Engaging and practical advice for living well.
A psychiatrist draws upon years of professional and personal experience with pain and depression management in this brief yet thorough guide to well-being.
Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis as a young doctor in her 30s, Carmichael (HEAL, A Psychiatrist’s Inspiring Story, 2013, etc.) faced a personal battle with chronic pain and depression, which led her to organize a pain clinic. There, she discovered “that neither doctors, nurses nor their patients really understood what chronic pain was or what is needed to bring about recovery.” However, she says, “I found patients for the most part very resourceful once they understood what they had to do to get better.” Indeed, Carmichael as doctor-turned-patient unravels the true meaning of “physician, heal thyself”—a phrase borrowed from Luke’s Gospel and which inspires the title of her own medical guide. Her breezy, common-sense book is a gold mine of information about pain, depression, addiction, and their treatments. In Part I, Carmichael offers her engaging understanding of pain treatment throughout history, including Chinese acupuncture and massage, opiates, and the power of spiritual belief, citing examples of miraculous healings at Lourdes. Early chapters discuss how pain works and provide solid background for the remaining review of pain and depression management and recovery modalities, from traditional medicines to laughter, exercise, nutrition, and spiritual healing. After starting with a quote from the likes of Einstein, Voltaire, and Buddha, each chapter concludes with “points to remember.” Blue boxes break up the text and offer medication tips and “try this” suggestions as well as recommended exercises and meditation practices. Along the way, the author discusses the historical evolution of pain theories, from religious to more mechanistic and scientific foundations, and includes studies that demonstrate a strong emotional component to the perception of pain. “Even for the scientist,” she says, “pain, anger, and fear are all emotions that tell us to wake up and do something different.”
Engaging and practical advice for living well.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2015
ISBN: 978-1482784718
Page Count: 236
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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