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| The Anatomy of Hope: How People Prevail in the Face of Illness | 
| Author: Jerome Groopman
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $3.84
You Save: $11.11 (74%)
New (39) Collectible (2) from $3.84
Avg. Customer Rating:  19 reviews
Sales Rank: 9434
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.8
ISBN: 0375757759
Dewey Decimal Number: 616.0019
EAN: 9780375757754
ASIN: 0375757759
Publication Date: January 11, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 19 | | NEXT » |
 A Fantastic Read for Both Patients and Doctors! April 23, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I am a patient with several serious debilitating diseases. I have been very close to death and hope is what saved me. One way I obtain hope is by reading books like this one. I have strong relationship with my doctors and my relationships with them make all the difference. I enjoyed the doctor's intimate thoughts and feelings openly shared with readers of this book. It puts light on how their emotions are effected by their patient's recovery or decline. I found this book to be very well written, honest, inspiring, and hopeful. I highly recommend this book to medical professionals, patients, and loved ones affected and invloved with the tender issues of life, death, and hope.
Excellent book February 29, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Every doctor and every person who deals with medical decisions about their own life, and ever person who faces human dilemmas needs to read this book. On the one hand, the "new-age healers" of the world say that we have complete control over our body and illnesses, and on the other hand, we become complete victims of wht happens and hand our care over to others ot to God, thinking we have no responsibility and no effect. Dr Groopman shows how smewhere in the middle, hope, belief and expectations can alter the course of our lives,and even of our physical body. He does so with science, example and humanness.
Riveting examination of the mind/body connection ... February 1, 2008
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Author and physician Jerome Groopman offers case studies and vignettes of patients battling "hopeless" conditions - usually grave cancers - but who rebound and prevail against great odds, often confounding their doctors. Such case studies are usually dismissed by the medical community with the label of being "anecdotal." Groopman writes like a novelist and the studies are riveting, touching and inspiring.
For a while, a certain unease gnawed at me. Each case study was of patients who survived against great odds. Beyond the rosy happy endings, there was another problem. The undercurrent seemed to be that, if patients didn't thrive, it was their own damn fault for not being hopeful enough - one more way for doctors to make themselves feel better. However, Groopman leavens his "success stories" with at least one that did not involve prevailing over cancer. He has also been in the position of being a patient with an intractable back problem, perhaps giving him a rare crash course in empathy and a first-hand taste of the role of hope.
In his book, "Man's Search for Meaning," Viktor Frankl says something like "Man can endure any what so long as he has a why..." If you have a reason to live and to look forward to something, you can prevail over great odds, whether at Auschwitz or against liver cancer.
This powerful but concise book explores that mind/body connection and is useful for those who are not grappling with life-threatening conditions. Regardless, we all grapple with life.
"The Anatomy of Hope" documents the positive physiological responses evoked by the rays of hope that poke through the gloom.
Moving and thought-provoking stories, overall quick read December 23, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
As a soon to be medical student, I've been devouring Groopman's essays in The New Yorker, and decided to read this book on a long plane ride. I read through the night, forcing myself to put the book down for a few hours of shut-eye. Groopman writes with gripping prose, and he manages to make the book accessible to your average reader who may not be knowledgable in the health field while not dumbing it down.
The book is roughly divided into two parts. The first half is a neat compilation of anecdotes based on his experience treating patients with blood diseases and cancers, as well as his own experience with back surgery. Towards the end of each chapter, he weaves in a concise but well thought out reflection on how hope manifested itself in that particular scenario, and what he was able to learn about the role of hope in both the physician and patient experience.
The latter part of the book was a bit less anecdote-focused and more about Groopman's exploration of the biology of hope. Through interviews with top scientists who study the biological link between emotion and biological responses, and by presenting the most relevant studies on the matter (for example, he addresses the function of placebo medicine in building hope and consequently positive health outcomes) Groopman relates the known scientific links between emotion/hope and physiological response back to a number of his previously related anecdotes. I found the second part of the book to be a bit slower, but then again, I was going on an hour of sleep at that point.
Overall, I strongly recommend this book to anybody in the health field, including pre-meds, as well as to those suffering from serious illness. For me, at least, this book marked the first time I ever seriously contemplated the role of hope in my health and well-being. Groopman impressively avoids cliches, and his honest and self-reflective approach to medicine and health is refreshing and inspiring.
Let us Run with Hope December 12, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
To have hope as depicted in these true life stories is like trading sorrow for joy. Let us run with hope. We have yet to realize all the intangible benefits of allowing hope to carry us through any hardship. Jerome Groopman's ability to be vulnerable as well as a master story teller makes this book a must read.
Laura Lee Solberg
Heirborne Media Productions
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