How a group of small-town activists and college students set out to change healthcare
by Charles Barber
The story of how the work of one small group of people grew to meet the size of their calling: to ensure that Health Care is a Right, Not a Privilege.
Peace & Health is the story behind this improbable effort: the 20-year-old who plants the flag in his small hometown of Middletown, Connecticut; the daughter of a sharecropper, who made her way north during the great migration and becomes the North Star of the drive to transform health in the community; the son of a Jewish émigré and pharmacist who breaks from his peers to support the cause; the musician who played in the big bands of the South in the 1930’s, who loses his teeth and is now determined to make sure others do not lose theirs; and the college student and future US Senator who helps buy the building so the free clinic would not be shut down permanently. A young nurse-practitioner joins the organization as it expands beyond one Connecticut town, and today, CHC and its Weitzman Institute operate programs across the US, transforming the delivery of health care for populations who have been ignored.


All proceeds from Peace & Health go to New Horizons Domestic Violence Services.
Libraries and readers interested not just in healthcare advocacy, but the process of reinventing a system from the microcosm of building a clinic and pathways to using it will find Peace & Health not just idealistic and inspiring, but practical in charting routes to achieving community goals."Midwest Book Review
Excellent…a rousing story of citizen disruption centered on the [visionary] Community Health Center in Middletown, Connecticut. A reader interested in the history of free clinics, or health care in general, will find Peace & Health fascinating and inspiring."Publishers Weekly
A colorfully presented and encouraging history of an important community institution."Kirkus Reviews
The story of the development of this community health center is awesome and inspiring. It is a striking example of individuals in a community recognizing an urgent need and working together to address that need. The Community Health Center exists today because of individuals who had a vision, and acted to fulfill it, exhibiting ingenuity, determination and persistence in overcoming many obstacles -- social, cultural and economic."Louis W. Sullivan, MDPresident Emeritus, Morehouse School of Medicine, and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 1989-1993
An antidote to modern cynicism. Charles Barber brilliantly tells the astonishing story of how an idea — healthcare as a right for all — can become a reality in one community. If you think it can’t be done, read this book!"Danielle Ofri, MDAuthor of When We Do Harm: A Doctor Confronts Medical Error
Peace & Health reads like a novel but is all true: an inspiring story about community-based healthcare too easily ignored amidst medicine’s penchant for high-tech care."Joseph J. Fins, MDProfessor of Medicine and Medical Ethics, Weill Cornell Medical College
In this affecting and expertly crafted book, Charles Barber tells the story of how a few inspired, resourceful, militantly decent people created from scratch an enduring institution that makes a lot of people’s lives better. A much-needed reminder of what we’re capable of at our best."Carlo Rotella, PhDProfessor of English, Boston College, and author of The World Is Always Coming to an End: Pulling Together and Apart in a Chicago Neighborhood
For those committed to community engagement, Peace & Health provides a deep wellspring of hope."Chyrell Bellamy, PhDDirector, Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health
More than a history of healthcare innovation, this book celebrates the passion that drives change in the world."Ian Roberts, MDProfessor of Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
In Peace and Health, Charles Barber combines the artistry of a novelist and the skills of a reporter to introduce the founders, providers and patients that epitomize the spirit and enterprise of a great experiment that serves 30 million low-income Americans, portraying a critical element of the arc of justice that MLK spoke of 50 years ago."Michael RoweAuthor of Citizenship and Mental Health and Crossing the Border: Encounters between Homeless Persons and Outreach Workers