Really enjoyed this view of healthcare by a Naturopath
596725
Really enjoyed this view of healthcare by a Naturopath, Dr. Glidden.  It contains very usable and practical information as well as a well informed "second opinion."  I will keep it as a resource and have already recommended to several others.
1675643
Wow. Even though this is a very different approach than modern medicine, yet, it is explained medically in depth. I am an RN and have been dealing with ailments for about 15 years. This explanation makes it all come full circle for me with an underlying cause that NO DOCTOR has even hinted at, or basically no reason at all. This makes sense to me as I have noticed the only help I have received is from dietary changes and supplements. Love it and now that I have a cause for my health problem, I can help resolve it for good!
2540276
A thoughtful, careful recounting of NDE and out of body experiences that took place over many years while the Dr. worked in an ICU caring for the sickest patients. She truly keeps an open mind towards her patients experiences
3245622
With a family history of prostate cancer, I was looking for something more than just a list of available treatments.  I wanted to get the perspective of someone that is currently going through the very real process of treating their cancer and understanding how they evaluated their options, and how they are coping with the side effects.  What I found was an engaging read in Craig Pynn's story that had plenty of technical details but with personal insights and narrative that gave you a sense of "walking in his shoes".  Its a well-rounded perspective into the journey (the author's analogy) of a prostate cancer patient.
1908674
A Healer's journey is the fascinating story of Sree Chakravarti, from her birth to a well-to-do family, to the devotion of her adult years as a healer to all people in need.  In her own down-to-earth words, she describes the challenges of her life and how they and the inspiration of Sai Baba helped turn her onto the path of healing.  Intermixed are case histories of patients---my favorite portion. At the back of the book are diet and yoga suggestions for a number of the complaints she has treated over the years.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone with an interest in alternative forms of healing and spirituality.
1399999
I got a lot out of this book. My impression is that it was written as a labour of love - a discussion and elaboration on topics that the author has contemplated and lived out over many years in his practice as an osteopath, anatomy and physiology teacher and craniosacral therapist, and his training in pharmacology and visceral manipulation techniques. The author does a great job in zooming the reader through thousands of years of the history of medicine, the history of dissection and also of pharmacology and vaccinations. He discusses the main philosophical ideologies that governed these practices through the years and the relatively recent occurrence of some rather eye-opening ignorance regarding some of the fundamentals of the medicine we know today. The main insight I gained was the overview of the methodology of orthodox medicine - the unwritten contract that exists between doctor and patient and the power dynamic therein, how this has developed and why. The unpacking of the belief system of medicine and the various boxes that it puts different disease processes into in the process of diagnosis was very eye-opening for me and gives a good understanding of how and why orthodox medicine treats diseases not people and believes it holds the principal opinion on health but focuses only on disease.

The topic of good health and what that really means is given a whole chapter, as is alternative medicine with discussions of Traditional Chinese Medicine, osteopathy, homeopathy and Craniosacral Therapy. This is a book that you can really learn from. There are lots of images and explanations of disease processes in the body and some great discussions on the effects of things like statins and lots of other pharmacological agents and disease processes. Throughout the book there is a real sense of humour, some meanderings into interesting tangents, some spiritual insights and discussions of big questions like 'What is life?'

I really liked the case study section in which the author describes various clients stories and how the people related to him and to their own disease and healing process. This grounds the book in the practicality of peoples stories, their experiences of pain, trauma, stress and recovery - or not as the case may be. I really recommend this book if you have an interest in medicine, health, osteopathy or craniosacral therapy. It really is packed full of information and insight from somebody really immersed in this field of practice and study.
1956383
I really enjoyed this book!  I was especially delighted to hear a neurosurgeon with his wonderful sense of humor!  As a nurse I can say amen to his assessment of current medicine and how patients are treated!  We really try to have compassion but hospital management sucks!!
3254499
I have always had the most respect for medical personel. Being a nurse is something I wanted to do when I was a little younger, however, things didn't go as planned and I never was able to apply to nursing school. This book is an insight into Sherry's time as an EMT, emergency room nurse and prison healthcare practitioner. I love watching medical shows. Grey's Anatomy, Chicago Med, and much more, so I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the mental images of what Sherry dealt with, even though they weren't all good images. I'm sure it has to be hard being in the medical profession. In my opinion, paramedics and EMT's (which are the same thing in my book) don't get enough credit from the public in my opinion and they don't get to find out what happens to the patient unless they are dead on arrival when they drop them off. All in all, this was a great book and I was honored to be able to review it.
3892383
This is a wonderful insight into the life of a  Doctor who cares so much for his patients .
I liked the part where just doing your best really isn't good enough!
To survive Mortality is to arrive at the end in the most comfortable and meanigful way possible, and we can see how that can be helped greatly with the aid of a good and caring Doctor.
As an added attraction,the author weaves in his exciting and thought provoking experiences serving on a nuclear Submarine as it barely survives near misseis in the metal crushing dark depths of the ocean.
 Lots of real life experiences of this fascinating doctor make for a great read.!
1748570
I rarely comment on books I read.  For one thing, there are just way too many out there, and for another, I'm very selective and maybe a bit over-critical.  As an author of two books, I do appreciate the effort that it takes to bring a book to life.  I am working on my third at the moment and I have been writing and researching it for nearly a year!  A dear friend of mine, Len Saputo, has co-authored several books over his 40  year career as an Internist.  During that time he has developed an amazing radio program with his wife Vicki Saputo, R.N., that broadcasts weekly in the San Francisco area.  He has created and evolved the Health Medicine Forum over these years into an awesome "town meeting" of sorts that brings together experts in the medical and health-related fields and addresses major issues at the grassroots level.

