Courageous Confrontations: Lives Transformed by Life-Threatening Illness [Hardcover]

Richard H. Helfant (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 27, 2005

Why are some people able to overcome fear and summon their inner strength to find the will to live? Courageous Confrontations is an inspiring account of the possibility of transformation and deep healing in the face of profound health challenge. This book will bring hope to those patients who encounter severe illness, and to those familes and friends who want to aid a loved one in full and fundamental recovery.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Richard Helfant is a Harvard-trained cardiologist who pioneered the development of cardiac electrophysiology and nuclear cardiology, and his Heart Institute was the first in the U.S. to use balloon angioplasty and calcium channel-blocking drugs. He is the author of WOMEN TAKE HEART, 1992 and has been widely published in the medical and scientific fields.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 210 pages
• Publisher: Sentient Publications (October 27, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591810353
• ISBN-13: 978-1591810353
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,645,048 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars review of "Courageous Confrontations", December 31, 2005

By 

Susan J. Blattner - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Courageous Confrontations: Lives Transformed by Life-Threatening Illness (Hardcover)

What is remarkable about "Courageous Confrontations" is the philosophy of hope offered by this dedicated and highly skilled physician. He explains in language easily understood by a layman the medical factors relating to diseases of the heart, and then demonstrates how one's fate is not solely limited to medical factors, how one's will and character can affect the medical outcome of the most serious condition. He vividly descibes his cases so that each person seems universally human and yet unique. The description and dialogue make this book as enjoyable as a novel to read, yet the fact that this is a work of non fiction makes the ideas expressed much more meaningful. I read this book on the recommendation of a friend and have recommended it to every one I know. It is amazing that a skilled physician like Dr. Helfant is also gifted with ability to write a book in which each case fascinates the reader while teaching the importance of the human spirit in the outcome of any disease.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wish it was MINE !!, December 31, 2005

By 

Harold P. Kaplan "MD, FACP" (North Haven, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Courageous Confrontations: Lives Transformed by Life-Threatening Illness (Hardcover)

As an Internist and Gastroenterologist with 36 years of practice experience, I have to confess that Dr. Helfant has written the book that I always wanted to write. Every physician, with any length of experience, has patient interactions that leave him amazed, astonished and enlightened. I can't tell you how often I've told friends and family, "I should write a book". Well, I never have, but Dick Helfant has, and it is a fabulous read. He is clearly, not only an excellent Cardiologist, but a marvelous story-teller. I heartily recommend his book to medical students, young physicians, and anyone else who just enjoys a good read.

Hal Kaplan, MD

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A life-changing book!, December 30, 2005

By 

C. Tolbert - See all my reviews

This review is from: Courageous Confrontations: Lives Transformed by Life-Threatening Illness (Hardcover)

Dr. Helfant's Courageous Confrontations is one of those rare books that can make you change the way you look at life. His stories of patients whose lives were changed by illness forces you to reexamine your own priorities in life. His stories combine the powerful emotional experiences of his patients with a brutally honest and approachable explanation of what modern medicine is and is NOT capable of. (When's the last time you heard a doctor say he didn't know everything?)

These stories amazed, exhilarated, and inspired me. Why wait for illness to decide what really matters most to us? This book had the power to make me realize that.