This unique book is about the near-death experience of a medical illness told as a provocative
story about activating aloneness disconnection pain suffering loss grief impermanence
healing resilience renewal love hope recovery and a growing dialogue between faith
values health and science. The author a leading addiction psychiatrist describes how he
learned the meaning of being a patient through the experience of physical and mental
diminishment vulnerability and uncertainty. This journey is also about reexamining the
author's approach to working with patients living with addiction and how it has profoundly
shaped his professional identity and personal life. The book is deeply affirming for both
healthcare practitioners and lay people offering an invitation to recognize the poignant value
of working through their experience of illness starting a conversation on how they choose to
think of the world themselves their loved ones their patients and families (for
practitioners) and coming to terms with their own struggles and discovering their internal
hidden resources and wisdom. This narrative has no intention to provide an expert advice or a
recipe on how people should experience illness and reclaim their personhood and deep worth. A
compelling contribution to the clinical literature Rethinking Illness: A Psychiatrist's
Life-Threatening Experience and His Profound Journey into the Many Dimensions of Healthcare and
Healing is written from the heart with profound call for a more holistic and deep appreciation
and understanding of the interplay of personal scientific spiritual dimensions of health and
healing with the ultimate outcome of change and growth. This genre of memoir is an essential
reading for everyone who is willing to examine the experience of living with an illness and
everyone in training or working in healthcare.
