The Scalpel and the Soul: Encounters with Surgery, the Supernatural, and the Healing Power of Hope [Bargain Price] [Hardcover]

M.D., FACS, Allan J. Hamilton (Author), Andrew Weil (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 13, 2008

A Harvard-educated neurosurgeon reveals his experiences-in and out of the operating room-with apparitions, angels, exorcism, and after-death survival, and shares the lessons he learned.

A young burn victim remains in a coma until a ghost appears.
A doctor discovers he can predict when a patient will die.
A clinically dead patient later recounts extraordinary details about the private lives of her caregivers.
A physician needs the help of a Navajo shaman to exorcise the spirit of his dead patient.

These things really happened-and neurosurgeon Allan J. Hamilton was involved in every one of them, and many more. Based on thirty years of medical experience, The Scalpel and the Soul tells the unspoken stories behind remarkable patients and strange events, and shares the moral and spiritual lessons found in them.

For physicians, supernatural inklings and intrusions are disturbing. Doctors cannot be candid with colleagues or patients because they are trained to disregard the inexplicable and unbelievable. They're taught to discount elusive, evanescent powers of the soul. Superstition, omens, and divine spirits smack of madness.

But patients have the same experiences. Life-threatening illness or surgery frequently brings dormant spirituality to life. The soul often needs more than intensive care alone can give. The Scalpel and the Soul explores how premonition, superstition, hope, and faith not only become factors in how patients feel but can change outcomes; it validates the spiritual manifestations physicians see every day; it empowers patients to voice their spiritual needs when they seek medical help; and, finally, it addresses the mysterious, attractive powers the soul exerts during life-threatening events.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hamilton has led a remarkable life as a neurosurgeon. There are moments in this spiritual memoir when readers will wish he were their personal guide for the scariest of surgeries. In many ways, this is a story about real doctors as Hamilton understands them—people with exemplary bedside manners who not only make life-and-death decisions for the most vulnerable of the sick, but who have the vision (sometimes literally) to sit and listen as long as it takes, to take patients' hands, dealing with their questions and fears with the utmost gentleness and an eye toward the transcendent and supernatural. Readers will be moved by stories of former patients like Thomas, a child burn victim with such a gift of spirit that he could manage joy despite his tragic condition, and Donald, a brave man determined to live life to the fullest despite a vicious brain tumor. Hamilton's voice soars when he reflects directly on his experience as a brain surgeon, the bulk of which occurs (unfortunately) in the book's second half. In light of these high points, Hamilton's occasionally stumbling and awkward prose when straying from his patients' sides can seem jarring. (Mar. 13)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Funny, irreverent, earthy, big-hearted, honest, real -- just some of the adjectives that describe Allan J. Hamilton, MD, neurosurgeon and author of The Scalpel and the Soul. Dr. Hamilton has written a series of short, pithy first-person essays that tie together his childhood experiences, medical training, unusual and uplifting relationships with patients, and his own very human doubts, fears, and triumphs."
--Family Circle Online “Books of the Month” Review

“A Harvard-educated neurosurgeon reveals his remarkable experiences—in and out of the operating room—with apparitions, after-death survival…and the miracle of hope. This exhilarating examination of the life-giving powers of the soul will make a lasting impact on your own life.”
--One Spirit Book Club review

"There are moments in this spiritual memoir when readers will wish he were their personal guide for the scariest of surgeries ......Readers will be moved by stories of former patients like Thomas, a child burn victim with such a gift of spirit that he could manage joy despite his tragic condition, and "Donald" a brave man determined to live life to the fullest despite a vicious brain tumor. Hamilton's voice soars when he reflects on his experience as a brain surgeon."
--Publisher's Weekly

"Allan Hamilton is a natural storyteller. His real-life experiences remind us that patients and surgeons can share in a spiritual transformation during the course of battling disease. He also reminds us that every patient presents a dramatic opportunity to see the miraculous, the inexplicable, and the inspirational at work."
--Linda Klein R.N., Producer,Grey's Anatomy & Nip/Tuck

"In The Scalpel and The Soul, acclaimed Neurosurgeon Allan Hamilton shares his considerable knowledge and experience while baring his heart, soul and passion for his profession and for pursuing those unique patient occurrences that defy scientific explanation with our current knowledge of traditional western medicine. His observations and insights push the limits of current scientific knowledge as he attempts to bring some rational thought to the unexplainable. This book is thought provoking and will equally inspire the average citizen as much as it does our fellow physicians and scientists."
--Richard Carmona, MD, MPH, FACS, 17th Surgeon General of The United States

"A tragic error in medical education is that doctors are taught to think and not feel. The Scalpel & the Soul is a moving account of what can happen when a doctor opens his heart and his eyes to life's spiritual lessons and the mystery that thrives amidst the terror and trauma of life- threatening illness. This book will be appreciated by everyone who reads it because we are the same at both ends of the scalpel."
--Bernie Siegel, MD, author of Help Me To Heal and Prescriptions For Living

