Author Lawrence Mueller's new book "Jungle Surgeon: Twenty-Five Years with an American Doctor Caring for Burmese Refugees" describes a doctor's service.

KAPAA, Hawaii, July 06, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- "Mueller recalls a quarter-century of providing medical humanitarian aid to an oppressed Burmese population.

In 1992, the American author, an experienced surgeon, agreed to travel to Thailand to deliver supplies and offer his medical skills to a hospital there, imagining that it would be in dire need of both. Instead, he discovered a fairly well-funded, modern medical facility that largely catered to Western tourists and expatriates. When the opportunity arose, the author pivoted and took on a mission to bring supplies to the Myanmar headquarters of the Karen National Liberation Army—a group resisting the grim tyranny of the Burmese military government, whose official, off-putting name was the State Law and Order Restoration Council. His journey required him to travel through an expanse of Burmese jungle during a civil war—a remarkably brave undertaking given the dangers that reasonably made him pause: "I reminded myself that every spiritual journey begins with faith….Besides, all real adventures must have a sense of uncertainty in the journey; otherwise, they would be carnival rides." He went on to make this trip more than two dozen times until 2015, helping minority hill tribes, which were subjected to a "brutal ethnic cleansing campaign," underway since the 1960s. Heartbreakingly, the atrocities in Myanmar were all but ignored by the world at large, he says; there was even a general absence of humanitarian aid organizations. As one Karen sadly put it: "We are a small people living on a small piece of a faraway land. Why should anyone care?"

In lucid prose, Mueller recounts his experiences along the northern border of Myanmar and Thailand, performing amputations, hernia repairs, and more. He provides an astute, synoptic history of the embattled country and of the plight of thousands of "internally displaced persons." He also chronicles his own life before his time in Myanmar, including his childhood in a sleepy Chicago suburb and his life as a surgeon in the Army, stationed in Korea, where he says that he became acquainted with "Asian ways"—a peculiarly vague formulation that's not typical of the author's writing. Mueller pulls no punches in characterizing the "black-and-white good-versus-evil conflict," as he encountered it, and the despotism of the Burmese regime. However, the memoir offers lighter moments, too, as when Mueller, an "accomplished magician," performed shows for refugee children in a marvelously refreshing scene. Moreover, he sketches an endearingly fond tableau of the Karens that refuses to reduce their rich society to mere victimhood: "Despite the daily reality of the war, the Karens remained a kind, gentle, and ethical group, content with their simple mountain ways, consistent with a culture that had rarely shown any aggression to their neighbors throughout the centuries." Mueller's work in Myanmar is as impressive as it is inspiring, and it's a testament to his book that he makes the Karens its principal focus. For those in search of a thoughtful but uncompromising account of their trials, this is an eye-opening portrayal.

A vivid remembrance of the author's humanitarian work and of the culture he came to know and love." — Kirkus Reviews 

Readers who wish to experience this inspiring work can purchase "Jungle Surgeon: Twenty-Five Years with an American Doctor Caring for Burmese Refugees" at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.

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