The Great Gift of John Tracy Kidder's Legacy

Partners In Health (PIH) mourns the passing of John Tracy Kidder, esteemed author and longtime friend. The Pulitzer Prize-winner died surrounded by loved ones on Tuesday, March 24, at the age of 80 in Boston, Massachusetts.  

In 2000, six years after meeting PIH Co-founder Dr. Paul Farmer, Kidder published “The Good Doctor,” in The New Yorker. The subtitle read, “Paul Farmer set out twenty years ago to heal the world. He still thinks he can.” The relentless persistence he saw in Farmer was something Kidder shared.  

A Vietnam War veteran with an MFA from the University of Iowa, Kidder set out to write fascinating features about people doing good. His work has inspired the curiosity of millions and shaped how the world talks about injustice and the experience of the world’s poorest.    

The Mountains Beyond Mountains Effect

Mountains Beyond Mountains, a book-length version of “The Good Doctor,” became a staple of high school and college curricula and book clubs across the United States over the next two decades. Today, it continues to bring folks of all ages to PIH, many citing Mountains Beyond Mountains as their first introduction to global health justice and PIH’s work. Many people who are a part of the PIH community today have Kidder to thank for bringing them into the movement.  

“I think it’s fair to say PIH wouldn’t be where we are today without Tracy Kidder,” PIH CEO Sheila Davis said. “His telling of PIH’s history and Paul’s teachings in Mountains Beyond Mountains ushered in a new era of awareness and growth for the organization.”  

A member of the PIH Board of Trustees since 2012, Kidder has accompanied the organization through extraordinary growth and hardship as a stalwart advocate for the rights of the poor. After the passing of Farmer in 2022, Kidder wrote an essay in The New York Times sharing parts of their friendship that started in Haiti in 1994.

“He wanted to make the whole world his patient,” he wrote. “And he made a good start on that.”

Kidder often spoke about how seeing Farmer and PIH in action made it impossible for him to remain on the sidelines. He felt a responsibility to stand up to injustice—demonstrating solidarity, rather than charity alone.

A Gift to the World

In 2013, Kidder wrote a reflection on what he believed was PIH’s “gift to the world.” Over a decade ago, his words still resonate deeply today: how to have hope in times of chaos. He points to PIH’s work as “vivid proofs of what can be accomplished in the face of poverty and disease” and notes this work is an example of “counterforces [that] will prevail” over the cruelty of the world. He described it as “one of PIH’s most important gifts to the world.”

The feeling was mutual.

To PIH, Kidder was a great gift. A steadfast supporter, board member, and true friend, he dedicated so much of his time and life to the movement for global health equity.  

“Tracy was that rarest of beings—an artist and a man charged up about injustice,” PIH Co-founder Ophelia Dahl said. “Throughout most of this century, he spoke out on behalf of Partners In Health’s patients, wrote book forewords and opinion pieces, submitted to interviews, served on PIH’s board, and encouraged young people with grit and curiosity and high ideals. I miss him so much already.”  

Kidder’s compassion left an indelible mark on PIH. We extend our deepest condolences to Kidder’s family, friends, and all who were moved by his extraordinary life and work.

For media inquiries, please see PIH's full statement.