.D., Rene Denfeld

Narrator: Johnny Heller

Unabridged: 8 hr 28 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 05/04/2011


Synopsis

The unforgettable inspiring memoir of one extraordinary doctor who is saving lives in a most unconventional way, Ask Me Why I Hurt is the touching and revealing first-person account of the remarkable work of Dr. Randy Christensen. Trained as a pediatrician, he works not in a typical hospital setting but, rather, in a 38-foot Winnebago that has been refitted as a doctor's office on wheels. His patients are the city's homeless adolescents and children.

In the shadow of one affluent American city, Dr. Christensen has dedicated his life to caring for society's throwaway kids—the often-abused, unloved children who live on the streets without access to proper health care, all the while fending off constant threats from thugs, gangs, pimps, and other predators. With the Winnebago as his moveable medical center, Christensen and his team travel around the outskirts of Phoenix, attending to the children and teens who need him most.

With tenderness and humor, Dr. Christensen chronicles everything from the struggles of the van's early beginnings, to the support system it became for the kids, and the ultimate recognition it has achieved over the years. Along with his immense professional challenges, he also describes the trials and joys he faces while raising a growing family with his wife Amy. By turns poignant, heartbreaking, and charming, Dr. Christensen's story is a gripping and rich memoir of his work and family, one of those rare books that stays with you long after it ends.

About Randy Christensen, M.D.

Randy Christensen, M.D., is a staff physician at Phoenix Children's Hospital. Since 2000, he has been the medical director of Crews'n Healthmobile, a mobile medical clinic that provides primary and comprehensive medical care to homeless children. Dr. Christensen has been the recipient of several awards for his work, including the CNN Heroes Award and People Magazine's "Heroes Among Us." Randy lives in Phoenix with his wife, Amy, also a pediatrician, and their three children.


Reviews

Goodreads review by T.A. on March 26, 2011

I want to like this book a lot more than I do. It is an easy, enjoyable read that brings attention to a little-known problem in this country. Ultimately, however, I find myself troubled by its focus. This should be a book about "the kids nobody wants," a wake-up call to those fortunate enough to hav......more

Goodreads review by Kaje on June 09, 2011

If you are very squeamish, or if you enjoy being complacent, this book is not for you. For the rest of us, this is the fascinating and distressing true story of Dr. Randy Christensen, a pediatrician who began a mobile medical clinic to treat the homeless children of Phoenix. It is the story of ten y......more

Goodreads review by Perri on February 02, 2019

I just love uplifting books like this-it give me such hope. Here is a doctor travelling in Phoenix to provide medical care for homeless teens. Christensen is honest about the emotional strain this puts on him as well as the stress on his home life. He shares some of the heartbreaking stories of kids......more

Goodreads review by Jo on July 16, 2024

This is one of those books that I’m better for reading, but the actual experience of reading it was not enjoyable. It’s not because of the author, but because of the heartbreaking stories of the homeless kids he worked with. It’s hard to imagine that such poverty and hopelessness exists here in our......more

Goodreads review by Sharon on March 04, 2011

I've become a great fan of memoirs over time, particularly those about people who go about making a difference in the world around them. First-person accounts of the struggles that often come with doing the proverbial right thing are strengthening to me. Randy Christensen, MD, has written just such a......more