Head First: The Biology of Hope and the Healing Power of the Human Spirit
"An eloquent plea for two needed emphases: more humane doctor-patient relations, and greater patient involvement in the struggle with disease."—Melvin Konner.\ \ \ Describes medical evidence indicating an optimistic attitude can increase patients' survival rates.\
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In Anatomy of an Illness, a pioneering account of his triumph over a severe illness, Norman Cousins recounted in aspiring detail the helpful effect that positive attitudes and a partnership with his physician had on his recovery. His personal experience led Cousins to an unusual quest: the search for proof that hope, faith, laughter, and the will to live are biochemical factors that can actually help combbat serious disease. Drawing on his experiences as a faculty member at the UCLA School of Medicine and on hundreds of interviews with doctors, patients, medical students, and research scientists, Cousins provides the exciting medical evidence he helped uncover. He shows how an optimistic outlook and a strong relationship with your doctor can make illness less painful and increase your chances of survival. Good medicine for doctors and patients alike, Head First will restore your faith in the healing powers of the human spirit. Publishers Weekly Former editor of Saturday Review , Cousins was appointed adjunct professor at the School of Medicine, UCLA, in 1978 following publication of Anatomy of an Illness , which detailed the attitudes that helped him recover from a compound of grave maladies which included a heart attack. Here he relates stories of physicians, researchers and patients who augment medical treatments with hope and positive emotions, especially laughter, showing that ``a merry heart doeth good like a medicine.'' Cousins stresses that positive attitudes, the opposite of fear and despair which cause biochemical damage, promote the healing of body and spirit. He supports his anecdotal research with scientific data that should convince readers that the ``mind creates the ambience of treatment. The head comes first.'' Cousins's scrupulously detailed information makes the book invaluable. $150,000 ad/promo; author tour. (Oct.)
\ Publishers Weekly\ - Publisher's Weekly\ Former editor of Saturday Review , Cousins was appointed adjunct professor at the School of Medicine, UCLA, in 1978 following publication of Anatomy of an Illness , which detailed the attitudes that helped him recover from a compound of grave maladies which included a heart attack. Here he relates stories of physicians, researchers and patients who augment medical treatments with hope and positive emotions, especially laughter, showing that ``a merry heart doeth good like a medicine.'' Cousins stresses that positive attitudes, the opposite of fear and despair which cause biochemical damage, promote the healing of body and spirit. He supports his anecdotal research with scientific data that should convince readers that the ``mind creates the ambience of treatment. The head comes first.'' Cousins's scrupulously detailed information makes the book invaluable. $150,000 ad/promo; author tour. (Oct.)\ \ \ \ \ BooknewsIn Anatomy of an illness (W.W. Norton, 1979), the late writer and editor recounted his recovery from an apparently terminal illness, a recovery he attributed largely to positive attitude and an active partnership with his physician. In this volume, he provides both anecdotal and empirical evidence to substantiate his belief in the medical efficacy of hope, faith, laughter, and the will to survive. First published in 1989 by E.P. Dutton. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)\ \
