Norman Cousins is a hell of a good writer. I guess he was a long-time editor of the Saturday Review. He engages you by taking complex medical issues and humanizing them. I think the autobiographical component is the best part of the book.
It is amazing how sick he was and how completely he recovered. I also agree that the patient needs to be very involved in his/her healing, of course, much has changed in medicine since Anatomy of an Illness was published. Perhaps this is a result of his writing,especially regarding the patient-doctor relationship.
One thing that needs to be noted is that Cousins has the advantage of wealth and has access to the finest doctors in the U.S. and the world. He doesn't really acknowledge this. Nor does he consider how his education factored into his approach to healing.
Yes, patients can get access to information, but would your average patient be able to interpret the information as well as Cousins does?
I would recommend this book for anyone battling a major illness and for anyone in the health care field.
Czar
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