All this experience - and more - makes this stellar physician the ideal person to author the new book, "A Return to Healing."  Len has the right combination of wisdom, experience, and heart to take on the American health care system like no one else can.  At a time when the Obama administration is presenting controversial health care reform,"A Return to Healing" is more poignant than ever.  The fact is, Dr. Saputo has been working on this book for years - so it is no simple response to current events.  This book not only looks at the challenging health care landscape in the U.S. today, but it provides an in-depth look at what brought America to this condition... and most importantly, what is required for us to move to a new level of caring for ourselves and those in need.

Len is no "typical" physician; he is amongst the small percent who really understands the worlds of East and West, of allopathic and complementary medicine, and of treatment and healing.  If you are a layperson confused by what you are hearing about medical care and the pharmaceutical companies these days, this book will open your eyes to the concept of "health medicine."  If you are a health care practitioner, reading Len's work with inspire you to your potential.
851131
Very well written about a real life experience
That lends insight to patients and family members who
Are going through similar situations
2646599
I read this book over a weekend and found it fascinating! Really made me re-think the role of patients and doctors in the medical industry. I think the future holds great promise for patients to be more involved and in charge of their care, which is a positive. The book has good anecdotes that make it an easy and fun read as well as an intellectual. As an outsider to the medical field, I feel I learned a lot.
1736694
I recommend this book to anyone interested in learning some differences between holistic health care and allopathic, or Western, medicine.  The book is actually an autobiography of the author's life as a holistic practicioner when she operated a clinic in Canada. In an entertaining way, she shares her successes and failures. She shares a myriad of  ideas about nutrition, organic foods vs. conventional foods, self-intoxication, water fasting, colonics, wheat grass therapies. She followed the practice of the "hygenist" and describes this technique which utilizes prolonged water fasting and colonics in order to purge the body of unhealthy tissue and toxins. She caused her cancer to go into remission twice until she actually succumbed to it the third time around. In her clinic she treated patients whose doctors had given up, as was a last chance for many. Many were actually healed, or at least went into remission using her approach. She also cleared people of food allergy-caused illnesses, by detecting allergies at the pulse level, the method which she describes in detail. She found that often some people who are ill, physically or mentally, have an undiscovered allergy to common foods such as wheat and are wrongfully receiving medication for the illness symptom, rather than the root cause. The book includes an elaborate bibliography which allows for further reading, if this subject intrigues the reader.
198171
If you have ever considered a look into alternative medicine this book is a great place to start.  The book is easy to read and gives you a glimpse of just a few of Dr. Lin's patients and their success stories.  It left me wanting more.  Dr. Lin has several patients who have testimonials to his hard work and dedication.  His philosophy for rehabilitation and his motivational skills have helped many people.  He is truly an amazing and gifted Physical Therapist.  Pain can be debilitating.  This book gives hope to people who suffer from chronic pain to persevere and work towards their own success stores.
3497452
I enjoyed seeing the behind the scenes view of the Children's Hospital, that many people would never see. This book shows the emotions that doctors and nurses may not always be able to show to their patients in order to stay professional. I was very drawn to the children going through the organ transplants, you don't always think about children needing them, this brings to light a need for more to mark donor on their license, it did for me at least. I look forward to reading more novels of Mr. Gutkind's.

I receieved a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest unbiased view.
1115268
One of the shortcomings of today's medical treatment is the lack of understanding of what is going to be done and why, on the part of the patient.  For one, it is difficult to explain medical treatment to people who aren't conversant with medical terms and without background knowledge.  It was great to get a peek at a very mysterious world so technical and above our day-to-day grasp.  She made it understandable and, certainly, fascinating.  Some of the reviews complain about the seemingly uncaring or superficial handling of life and death situations.  Anyone who has been in the medical profession in any kind of crisis environment will recognize the type of venting that goes on among the treatment team.  It has nothing to do with disrespect of the patient, it is all about relieving the tension built up with extreme stress and total focus.  As far as the running from one subject to another, this is also how things go in crisis and high performance settings.  It is a very necessary skill to be able to release one set of problems and move on to the next quickly.  I found no problem with her style and her sometimes black humor.  Real life is just like that. You want your surgeon to be just like Dr. Kirlik.  Leave the philosophical/religious ponderings to someone who is not poised to open you up and repair you.  I'd like to thank the author for a great read and a look at treatment of brain problems, a little-understood area.
82102
As a retired nurse for 44 years and a family nurse practitioner for the last 15 of those years, the topic of this memoir was of great interest to me.

I have worked side by side with many wonderful PAs in my career
and his descriptions resonated deeply with me.

He takes the reader through various clinical rotations, with all the challenges and quandaries of an inexperienced student and leads us through the day to day rigors of his development into a skilled professional. We meet many different patientsand health care providers-- who come alive on the page. I felt like I was in the room with him as he cared for the patients or dealt with difficult staff members. I also felt his angst and concern as I experienced growing pains with him, recalling my own development as a nurse.

His writing is honest and vivid and his sense of humor breaks up the serious nature of his story. It flows at a nice pace. In fact, I didn't want to stop reading it and when I did, I looked forward to getting back to it. His personal reflections add a deeper dimension to the story and offer a realistic view of the requirements of PA education as well as a heartwarming portrayal of the growth and development of a young man. His passion for his work comes through clearly. You don't have to be a health care professional to appreciate his story. Many people are cared for by PAs and often are confused about the role of PA or nurse practitioner in relation to the doctor. This story will enlighten and no doubt assure patients of the rigorous level training and experience involved.

This is not only an engaging and educational read about the health care field, but it is also an excellent resource for high school guidance counselors or anyone interested in pursuing a career as a PA.  I have purchased this book to give to my niece who is thinking of becoming a PA. I highly recommend this memoir.