There Is a World Elsewhere

This memoir covers the author’s life from his childhood in Mexico through his medical residency at a Colorado community hospital. The author was raised in Mexico City. His father’s death due to alcoholism left the family in a precarious financial position. Their only asset was a small pharmacy, which the author helped his mother run after school.

The chapters are episodic and are not entirely chronological. The author shares memories of his childhood and youth, stories he heard about his grandmother’s and mother’s lives before his birth, stories about his Jewish neighbors who became his best friends, incidents from his school days, how his father’s drinking affected his family, people he met while working in the pharmacy, and show more stories about fellow students in his medical school. Gonzalez-Crussi has a philosophical bent, and he frequently quotes classical works and authors in Latin. The contemplative tone seems designed to appeal to the reader’s intellect rather than their emotions, and the emotional distance seems intentional. show less