Dr. Sidney J. Winawer was one of the world's leading cancer experts. Yet when his wife Andrea was stricken with stomach cancer, not even his skills and dedication as a physician could reverse the grim prognosis. Together the couple explored complementary and alternative treatments. Healing Lessons is a testament to the strength of love and the story of a doctor's transformation--the new treatments he embraced and the lessons he learned on the opposite side of the doctor-patient relationship.
Biography
Sidney J. Winawer is Chief of the Gastroenterology Nutrition Service, Chairman of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program, attending physician, member with tenure and holder of the Paul Sherlock Chair at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Center. He is also Professor of Medicine at Cornell University Medical College. Nick Taylor is author of five nonfiction books, including Sins of the Father and A Necessary End.
"He [Winawer] moves between beautifully clear explanations of cancer as it is understood by western medicine, and the techniques it has developed to fight it, and his experience through his wife of the life-sustaining power of the mind and spirit. . .this would be a fine choice for anyone, either doctor or patient, who is dealing with the disease." --Martha Pyle, The Bulletin (Bend, OR), 11 June 2000."
"...successful in drawing larger lessons about illness, the physician-patient relationship, and the challenges of facing death...Winawer impart[s] important lessons about both the possibilities and limitations of medicine and its practitioners." -- MAMM
"Dr. Winawer offers clear and informed assessments of the effectiveness of each of the treatments and identifies those that may have helped to extend his wife's life and improve the quality of life for them both." -- Philadelphia Southwest Globe-Times
"This wrenching memoir...reminds us to live fully, intensely, without waiting for illness or disaster to bring home the fleeting quality of human life." -- Abraham Verghese, The New York Times Book Review
"I will recommend this book to my colleagues, students and patients and thank Sid Winawer for sharing such a personal story." -- Dr. Andrew Weil, author of The New York Times bestseller, 8 Weeks to Optimum Health
"A heartbreaking story that is not only a tribute to one woman's fighting spirit but gives testimony to the power of love to open the mind." -- Kirkus Reviews
"I've read a wide array of books about life-threatening diseases: none has moved me as strongly as this one. Healing Lessons shows the evolution in awareness of a doctor who knows that bedside manner isn't enough. It reaches your soul. I recommend it to all patients, their spouses and their doctors." -- Kitchener-Waterloo Record
"Healing Lessons will help all those who read it and spend their lifetime more fully. Don't wait. Read this book and experience its healing lessons in your life." -- Dr. Bernie Siegel
