Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient
Reflections on Healing and Regeneration
Norman Cousins
- National
- Book
- Award
- Finalist:
- The
- “amazing”
- New
- York
- Times
- bestseller
- about
- the
- power
- of
- laughter
- and
- optimism
- in
- fighting
- serious
- illness
- (Chicago
- Sun-Times).Norman
- Cousins’s
- iconic
- firsthand
- account
- of
- victory
- against
- terminal
- disease,
- Anatomy
- of
- an
- Illness
- as
- Perceived
- by
- the
- Patient
- inspired
- a
- revolution,
- encouraging
- patients
- to
- take
- charge
- of
- their
- own
- treatment.A
- political
- journalist
- and
- activist,
- Cousins
- was
- also
- a
- professor
- of
- medical
- humanities
- at
- UCLA,
- where
- he
- studied
- the
- biochemistry
- of
- human
- emotions
- and
- their
- relationship
- to
- healing.
- When
- Cousins
- was
- hospitalized
- with
- a
- debilitating
- collagen
- illness,
- he
- decided
- to
- take
- his
- health
- into
- his
- own
- hands.
- Cousins
- and
- his
- doctor
- combated
- the
- disease
- together
- by
- creating
- a
- regimen
- of
- laughter
- and
- vitamin
- C
- specifically
- calibrated
- to
- his
- needs.
- Against
- all
- odds,
- the
- treatment
- worked,
- proving
- to
- Cousins
- that
- a
- positive
- attitude
- was
- key
- to
- his
- improvement.Years
- later,
- Cousins
- set
- pen
- to
- paper
- to
- tell
- the
- story
- of
- his
- recovery.
- In
- this
- humorous
- and
- insightful
- account,
- Cousins
- analyzes
- his
- own
- journey
- in
- relation
- to
- holistic
- medicine
- and
- discusses
- the
- astounding
- power
- of
- mind
- over
- body.
- The
- result
- is
- an
- inspirational
- and
- educational
- guide
- to
- health
- that
- continues
- to
- offer
- hope
- to
- many.This
- ebook
- features
- an
- extended
- biography
- of
- Norman
- Cousins
- by
- his
- daughter,
- Sarah
- Cousins Shapiro.
