A moving memoir and an extraordinary love story that shows how an expert physician became a family caregiver and learned why care is so central to all our lives and yet is at risk in today’s world.

When Dr. Arthur Kleinman, an eminent Harvard psychiatrist and social anthropologist, began caring for his wife, Joan, after she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, he found just how far the act of caregiving extended beyond the boundaries of medicine. In The Soul of Care: The Moral Education of a Husband and a Doctor, Kleinman delivers a deeply humane and inspiring story of his life in medicine and his marriage to Joan, and he describes the practical, emotional and moral aspects of caretaking. He also writes about the problems our society faces as medical technology advances and the cost of health care soars but caring for patients no longer seems important.

Caregiving is long, hard, unglamorous work–at moments joyous, more often tedious, sometimes agonizing, but it is always rich in meaning. In the face of our current political indifference and the challenge to the health care system, he emphasizes how we must ask uncomfortable questions of ourselves, and of our doctors. To give care, to be “present” for someone who needs us, and to feel and show kindness are deep emotional and moral experiences, enactments of our core values. The practice of caregiving teaches us what is most important in life, and reveals the very heart of what it is to be human.

“This is the story that may offer instruction and comfort to the 40 million family caregivers in the United States, and inspiration to clinicians struggling to go beyond diagnosis and treatment—to provide care.” —The Washington Post

“The Soul of Care is important. Its significance goes beyond medicine.” —New York Journal of Books

“Kleinman sensitively weaves the story of his late wife Joan’s early-onset Alzheimer’s disease with frank commentary on the decay of personalized patient care in this clear-eyed memoir…. Kleinman’s accessible discussion of patient care should appeal to a broad range of readers.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“[Kleinman] reminds us of the moral responsibility to provide care and describes care as the “human glue” which binds together families and communities. Beyond this connection, he contends that individual caregivers can discover purpose, revelation, and gratification in tending to others. Much more than a sad story about suffering, loss, and an inevitably downhill disease, Kleinman’s graceful narrative provides the sort of tonic that society sorely needs.” —Booklist (starred review)

“The Soul of Care will leave you shakenbut instructed, with an ethical imperativeand hopeful lessons regarding howbest to cultivate one’s humanity overthe course of a lifetime.” —Paul Farmer, MD

“An astute, affecting memoir, candid and prescriptive in equal measure.” —Stacy Schiff, Pulitzer Prize-winning author

“What was at stake for Arthur in his caring for Joan was nothing short of his humanity. Read this book and prepare to be both humbled and inspired.” —Jim Yong Kim, Former President of the World Bank

Arthur Kleinman, MD, is one of the most renowned and influential scholars and writers on psychiatry, anthropology, global health, and c ultural issues in medicine. Educated at Stanford University and Stanford Medical School, he has taught at Harvard for over forty years. He is currently professor of psychiatry and of medical anthropology at Harvard Medical School and Esther and Sidney Rabb Professor of Anthropology in Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Having spent decades doing field research in China and Taiwan, he is also a leading expert on East Asia, and was the Victor and William Fung Director of Harvard’s Asia Center from 2008 to 2016. He is also the author of The Illness Narratives: Suffering, Healing, and the Human Condition, now widely taught in medical schools. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

凯博文教授是世界一流的医疗人类学家，在文化精神病学、全球健康、社会医学等方面也享有重要地位。凯博文教授任教于哈佛大学文理学院人类学系，任该系Esther and Sidney Rabb人类学讲座教授，并在2004年至2007年间担任该系系主任；1999年至2000年间担任哈佛医学院社会医学系系主任；1993年至2002年间担任哈佛医学院 Maude andLillian Presley讲座教授。目前他是哈佛大学亚洲研究中心Victor and William Fung荣誉主任。

凯博文教授著有六本专著，主持或合作主持过28个专栏及期刊，进行了200多项研究。他的主要著作有：《文化语境下的病人与医生》、《苦痛和疾病的社会根源：现代中国的抑郁、神经衰弱和病痛》、《探病说痛：人类的受苦经验和痊愈之道》、《对精神病学的再思考》、《文化和忧郁》（合著）、《社会苦难》（合著）。他的近作《道德的重量：不安年代中的希望与救赎》（牛津大学出版社，2006）讲述了社会生活中的种种危险与不确定性，因而道德体验、宗教及伦理观对个人和社会有着至关重要的影响。

凯博文教授还是美国国家科学院医学院院士、美国国家文理学院院士。他担任世界卫生组织顾问，是精神卫生项目咨询委员会主任。曾获皇家人类学学院颁发的维康信托奖（Wellcome Prize），也被加拿大约克大学授予荣誉理学博士学位。2001年，他获美国人类学协会颁发的最高奖项 Franz Boas Award。他还是美国精神病学协会的荣誉终身会员。凯博文教授是哈佛大学亚洲中心及费正清东亚研究中心指导委员会委员，哈佛燕京学社咨询委员会委员，及哈佛新近创立的中国基金会指导委员会委员，院长咨询委员会社会科学组委员。他还是哈佛全球健康学院指导委员会委员，并任该委员会精神卫生部联合主席、文理学院常务委员会联合主席。

2006年，凯博文获美国医学人类学协会终身成就奖，2008年获该协会颁发的乔治福斯特奖（George Foster Award）。 2004年，英国曼彻斯特大学为表彰其在医学人文领域的贡献，授予他道布尔戴奖（Doubleday Medal）。2007年获伦敦帝国理工大学颁发的医学人文奖。他被美国政府任命为美国国立卫生院Fogarty国际中心咨询委员会委员。2003年，他任国立卫生院新先锋奖（New Pioneer Awards）筛选委员会主席。 2007年任美国全国卫生研究院（NIH）咨询委员会委员。

凯博文教授在斯坦福大学完成本科学业，获哈佛大学社会人类学硕士，斯坦福大学医学博士。他荣获50多个研究奖项，参加多项中国的研究项目，涉及抑郁症、歧视、自杀、城乡移民对健康影响等领域。