Keywords: Norman Cousins, alternative medicine, healing, vitamin therapy
Title: Anatomy of An Illness
Author/Artist: Norman Cosuins
Publisher: Norton
Media: Book
Reviewer: Pan
I can't remember where I first read about Norman Cousins and his remarkable story. It could have been in something by Robert Anton Wilson, or by Andrew Weil or countless numbers of others. With each retelling the story has started to assume mythic status, and so it's a pleasure to finally read the story in Cousins own words.
Diagnosed with the crippling and incurable degenerative disease of ankolysing spodylitis in 1964, Norman Cousins decided that he was going to take control of his own illness and treatment. He discovered that laughter gave him some relief from the pain that kept him in agony and unable to sleep. He soon checked himself out of hospital and into a hotel room where he could watch comedy films whenever he wanted to. Away from the clinical environment his condition started to improve. He was also lucky enough to win the support of his doctor, who helped him to start taking megadoses of vitamin C, against conventional wisdom (then and now).
The combination of laughter and vitamin C helped to fight off a disease which was considered irreversible.
What Cousins did, as he so ably describes, is to tap into his body's powers to heal itself. In this he was very much a pioneer in our modern Western society. It's no wonder that he, and his story, are quoted so approvingly by so many. Unlike many who quote him, however, he did not reject Western medicine and science outright. He took the more difficult path of true scepticism, which means treating the claims of modern medicine to the same critical attitude as the claims of homeopathy, herbalism, folk medicine and any other approach to health and well-being.
In the case of Norman Cousins, it's plain that many of the principles underpinning his self-treatment and substantial recovery are becoming accepted as being based on hard science rather than new age quackery. What was dismissed as mumbo-jumbo twenty years ago is now being borne out by researchers in the field of medicine, particularly in the growing area of pscho-neuro-immunology. We cannot treat the disease in isolation; we are not simply collections of organs which go wrong and have to be treated with drugs in order to 'fix' them. It's that simple and yet to talk in 'holistic' terms has been anathema to orthodox medicine for far too long.
Using language that is simple and direct, Cousins describes both his own experience and those of others he has helped. It is an inspiring read, and to his great credit this simple book speaks volumes where so many new age health books have nothing but vacuous phrases and incantations to offer.
Hit the 'back' key in your browser to return to subject index page