The Healing Path: A Soul Approach to Illness (Arkana) [Paperback]

Marc Ian Barasch (Author), Bernie S. Siegel (Foreword)

Book Description

Series: Arkana | Publication Date: January 1, 1995

When the author discovered he had thyroid cancer, he pursued the lessons that his life-threatening illness offered. In this book he sets out the stages of illness and recovery, revealing in his view much about the human spirit, and the relationship of illness and healing to the inner life of each individual. This will be of interest to anyone who has coped with or now faces serious illness, or is interested in health.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Psychology Today editor Barash explores the healing powers of spirituality in light of his own battle with thyroid cancer.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Barasch calls his book "field notes" on a journey inward toward healing. That journey, undertaken after his grueling workaholic lifestyle left him jobless and facing a diagnosis of thyroid cancer, found him employing alternative therapies, traditional Western surgery, and research on cultures and their medical treatments from around the world. Here, besides reporting his own research, Barasch includes the testimonies of others who have explored nontraditional healing. He likens the resulting inner journey to self-realization to the "hero quest" conceived by mythologist Joseph Campbell. He also explains psychoneuroimmunology, that combination of three formerly separate disciplines that seeks to redefine our responses to illnesses and their symptoms by encouraging inner examination of past griefs, repressions, and sorrows in order to exorcise personal demons manifested as sickness: "A symptom may represent a distorted unconscious attempt to throw off the dead hand of the emotional past before submitting to a final strangulation," Barasch says. Some may scoff at this as New Age nonsense, while others may welcome Barasch's wide-ranging, meticulously reported research. Whitney Scott --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics); First Printing edition (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 014019486X
• ISBN-13: 978-0140194869
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #583,933 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible book!, June 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Healing Path: A Soul Approach to Illness (Arkana) (Paperback)

I felt very validated reading this book. When I was very sick with an auto immune illness, I often encountered the mind-boggling paradoxes involved in bushwacking my way through the jungle of the healing process. It's this that Barasch totally nails and affirms in a very supportive way. Kudos to you, Ian Marc Barasch -- and thank you.

I didn't find this book till six years after it was published, which makes me think it has been grossly under publicized. Too bad -- this is a supportive resource many could benefit by. I wish I'd had this book when I first started my healing journey!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like Dorothy on the Yellow Brick Road, May 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Healing Path: A Soul Approach to Illness (Arkana) (Paperback)

It is my fortune to be blessed with good health and it was my great fortune to find and read this book! Like Dorothy, I read my way down this path with the feeling of adventure that one gets when truly being educated. Thank you, Mr. Barasch, for your wisdom and very good writing on this interesting topic. The insights into illness and healing you have presented I have found in none other of the several books I have read on the topic of health/mind-body connection. I especially appreciated the metaphors you used. Perhaps one day my health fortune will change, but I think I will be well-equipped to handle it now that I have your book in the library that is in my brain!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book changed my life, July 8, 2010

By 

JB - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Healing Path: A Soul Approach to Illness (Arkana) (Paperback)

Not only does Marc have a wonderful way with words, his use of imagery, movies and weaving all of it together is marvelous. After reading this book I completely "got" that whatever I deeply believed would work for me. Shortly after reading this book I took up meditation which changed my life and now my mind is no longer obsessed with pain. Thank you Marc Ian Barasch!