Gesundheit!: Bringing Good Health to You, the Medical System, and Society Through Physician Service, Complementary Therapies, Humor, and Joy (Healing Arts Press) [Paperback]

Patch, M.D. Adams (Author)

Book Description

Series: Healing Arts Press | Publication Date: September 1992

In 1971, Dr. Adams and a few colleagues founded the Gesundheit Institute in Northern Virginia. During the next 12 years, they operated a home-based family medical practice and managed to treat over 15,000 people without payment, malpractice insurance, or formal facilities. Royalties will fund the Gesundheit Institute, a 40-bed free hospital in West Virginia. Photographs.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Patch Adams, the movie starring Robin Williams, was a warm, humorous introduction to a very unusual man. Unfortunately, this audiobook does not provide any of the humor or warmth of the movie. Instead, Adams presents his manifesto for curing the ills of the medical profession and society at large. The abridgment is certainly long enough to get the main points across; the unabridged version gets tedious, and Arte Johnson's narration becomes grating and monotonous. We all know the medical profession in this country has problems. Adams's ideas for resolving them are as wide-ranging and, at times, as eccentric as he is. Ideas about bringing humor and joy to everyday life seem reasonable. However, it is hard to imagine doctors treating patients for free and not carrying malpractice insurance. For libraries with large alternative health sections.ATheresa Connors, Arkansas Tech. Univ., Russellville
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

For all of its wonder drugs and dazzling technology, the medical profession seems to have strayed from the art of healing. Enter Patch Adams, doctor, clown and firm believer in the healing powers of humor, joy and simple listening. Decked out with a rubber nose and a silly hat, Patch practices free, fun-filled medicine at the Gesundheit Institute, where laughter is the rule and payments are the exception. His book very clearly points out the problems inherent in our current medical system: the slavery to money and technology, the myth of doctors as gods, and the removal of the human element. He then paints a picture of the ideal medical practice where doctor and patient relate as friends, where health and wellness are an integral part of community life, and where love and joy run through it all. I must confess that I have absolutely fallen in love with Patch just from reading his book. His idealism, love of life, sense of fun and commitment to helping build healthy, supportive, joyous communities rise out of the pages like a deep belly laugh. A truly delightful read! -- From The WomanSource Catalog & Review: Tools for Connecting the Community for Women; review by FGP

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Robert Heard Pub; Third Printing edition (September 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 089281442X
• ISBN-13: 978-0892814428
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,541,306 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A BREATH OF FRESH AIR, November 1, 1999

By 

Nicoletta Manns ([e-mail]) (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gesundheit!: Bringing Good Health to You, the Medical System, and Society through Physician Service, Complementary Therapies, Humor, and Joy (Paperback)

This book describes one of my fondest dreams come true. Ever since I was a little girl I knew there was something wrong with the way I was living; raised by my grandmother, singlehandedly, no friends, no parents, no trust, no joy, no fun. I would carefully draw plans for living in community with all the people I liked. Living quarters built in a circle or square, a common building, growing our own food, having animals to care for, etc.

This book makes me cry and laugh out loud with gratitude and joy at reading about what is so much needed in our world.

THANK YOU, PATCH ADAMS!

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly fun and heart warming book, June 5, 2001

By 

JMack (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Gesundheit!: Bringing Good Health to You, the Medical System, and Society through Physician Service, Complementary Therapies, Humor, and Joy (Paperback)

If you have seen the movie Patch Adams, the screen writers took some liberties with the life of Mr. Adams. The movie only tells a small distorted version of what is Patch Adams. Patch has some unconventional ideas about medicine. These ideas have led to a movement to change health care for the better. Patch has dedicated his life toward helping the less fortunate and still lives on this creed.

The one story in this book which sticks out in my mind is the story of the man with arthritis. To summarize, Patch discovered that the man did not feel the pain of his arthritis while watching the sunset. The man really enjoyed watching the sunset and pleasure from this event helps him forget his pain. Thinking of something pleasurable or performing a pleasurable act helps us forget pain. As Patch Adams himself said, The best medicince is not to treat the illness, but to treat the patient."

Thanks for your inspiration Patch! A great book!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The World's Doctor, May 22, 2006

By 

Leer Ranimo - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gesundheit!: Bringing Good Health to You, the Medical System, and Society through Physician Service, Complementary Therapies, Humor, and Joy (Paperback)

Whoever reads this book and absorbs its messages will become a healthier individual and a better citizen of the world.

First, Patch examines the American healthcare system. He explains why corporate healthcare is a contradiction and cannot be permitted in a healthy society. He shows how the doctor-patient relationship has become more like a business interaction, and how this is relationship in itself is a fundamental plague on America.

Extending his experiences in healthcare to all society, Patch observes that we have lost touch with ourselves and each other, with nature, and lost perspective on the joy and wonder of life.

This criticism is where 99.9% of books and people stop. Patch is one of the few in the world who is not only deeply aware of the problems but has detailed plans on how to fix them and acts on those plans. In the book, he outlines his model for personal living and for a better society. A model based on the radical principles of joy and fun:

"The most revolutionary act anyone can commit is to be happy."

"We hear far more about pain because it seems to be associated with maturity. Enthusiastic joy is associated with childhood--as if it were something to outgrow."

Reading this book gave me a new conception of health. It's not just physical or personal like the parts of a car, it's psychological, intellectual, spiritual, social, political, economic, local, international, and interpersonal. Live creatively! Discover the fun we can have together! Live in peace! Now that's good medicine.