Love, Medicine and Miracles: Lessons Learned about Self-Healing from a Surgeon's Experience with Exceptional Patients

Written by Bernie S. Siegel

Narrated by Bernie S. Siegel

Unconditional love is the most powerful stimulant of the immune system. The truth is: love heals. Miracles happen to exceptional patients every day—patients who have the courage to love, those who have the courage to work with their doctors to participate in and influence their own recovery.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Apr 3, 2012
• ISBN: 9780062215406

Bernie S. Siegel

Bernie Siegel, M.D. embraces a philosophy that is at the forefront of a society grappling with medical ethics and spiritual issues. His books, Love, Medicine and Miracles published in 1986, Peace, Love and Healing in 1989, and How to Live Between Office Visits in 1993, have broken new ground in the field of healing. Over the span of twenty years, physicians have become increasingly more receptive to his message. Bernie's efforts have now turned toward humanizing medical care and medical education, and he continues to travel extensively with his wife Bobbie, to speak and run workshops, sharing his techniques and experiences. Bernie and Bobbie have five children and six grandchildren (so far).

Reviews for Love, Medicine and Miracles

[Anja Marcetic · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing book! This gave me so much strength! Love life!

[keylawk · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Doctor Siegel cites the famous hospital study which reduced type A behavior in patients, and "halved the reinfarction rate of postcoronary patients". [v] Our society continues--witness the "election" results of November 2016--to regard noisy bullies who rage with hostility as our leaders. They are not. They are suicides. Doctor Siegel spelled out the facts in this 1986 book which arrives at the evidence-based conviction that our best and healthiest guide for behavior is "love for others".Doctor Siegel writes about the documented connection between mind and body, in our "state of consciousness". I was delighted to see that Doctor Siegel echoes the great Chaplain, Henri Nouwen, for the curative principle of compassion. "Curing" a patient without care, is more harmful than helpful. [vi] The fear of "letting go of childhood pain" and bad messaging, is a much larger failure than dying. Death will visit all of us, because there is really no cure. However, the meaning of life is in loving, which happily happens to cure most of our afflictions. "The fundamental problem most patients face is an inability to love themselves, having been unloved by others during some crucial part of their lives." [4] By loving oneself, and life itself, the quality of life is improved, and in many cases prolonged.The epilgraph is from Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's, "Cancer Ward". The "self-induced" healing, without drugs or treatments, has long been observed. "Suddenly for some unexplained reason the tumor starts off in the opposite direction! It gets smaller, resolves and finally disappears! See!" Siegel relies upon science, with research, clinical experience, and facts. The book has two prescient sections: (I) Minding the Body, and (II) Embodying the Mind.

[ocean_mist · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book changed my life...forever, when I read it in 1992, when diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS).I heard words like "no cure for MS", "nothing you can do", and so on. I was only 29 years old and I decided not to believe any of the words, no matter what research showed, what well-meaning friends said, etc., etc. (lots of etc.'s) after reading this book. The book did not tell me not to face the reality of the illness but to face it in a different way.And I have.The first symptoms of MS started when I was 24 years old and now, in 2013, I have had the illness more than one half of my life (you can do the math). :-) I have been told by more than one doctor comments such as "you shouldn't be walking" (but I am )and "you should be in a nursing home" (but I am not). I live independently, have lots of goals for my life, and try to live my life one day at the time within the limits of the illness (yes, there are limits especially since I am getting older too). :-)The illness affects every patient differently so just because they are not like me, doesn't mean that they have not done something right for themselves, or that I am doing everything right for myself. I have read many books in the field of psychoneuroimmunology (or mind-body connection to health) since then. Using Love, Medicine and Miracles I started my road in life owning my decisions, good or bad, negative or positive, and not letting outside circumstances alone own my life.