THE HEALING HEART: Antidotes to Panic and Helplessness

by Norman Cousins ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 19, 1983

Like Anatomy of an Illness (1979), this is an unusual, highly appealing account of illness and recovery, as perceived and largely controlled by the patient. In late December 1980, Cousins arrived at the UCLA Hospital emergency room with a diagnosis of "" 'significant' heart-muscle destruction and congestive heart failure."" The customary procedure is bed rest, followed by slowly increasing amounts of routine exercise; an angiogram and surgical bypass were also indicated. But Cousins, no ordinary patient, handled his life-threatening siege with the same self-affirmation that he displayed in his previous work. He listened to his doctors, and understood their reasons for specific recommendations; yet he seldom followed their advice. Instead he trusted in the body's capacity to heal itself, made sure his recuperation schedule accommodated his emotional needs, and returned to his previous pleasures--e.g., tennis, lectures--by modifying his previous lifestyle. Both Cousins and his doctors, who write Afterwords, are quick to point out that his idiosyncratic regimen is not generally applicable; but the principles on which it is based surely are. Though not every heart patient has doctors who make cross-country housecalls, each one can learn to regulate diet and exercise, adjust daily activities in light of the new condition, and concentrate on the positive emotions. A man of abundant good feeling--he told ER doctors that they were looking at ""the darndest healing machine"" ever to come wheeling in--Cousins writes with a full knowledge of the facts and an abiding sense of human possibility. Though his book hasn't the dramatic impact of its predecessor, it concerns a much more prevalent malady; and though there is considerable overlap between the two, there is also sequential interest in following ex-editor Cousins into medical advocacy.

Pub Date: Sept. 19, 1983

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Norton

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1983

Categories: NONFICTION