"Allan Hamilton has the whole-person perspective that I emphasize in integrative medicine. Like me he regards patients as not just physical bodies but also as metal/emotional beings and spiritual entities. In order to understand health and illness, doctors must examine and attend to those dimensions of human life as well as the physical, even when the physical body is obviously damaged or sick."
--Andrew Weil, MD, author of 8 Weeks to Optimum Health, Spontaneous Healing,Natural Health, Natural Medicine and many more.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Tarcher; 1 edition (March 13, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 1615513922
• ISBN-13: 978-1615513925
• ASIN: B001KOTU9C
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,757 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Allan Hamilton's started off working life as a janitor. Today, Dr. Hamilton holds four Professorships at the University of Arizona in Neurosurgery, Radiation Oncology, Psychology, and Electrical and Computer Engineering. He graduated from Harvard Medical School and completed his neurosurgical residency training at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He has been chosen by his neurosurgical peers as "One of America's Best Doctors." Dr. Hamilton has authored more than twenty medical textbook chapters, fifty research articles, and has served on the editorial board of several medical journals. He has been a vocal advocate for reform of medical education and the peer-review process to reduce morbidity and mortality from medical mistakes and surgical mishaps.

Dr. Hamilton's first book, The Scalpel and the Soul: Encounters with Surgery, the Supernatural, and the Healing Power of Hope (2008,Tarcher/Penguin USA) was awarded the 2009 Nautilus Silver Award, which was conceived to recognize world-changing books. Previous Nautilus Award winners include Deepak Chopra, Eckhart Tolle, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Scalpel and Soul has been translated into several languages and is now in a paperback edition. For the last several years Dr. Hamilton has served as medical script consultant to the TV series Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice. Dr. Hamilton raises Lipizzan horses, German Shepherds, and purebred Angus cattle on his ranch on the outskirts of Tucson, Arizona. His latest book, Zen Mind, Zen Horse--The Science and Sprituality of Working with Horses was published in September, 2011 by Storey Publishing. Forewords for the book were written by Monty Roberts and Dr. Robert Miller--two of the luminaries of the horse world.

Please visit:
www.zenmindzenhorse.com, www.ranchobosque.com, and www.allanhamilton.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN SAYS: "I AM A BRAIN TUMOR SURVIVOR AND THIS BOOK VALIDATES MY SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES!", March 20, 2008

By 

Rick Shaq Goldstein "*SHAQ*" (Danville, Ca, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Scalpel and the Soul: Encounters with Surgery, the Supernatural, and the Healing Power of Hope (Hardcover)

On February 13, 2003 I had brain tumor surgery that was supposed to take four hours. The surgery lasted five hours... then six hours... then seven hours... then eight ½ hours. Unbeknownst to me, when they removed the tumor, underneath it was a "stump", that had not appeared in any of the pre-surgery MRI's, and when the Doctor started to remove it; there was severe bleeding in my brain. All of this of course was unknown to me. Not just during the surgery, but after I was blessed by the Lord and allowed to survive and eventually go home, I was not told by my twenty-three-year-old son Justin for a couple of weeks. Even if he would have told me during the first week, I wouldn't have been able to comprehend what he was telling me. I didn't know what a bagel was, despite having two bagels and cream cheese for lunch every single day of my life for the last ten years. I didn't know what Jello was. During the first week at home while Justin was helping me dress and undress, I wanted to thank him from the bottom of my heart for the loving care he was giving me. On my dresser in my bedroom I had always kept a Thank You Card my son had given me when he graduated high school five years earlier. In it he had said: "Dad, I wanted to drop you a line to say thanks for everything. You have always stuck by me on any decision I made, right or WRONG. I don't know where I would be without you; on this bumpy road I call life. Thanks for always being there for me!" "I LOVE YOU! JUSTIN". With every fiber in my body and soul, I was trying to point to the card on the dresser and tell him now; I want to thank you... but I couldn't remember what a dresser was!

Before the surgery I told Justin I wasn't afraid to die, as long as I could say goodbye. I also told him that throughout my entire life I had always been so proud of what I had accomplished on a basketball court and that I was the best computer/software salesman in the world; but now as I faced death, I realized that the man he'd become, was my greatest accomplishment.

I had always been blessed with a really quick mind and told Justin and the brain surgeon that if I wound up as a "mind-locked-inside-a-body" I would rather die. After about a week at home my mind started to come back and within two weeks my blessing was continued as I got my memory and quickness back. I feel I was saved for a reason. And that is to help anyone I can who is going to face brain surgery. I feel I can help a patient and their family prepare for what they're going to face better than any Doctor can.

