A feel-good book of hope and wonder that will appeal most to readers who believe in divine intervention.
A generous collection of nonfiction medical stories from distinguished doctors.
Illinois doctor and debut author Kolbaba draws on three years’ worth of interviews with more than 200 physicians to deliver this book of extraordinary anecdotes about patients that doctors “could not explain medically.” The stories are, by turns, emotional, inspirational, and incredible, and they highlight the medical community’s patience, care, and dedication to public health. The book opens with Kolbaba’s own modest, briskly written history, covering his early days as a student who received discouraging advice from the dean of a Chicago medical school, to his thriving, 35-year career as a practicing physician. In this introduction, he notes that “holding the hand of a distressed patient…telling a bad joke to lighten up the often somber mood…or saying a prayer with a spiritual family are the intangibles in medicine that help heal the human spirit.” He also shares a few resonant patient-care stories from his own practice. The first set of other physicians’ tales tell of apparent godly interventions when modern medicine wasn’t enough. These are followed by haunting stories of people who say that they had helpful visions of deceased relatives, near-death experiences, and moments of eerie coincidence. Elsewhere are recollections of seemingly miraculous recoveries and healings. One may read this book in a single sitting, or one may savior the individual stories one by one for quick dashes of inspiration. Many of the tales tap into the need for human empathy that nearly everyone feels when injured or ill. That said, the collection as a whole is often spiritually heavy-handed, which may alienate irreligious readers, and many entries are just a few scant pages long, which will leave some people wanting more details. Still, this uplifting volume does successfully capture “the true essence of the doctor’s experience,” as it promises.
A feel-good book of hope and wonder that will appeal most to readers who believe in divine intervention.Pub Date: July 24, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5308-4157-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
The ABC’s to living a fulfilling life.
A minister catalogues the qualities needed to live a spiritually rich life.
In this Christian self-help guide, Caldwell outlines 26 characteristics (one for each letter of the alphabet) individuals should strive to achieve in order to realize the full potential of their lives. He shows how the pursuit of each quality–adventurousness, enthusiasm, openness, zeal, etc.–not only leads to personal satisfaction but a life closer to God. Living life to its utmost and realizing one’s full individual potential, Caldwell argues, will bring readers in line with the full glory of God’s creation. Not, as others have insisted, the fearful adherence to rules and commandments. The author illustrates these qualities and how they are evident in daily life with fables, poetry, hypothetical scenarios and anecdotes from his own life. Those who consume Caldwell’s book in one sitting may find his list of worthy characteristics a tall order, particularly if the volume’s seemingly simple, Zen-like title is what initially appealed to them. Indeed, he states in his conclusion that these 26 traits are not an exhaustive list, but rather that the A-to-Z format simply offers starting and ending points. But there is much continuity among the 26 qualities he describes, which reinforce and complement one another. Readers, however, may find it more helpful to read and meditate upon one or two chapters at a time. Caldwell does a good job of showing how one might encounter or embody these qualities in everyday life, but some of his illustrative anecdotes are more compelling than others. Although the book’s structure is somewhat gimmicky (as many self-help books tend to be), Caldwell’s advice is deeply grounded in serious and sincere theological study, encompassing both ancient scripture and more contemporary religious analysis. For those wishing to pursue further spiritual inquiry, the author’s footnotes at the end of each chapter provide ample suggestions.
The ABC’s to living a fulfilling life.Pub Date: March 26, 2007
ISBN: 978-1425743093
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Lyrical tale of the survival and triumph of a small farm amid the suburban sprawl of southern California, with writing as rich and satisfying as the taste of a ripe melon. Fairview Gardens exists amid tract housing, malls, and endless miles of freeway. Ableman (founder of the Center for Urban Agriculture; From the Good Earth, not reviewed) tells of how the farm made peace with this suburban world and how this world came to first tolerate and then embrace this oasis of connection to the land. It hasn—t been easy. Homeowners do not rest quietly with manure spreaders hard at work near their backyards; Ableman resents, albeit with grace, the imprecations of the modern world onto the land he manages. Yet, over time, the farm has become accepted as an eccentric neighbor, at first as a convenient place to buy good, healthy food and then as a repository of the dying knowledge of what is to be learned from working the land. Ableman’s writing on these lessons—perseverance, patience, humility, a feeling of empowerment when one eats what one grows—forms the heart of this work. It is writing of inspiring joy, without the overblown “cosmic” rhetoric that often mars such paeans to nature. Along the way he offers some valuable tips to farmers, on mulching, watering, weeding, fighting city hall. Today Fairview Gardens is a public place, not a bucolic back-to-nature vacation spot for the few. It stands not apart from the community but within it, no small reason for its survival in the face of hungry developers. It remains a thriving farm, but also a place where people, especially children, come to experience the land. Among a sprawl of books incessantly issued and hyped, this small, wise volume quietly calls us to read and be renewed. (50 color photos)
Pub Date: July 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-8118-1921-3
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1998
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