The Return of the Guinea Fowl: An Autobiographical Novel of a Liberian Doctor

Henry Nehemiah Cooper, M.D. (1927 – 1984) was a well-respected and beloved physician in his home country of Liberia and in the United States. He was a graduate of the College of West Africa, Clark College in Atlanta, Georgia and Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. He served as Resident Surgeon at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Center for Cancer and Allied Diseases in New York City and later as Chief Medical Officer, John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Monrovia. He founded the famed Cooper Clinic in Sinkor, Monrovia. The Return of the Guinea Fowl is the autobiographical novel Dr. Cooper wrote once he and his family settled in the United States following Liberia’s 1980 coup d’état. He relates the intriguing story of Dr. John Bowers, a member of the Gola tribe. The novel follows his memorable childhood, U.S. college and medical training, and distinguished medical career in two countries. Through Dr. Bowers’ eyes, we experience America as an African man. We experience his compassion for his patients and family. The Return of the Guinea Fowl also includes a biographical sketch of Dr. Cooper’s life and accomplishments through an essay by his wife, Izetta Roberts Cooper, photographic reflections, memorial tributes and more!