The author Allan J. Hamilton was an accomplished neurosurgeon and is now a professor of neurosurgery and a clinical professor at AHSC. He takes us through his early life and tells us with a "light" humorous touch how he went from being a painting student in college to an English major. One of his early post college jobs was in research and training of raptors to swoop down and kill pigeons so they wouldn't fly into the jet engines of military aircraft. Since this was funded by the government it would keep him from being drafted during Viet Nam. From here the reader is led through an early adulthood that included cutting the kidneys out of rats all day. Allan found that "he enjoyed the feel of the surgical instruments, the press of steel staples, and the dissection of the tissues themselves. His hands began to move faster. His eyes seemed to flash quicker. It was all over: he knew then and there he had to become a surgeon."

I feel it's my responsibility to caution potential readers that the core of this book is not a romantic feel good story. This story is the true narrative of a brain surgeon, and many, many, beautiful, warm, talented, brave, people die during the course of its telling. The author is a very brave writer and Doctor, as he unabashedly crosses the line of science and spirituality (Where I personally feel more Doctors should go.) and shares with the reader his spiritual experiences that range from a native in an African village dreaming of his arrival two days in advance, the ghost/spirit of a deceased Father at the foot of his comatose son's bed, a shaman casting a dead patients painful grasp out of Dr. Hamilton's body and more. I also applaud and congratulate Dr. Hamilton for sharing many of his painful mistakes. These missteps are not only in surgery, but in the interpersonal relationships between Doctor, patient and family. Perhaps the most important lapse in judgment he made was in taking "HOPE" away from a patient. As a *BRAIN-TUMOR-SURVIVOR* I can assure you, that that is as important as the surgeon's scalpel. Dr. Hamilton admits that, where unfortunately many Doctor's refuse to acknowledge it. Dr. Hamilton says he was taught by his mistake; "to never be afraid of "HOPE" as an integral ingredient of any therapeutic approach. He asserts there is no such thing as "FALSE HOPE". "HOPE" is simply the desire to prevail, to survive, and to win against overwhelming odds."

I recommend this gut-wrenching, heart-wrenching, true, sad but uplifting, spiritually genuine book. I am thankful and truly blessed for each day I have been given!

56 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read...very interesting, March 13, 2008

By 

Katomate (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Scalpel and the Soul: Encounters with Surgery, the Supernatural, and the Healing Power of Hope (Hardcover)

This book, quite literally, is amazing. Hamilton is a Dr. that you wish was your own, someone who deeply cares about not only healing you physically, but emotionally as well. It becomes apparent early on that Hamilton takes healing very seriously and has ideas in store for the reader that prepare the mind for dealing with the realm of the unknown that is medical care. This book is an ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY read for anyone who is battling cancer, or any loved ones. Some of the stories contain within the pages of "The Scalpel and the Soul" are going to move you to tears, undoubtedly. Yet, you will finish the book feeling spiritually cleansed in a way. It's hard to explain, but this book really is astoundingly good and one that certainly should find it's way into your checkout cart immediately.

38 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, Educational, Intriguing, Entertaining, March 19, 2008

By 

Michael E. Tymn (Kailua, Hawaii) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Scalpel and the Soul: Encounters with Surgery, the Supernatural, and the Healing Power of Hope (Hardcover)

A five-star rating is not enough for this book, but the system will not allow more.

A 2005 survey of physicians found that 76 percent believe in God and 59 percent believe in an afterlife. Those numbers were quite surprising to me, as I would have expected them to be much less. They are also a little confusing in suggesting that some physicians believe in God without an afterlife. Whatever the numbers, few doctors have the courage to go public with their views. It is simply not the "intelligent" and scientific thing to do. That is definitely not the case with Dr. Allan J. Hamilton, the author of this book. "The truth is that I pity the physician who cannot envision medical science as an integral part of God's creation," he offers. "I worry about a doctor who cannot see healing as an extension of God's love. Religious faith does not threaten scientific integrity..."

Hamilton discusses such phenomena as near-death experiences, death-bed visions, and shamanistic healing. But not all the chapters deal with paranormal phenomena. Some are intriguing stories of faith, hope, and charity recorded by Hamilton during his illustrious career as a neurosurgeon specializing in brain tumors. It was a career that had him tending to patients in the jungles of Africa and the snow caps of Alaska before settling down in the dry flatlands of Arizona.

The concluding chapter should give the skeptic much to ponder. It is about a woman who was "dead" by every clinical criterion used in medicine - her was heart stopped and brain waves disappeared. Yet, she later related conversations that went on among the operating room personnel while she was clinically dead. It is much like the famous "Pam Reynolds" case, but in some respects more evidential of a separation of mind from brain. "In fact, this particular patient's consciousness seemed to thrive despite substantial evidence that her brain was concurrently dead, incapable of generating a single electrical impulse," Hamilton states.

The book is inspirational, educational, intriguing and entertaining. I intend to buy copies for my two daughters, both registered nurses. My guess is that they can learn more from this book than from a year of graduate study.