The Scalpel and the Soul: Encounters with Surgery, the Supernatural, and the Healing Power of Hope » (Bargain)

After beginning his working life as a janitor, Allan J . Hamilton, M.D., FACS, went on to attend Harvard Medical School and to become the chief of neurosurgery and chairman of the Department of Surgery at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center. He is currently a professor of neurosurgery and a clinical professor in the departments of Radiation Oncology and Psychology at AHSC. Hamilton has been a guest on NPR, has appeared on the Discovery Channel, and Anderson Cooper 360°, and has worked as a consultant for Grey's Anatomy.

A Harvard-educated neurosurgeon reveals his experiences-in and out of the operating room-with apparitions, angels, exorcism, after-death survival, and the miracle of hope.

The Scalpel and the Soul explores how premonition, superstition, hope, and faith not only become factors in how patients feel but can change outcomes. It validates the spiritual manifestations physicians see every day and empowers patients to voice their spiritual needs when they seek medical help. Finally, it addresses the mysterious, attractive powers the soul exerts during life-threatening events.

Publishers Weekly

Hamilton has led a remarkable life as a neurosurgeon. There are moments in this spiritual memoir when readers will wish he were their personal guide for the scariest of surgeries. In many ways, this is a story about "real" doctors as Hamilton understands them-people with exemplary bedside manners who not only make life-and-death decisions for the most vulnerable of the sick, but who have the vision (sometimes literally) to sit and listen as long as it takes, to take patients' hands, dealing with their questions and fears with the utmost gentleness and an eye toward the transcendent and supernatural. Readers will be moved by stories of former patients like "Thomas," a child burn victim with such a gift of spirit that he could manage joy despite his tragic condition, and "Donald," a brave man determined to live life to the fullest despite a vicious brain tumor. Hamilton's voice soars when he reflects directly on his experience as a brain surgeon, the bulk of which occurs (unfortunately) in the book's second half. In light of these high points, Hamilton's occasionally stumbling and awkward prose when straying from his patients' sides can seem jarring. (Mar. 13)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Foreword   Andrew Weil, M.D.     ix
Introduction     xi
Crystal Ball     1
Ogooue: River of Doubt     11
The Dying of the Light     29
Is There a Doctor in the House?     45
No One Dies with Harvard Numbers     54
From Flesh to Spirit     64
Queen of the Gypsies     79
Incidental Finding     88
Mother-and-Child Reunion     94
The Exorcist     106
Thread of Hope     126
Singing in the Brain     141
For the Love of God     154
The Surgeon Who Became a Murderer     166
Luck of the Draw     179
Soul Survivor     188
Epilogue: Decent Interval     205
Twenty Rules to Live By     213
Acknowledgments     243
Index     249