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The Scalpel and the Soul
Experience the Spiritual Side of Surgery
Dr. Hamilton's book, entitled The Scalpel and the Soul: Encounters with Surgery, the Supernatural, and the Healing Power of Hope is published by the Tarcher Division of Penguin Publishing, USA. The hard cover edition was published in March, 2008 and the paperback edition in April, 2009.
Based on thirty years experience as Harvard-educated brain surgeon, The Scalpel and the Soul: Encounters with Surgery, the Supernatural, and the Healing Power of Hope tells the stories behind remarkable patients and the moral and spiritual lessons they can teach everyone. In this book, Dr. Hamilton shares a rare glimpse of how the spiritual and the supernatural manifest themselves even in the high-tech world of 21st century intensive care units or operating rooms.
The soul often needs more than an Intensive Care Unit can provide
The Scalpel and the Soul explores how premonition, superstition, hope and faith not only become factors in how patients feel, but can change the outcomes as well. The stories within this book validate the spiritual manifestations physicians see every day. The tales empower patients to voice their spiritual needs in medical situations. When the life is threatened, the soul can exert mysterious powers. Embracing that knowledge can help anyone, patient or caregiver, to cope with difficult and challenging times.
Paperback Edition
The paper back edition will be released in April 3, 2009. You can order now at ordered from Amazon.com, BarnesnadNoble.com, Borders, and all local, independent bookstores.
Reviews and Endorsements
"Allan Hamilton has the whole-person perspective that I emphasize in integrative medicine. Like me he regards patients as not just physical bodies but also as mental/emotional beings and spiritual entities. In order to understand health and illness, doctors must examine and attend to those dimensions of human life as well as the physical, even when the physical body is obviously damaged or sick."
Andrew Weil, MD author of 8 Weeks to Optimum Health, Spontaneous Healing,
Natural Health, Natural Medicine and many more
"A tragic error in medical education is that doctors are taught to think and not feel. The Scalpel & the Soul is a moving account of what can happen when a doctor opens his heart and his eyes to life's spiritual lessons and the mystery that thrives amidst the terror and trauma of life-threatening illness. This book will be appreciated by everyone who reads it because we are the same at both ends of the scalpel."
Bernie Siegel, MD author of Help Me To Heal and Prescriptions For Living
"In The Scalpel and The Soul, acclaimed Neurosurgeon Allan Hamilton shares his considerable knowledge and experience while baring his heart, soul and passion for his profession and for pursuing those unique patient occurrences that defy scientific explanation with our current knowledge of traditional western medicine. His observations and insights push the limits of current scientific knowledge as he attempts to bring some rational thought to to the unexplainable. This book is thought provoking and will equally inspire the average citizen as much as it does our fellow physicians and scientists."
Richard Carmona, MD, MPH, FACS
17th Surgeon General of The United States |
The Scalpel and the Soul is on Tucson Weekly's Top Ten in Books more
Family Circle Reviews The Scalpel and the Soul:
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Funny, irreverent, earthy, big-hearted, honest, real -- just some of the adjectives that describe Allan J. Hamilton, MD, neurosurgeon and author of The Scalpel and the Soul...... More
Dr. Hamilton has written a series of short, pithy first-person essays that tie together his childhood experiences, medical training, unusual and uplifting relationships with patients, and his own very human doubts, fears, and triumphs. As he tells the stories of special medical cases, the reader witnesses his growing understanding of human consciousness, hope, and wonder. Surprisingly for his profession, he's frank about the many mistakes he made over the years as a neurosurgeon, and how all his experiences educated his sense of what's spiritual and important.
Dr. Hamilton ends the book with 20 useful lessons for anyone dealing with doctors, hospitals, and health crises. For example, Rule No. 6 is, "Ask your doctor to pray with you. There are a lot of docs who can't bring themselves to pray for help, so ask them to sit down with you." Rule No. 12: "Develop your own healing rituals. These can be as mundane as praying and meditating each day or as creative as smearing bear grease and herbs on oneself." Rule #19 is "Assign someone to be your guardian angel. Give someone in your family the assignment of writing down everything that's done to and for you. It's their job to make inquiries of the medical staff, to review medications, and to be a general pain in the ass."
A Harvard-educated neurosurgeon who operated for as long as his own body was strong enough, Hamilton has created a second career developing and running a center to train doctors to avoid making errors. His energy, apparently, is irrepressible. Certainly he has created a memoir that gives a fresh perspective on the human condition. visit Family Circle Books of the Months
Publisher's Weekly
"There are moments in this spiritual memoir when readers will wish he were their personal guide for the scariest of surgeries ......More
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 on his experience as a brain surgeon."
