Strings: The Miracle of Life [Hardcover]

John Robbins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1998

The personal account of a hepatitis sufferer who had to undergo transplant surgery in order to save his life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Exceptional. Leaving a successful academic life in the United States for a deeper understanding of life, John Robbins decides to embark on a journey through Asia. His search ends in [Thailand], where he spends three years as a Buddhist monk. Sharing the simplicity and wisdom of the doctrine, It is not the man on the path...it is the path that matters," Robbins' insightful story will cause readers to pause and reflect on their own lives.

Never saintly or preaching, Robbins' ultimate challenge becomes one of survival after he is stricken by hepatitis B. The [Thai] medical community gives freely of its finest care, as is its doctrine, but as his condition worsens, he struggles with the need to return home to his family and friends. Without income or insurance, he wants to at least die among the people he loves most.

From this point on, Strings becomes a roller coaster of suspense that the reader will find difficult to put down. Robbins brilliantly details the incredibly complex, miraculous and intricate world of medicine and the teamwork involved to save his life against all odds. Contrasted to the backdrop of impersonal technology, Robbins fights to preserve his Buddhist beliefs, his own faith in survival and his passion to maintain his identity when all seems hopeless. When he becomes literally a part of the monumentally expensive medical machine, his mind can no longer cope as he feels he has lost his humanity. Robbins' long struggle and intact survival is a miracle; his unusual journey will both inspire readers and deepen their spirituality. Highly recommended." -- Foreword Magazine: Monthly News and Reviews for the Independent Publishing and Bookselling Industry, August 1998

Strings is a gold medal book. A fast, easy read full of compassion and insight. -- Fred M. Hansen, Gold Medalist, 1964 Olympics, Track and Field

Strings is written in such a vivid, realistic and fascinating manner that I could hardly wait to get to the next part. -- Jim Beatty, ABC-TV Sports, Track and Field Hall of Fame

Great read! Also a very quick read I know how the book ends and I reread it anyway because I become absorbed in the human drama every time I open it. Strings is the confluence of Barry Hanna, John Lennon, and Will Campbell all in E.R. -- Emory M. Thomas, Author, Robert E. Lee : A Biography, Regents Distinguished Professor of History, University of Georgia

It can stand alone as a medical thriller; he explains complicated technical issues and makes them exciting, but his spiritual values are what make the book transcendent. This is far more than a well told tale of a transplant. The man, and the book, are an inspiration. -- Nathaniel Tripp, Author, Father, Soldier, Son : Memoir of a Platoon Leader in Vietnam

John Robbins certainly enlightened me on the process of organ transplantation. I was really informed by the stuff he was able to dig up. My hat is off to him. Let's all recycle ourselves. Hell, we recycle everything else aluminum, plastic but not organs. -- Larry Hagman, Actor, Liver transplant recipient

This is a compelling and dramatic story, all the more so because of John Robbins' astonishing grit and courage. -- Jeff Stein, Author, A Murder in Wartime : The Untold Spy Story That Changed the Course of the Vietnam War

From the Publisher

Why the title Strings? The title for Strings comes from a Buddhist practice of tying strings, known in Thai as "sai sila", around the wrists. "Sa"I means line and "sila" means the teaching. So as a result, the words mean the line of the teaching. I first saw them used in this manner while I was a monk. As a monk, I was somewhat skeptical of this practice because I regarded it as just a superstition that had crept into the religion. I felt it had no place in my concept of spiritual life. However that all changed a night in Chulalongkorn Hospital in Bangkok when my Thai friend, having been told I was dying, desperately wanted me to feel close to someone because I was so far from home. He tied them on me, and I kept the strings tied around my wrists after the crisis in Bangkok passed. The strings were on my wrists when I returned to the United States and remained there through the long wait for the transplant and during the painful days afterward. They were with me until I became so absorbed in the 1988 presidential primary that suddenly somewhere on the campaign trail, I realized I had lost them. Then they took on a greater significance. They taught me a lesson in impermanence. They were there when I needed them and then disappeared. Only when I came to do the research for this book did I realize a greatly expanded importance of "the strings." As I struggled for just the right title for the book, I kept coming back to my "strings." I was going to entitle the book, "Strings on my Wrists" to stand for the transplant. But I wanted the book to have a greater meaning than just my story of a transplant. The more I read in my M.C.V. hospital records about the care the staff took with my strings, I realized that I had the perfect title to represent all the levels of the story. In a very real sense, the staff, particularly the nurses in the ICU and Transplant Unit, realized, perhaps more than I, how important the "strings" were to me. Before I went to surgery and each time I moved locations in the hospital, the ever present and caring nurses would be careful to send a note along to remind their colleagues to protect my "cotton strings." The references to "the strings" showed up constantly in the ten volumes of medical records at M.C.V.

But in a real sense, they are more symbolic than something I looked to and I realized they tied me to something more and bigger than myself. They came to stand for the love of friends and family, and for an extraordinarily dedicated group of doctors and nurses who care for patients far beyond performing surgery, prescribing medicine and tending to patients' needs. It seemed to me that the strings came to stand for the love which the health care professional brings to his or her work. So what started as something meaningful to my spiritual life to guide me to health, ultimately became endowed with an even nicer meaning after they were long gone. Research for this book revealed a dedicated group of people who believed that "cotton strings tied on the patient's wrists" were as important as medicine in affecting my cure. They were right of course. Then it seemed only natural to entitle the book Strings which could stand not only for my spiritual odyssey, but also for the dedication of those who cared for me and loved me back to health and the writing of this book.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: North Star Publications (MA) (July 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1880823179
• ISBN-13: 978-1880823170
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,265,033 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is the best non-fiction book I have ever read, July 26, 1998

By 

Debi Bernardes "Debi" (King George, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Strings: The Miracle of Life (Hardcover)

Mr. Robbins takes the reader, grabs them quickly, and doesn't let go until the end. You know he survives his ordeal, but you are still in tears in the middle wondering "is he going to make it?"

Thanks for writing this valuable book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An inpiring near death story about "effortless effort"., July 16, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Strings: The Miracle of Life (Hardcover)

John Robbins uses a mix of Buddhaism and basketball (effortless effort) to tell how he survived and prospered after a near death experience. Part medical thriller and part spiritual exploration, he tells his story of surviving a liver transplant. His recollections about his surgeon alone are worth the read. A very good writer, he tells his story without without self-pity or fatalism. Inspiring is perhaps an over-used word in book reviews, but you will agree it applies to Strings.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A tango between the protagonists of Coma and D.O.A.!, July 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Strings: The Miracle of Life (Hardcover)

This is a nonfiction book that baby boomers facing health crises--their own or their parents'--should read. But this tale of miraculous recovery from life-threatening illness feels more like a Vonnegut novel than the standard human interest story you might expect.

It cuts elegantly between the tense and fast-paced action of a quite miraculous liver transplant and sophisticated spiritual and philosophical questions about ethical issues in life and medicine. There is a wonderful section that presents the disorientation of a type A personality in a medical crisis--mental confusion due to prolonged illness, lack of control, medical complications, frustration at the slow pace of recovery--and reads like a primer for 50-somethings who are facing their first serious illness or surgery or trying to understand the growing frailty and increasing health care needs of their aging parents.

It weaves the varied and sometimes conflicting perspectives of patient, family, and med! ! ical professionals into the most complete picture of a modern medical crisis I've seen.