One Spirit Book Club
The One Spirit Book Club announced that they will be carrying The Scalpel and the Soul in their line up. ....More
A Harvard-educated neurosurgeon reveals his remarkable experiences—in and out of the operating room—with apparitions, after-death survival…and the miracle of hope.
For many physicians, supernatural intrusions are often disturbing because they are trained to disregard the unexplainable. But for patients, life-threatening illness or surgery can bring dormant spirituality to life. The Scalpel and the Soul explores how premonition, superstition, hope and faith can change outcomes, validate spiritual manifestations physicians see every day and empower patients to voice their spiritual needs when seeking medical help.
This exhilarating examination of the life-giving powers of the soul will make a lasting impact on your own life.
One Spirit is a mind body spirit book club offers a diverse collection of titles, ranging from engaging psychology books to instructive feng shui books. Members to the club enjoy savings on a vast selection of the latest titles covering health and wellness, self-help books and psychology books, religion and inspirational books, and more. Visit One Spirit Book Club
Dr. Allan J. Hamilton, a neurosurgeon and professor of surgery at The University of Arizona, has been awarded a 2009 Nautilus Silver Award for his book "The Scalpel and the Soul: Encounters with Surgery, the Supernatural, and the Healing Power of Hope," which tells the stories of patients he's encountered during his years in the operating room read more
Alexis Blue, Lo Que Pasa
More Reviews:
"Yet, the thought of life after death is a hard sell in the science- and technology-driven 21st century. But when a Harvard-educated neurosurgeon admits the likelihood of a consciousness that survives beyond the body and the physical brain, well, it’s hard to dismiss him." read entire review
Tonja Warad, Houston Style Magazine
"Beyond their individual value of showing life lessons learned, the stories in The Scalpel and the Soul are a vehicle that shows the overall transformation of a doctor. Dr. Hamiltion was hard wired to be analytical, anal and scientific, and through his experiences, he, reluctantly at first, became convinced that there is a realm which today’s science can not explain. What’s more, we are shown that realm of the soul, spirituality and hope is often more powerful than any scalpel or drug ever could be." read entire review
Kristen Spinning
Book Review on Cancer Journeys
"The Scalpel and the Soul covers a lifetime of unusual mind-body encounters Hamilton experienced and put into writing. It runs the gamut from the powerful idea of hope in a patient’s mind, to the memories of a woman who was clinically dead for 17 minutes. Probing the reader’s thoughts, one wonders, is it faith which keeps a stage IV ovarian cancer patient alive years after a terminal diagnosis, are memories stored outside the body, are we a part of a greater consciousness, and who is that light at the end of the tunnel?"Read entire review
Kelly Jad'on Basil and Spice: Author and Book Views on Healthy Living basilandspice.com
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Some Blogs Discussing Dr. Hamilton:
Diary of a Housegroup in Punggol
Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch |
"A spiritual memoir by a distinguished neurosurgeon, from childhood experiences to relationships with his patients, in and out of the operating room. Predicated on the assumption that "medical science [is] an integral part of God's creation" and that there is no conflict between religion and scientific integrity, Dr. Hamilton, who specializes in brain tumors, relates his experiences with great candor, including deathbed paranormal phenomena that challenge the skeptics among us. "
Hamilton College Alumni Review
"In the final pages of this marvelous book, the author offers Twenty Rules to Live By. These too contain astonishing insights and observations. Go get this book. It’s one of the best I’ve read in quite some time." Read Entire Review
Ulrich J Mohrhoff
Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education, India (Managing Editor)
"I have more than a decade of experience working in military and civilian hospitals and I have never met a physician with religious convictions; at least, none who shared those with me. .......... I believe I enjoyed the book because early in its pages, Hamilton adapts the mind set of Henry David Thoreau, “It is never too late to give up one’s prejudices.” ..............He covers many more topics and, whether you agree or not, he presents his arguments well and will make you think about the many ways 20th century medicine has affected our culture. It's worth the read."
Read Full Review in The Turret
Maureen Rose
The Turret Associate Editor
"Although there are certainly exceptions to the rule, the suggestion to medical doctors that their ability to heal could be enhanced by incorporating "intuitiveness" into their practice would not be held in high regard.........As Dr. Hamilton's medical career unfolded, his intuitive skills seemed to keep pace with his advanced technical skills as a neurosurgeon." Read entire review as PDF
Forever Family Foundation foreverfamilyfoundation.org
""The Scalpel and the Soul" by Hamilton is a wonderful collection of lessons learned by the doctor and his patients during surgical procedures. The doctor insists that patients must find a doctor who cares about them, ask your doctor to pray with you and develop your own healing rituals. Dr. Hamilton said it doesn't matter what your ritual is - crystals, aroma therapy, music, massage or whatever you choose - they're important in helping focus your energy."
Tonya McKiever NWAnews.com
Northwest Arkansas' News Source
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