A Touch of Hope [Hardcover]

Dean Kraft (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 6, 1998

In 1972 Dean Kraft was an average guy, unsure of what to do with his life--until a string of strange events occurred, and a new path unfolded before his disbelieving eyes. It began with a series of unexpected and unexplained incidents, culminating in an astonishing revelation: Dean possessed the power to heal with his hands. He healed strangers first, acting more out of instinct than conscious decision. He felt compelled to reach out, to touch, to ease suffering. Word of his incredible ability spread, first to neighbors and friends, then to doctors and the media. His practice grew, and in time his list of clients came to include celebrities such as Yoko Ono, John Lennon, Ethel Merman, and Frank Zappa. Over the years, Dean has continued to heal, often bringing life and hope to those who have exhausted the efforts of contemporary medicine. He has encountered believers and skeptics alike, at times struggling with a skepticism of his own. The subject of numerous scientific studies, time and again he has demonstrated abilities beyond the scope of scientific explanation. In the most fascinating study, by Lawrence Livermore Laboratory and repeated by The Science Unlimited Research Foundation, Dean was repeatedly able to kill deadly HeLa cancer cells, sealed in glass flasks, simply by holding the flasks in his hands. Authenticated by scientific testing and duplicated by no one else, these studies and tests led Dean to share his story and his knowledge with others. A Touch of Hope chronicles the life of this remarkable man and reveals his powerful laying-on-of-hands techniques. Included in the book are the most commonly asked questions about Dean Kraft's work and other healing methods; a blue print to help readers heal themselves; and an illustrated series of exercises for those who want to learn his healing methods.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Curing paralysis, healing those with Lou Gherig's Disease (ALS), destroying cancer cells, even bringing people out of comas are among the accomplishments of this unique healer named Dean Kraft. Kraft, who is not a religion-based faith healer, has been simply laying his hands on people's bodies for over 25 years and healing them of medical ailments. No one, including the author himself, is certain as to why or how the curing exactly happens, but he believes it may have to do with the mind-body connection, noting that many of his patients present symptoms after drastic, emotionally-charged life changes. Kraft tells story after story of people with debilitating diseases as well as previously incurable chronic medical conditions that have mysteriously receded at the "laying-on-of-hands" technique that Kraft uses, which incorporates detailed and vivid visualization.

Much of Kraft's work has been indirectly documented through patient medical tests. The most notable direct scientific study of his work appears in a study conducted by the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, and later by the Science Unlimited Research Foundation. In this experiment Kraft killed HeLa cancer cells (known for their tenacity) by using his healing technique on the sealed glass flasks holding the cancerous cells. Whether you are a believer or a skeptic, the fascinating accounts of healing in A Touch of Hope are sure to make you ponder the mysteries of our minds and our bodies. --Karen Karleski

Product Details

• Hardcover: 306 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; 1 edition (April 6, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399143890
• ISBN-13: 978-0399143892
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,313,464 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Possibilities for Humanity, June 8, 2004

By 

R. MacTaggart (Right in the Middle, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Touch of Hope (Hardcover)

All these reviews are curious. Most comment on Dean's healing practice, and not on the book. Why does amazon allow this?

The negative reviews mostly lambaste Dean for not helping them. But do such people have any idea of how overwhelming it must be to have thousands of people begging for help? I know a healer, and she has to work hard at not being totally drained by people and their needs. Jesus had the same problem. Dean may be gifted, but he's only human.

As for the outrage over what Dean charges (purportedly $750 a session), this is peanuts as compared to what a hospital stay might cost...or death. I'd gladly sell my house to be healed from a painful, debilitating illness. And in a day and age when TV stars and sports figures receive tens of millions, $750 seems even more like peanuts for the gift of healing.

For those who Dean couldn't help, (he admits to not being able to help heal everybody), I wonder how anger impedes such a process? Many of reviews are so filled with anger! I cannot imagine anything more destructive to health.

Reviewers denounce Dean for working only two weekends a month. If true, so what? Perhaps that's all he can do at this point in his life (his book repeatedly states how draining healing can be for the healer). After twenty-five-years of helping others, I suspect that Dean needs the down time. Better he be available four days than no days.

In the wonderful movie RESURRECTION (with Ellen Burstyn, 1980), Burstyn portrays a healer who flees from humanity in order to protect herself. She still does healings, but totally anonymously. People have no idea of who she is, or of her gifts. All they know is that they've been mysteriously healed. I can appreciate such a struggle, and wonder if Dean will grow to feel the same way.

Anyway, back to the book. I recommend it for several reasons, but perhaps most because I like the IDEA that hand-on-healing is possible. In a world increasing gone mad, this book offers wondrous possibilities for humanity.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book has helped me find a way to a cure for my cancer, July 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Touch of Hope (Paperback)

I learned about Dean's book last year and was so inspired, as a Lymphoma patient whom is only 36 years old with 4 small children, I had very little hope left. After reading the book it gave me the courage and hope to try and alternative the traditional medical treatment I had been receiving over the last five years, that proved to be ineffective. Basically my doctors told me to that all they could do was PROLONG my life, however there was no CURE. Needless to say I was devastated, as my youngest baby is only two. I took the chance in seeting up an appointment with Dean Kraft, and have seen have every month for the last 7 months. My tumors are shrinking!!! My last Cat Scan looked great, and my doctors are baffeled!!!. I am currently under no other treatments, other than Dean's hands on healing. I take his book to bed with me every night and read a chapter as even though I have read it several times, it is my inspiration and continues to give me the hope and courage to fight this awful disease. Dean and Rochelle Kraft are true Angels from above, and I beleive anyone who suffers from a fatal disease MUST read this book, it will change the way you think about the power of beleiving, as it will also change your life. God Bless all, and Thank the dear Lord for Dean Kraft.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mixed bag: Useful & interesting, but also tedious & myopic, December 9, 2004

By 

David Rain "a random reader" (Oklahoma) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Touch of Hope (Paperback)

As a student of hands-on healing techniques, I particularly appreciate the how-to section, in which Dean provides instruction for those of us who are not as "spontaneously gifted" as he in some of the techniques he uses for self-healing and healing others.

Dean's personal journey is also interesting and the stories of his success with people who have no more to hope for from the medical establishment are inspiring.

However, much of the book reads like a long, tiresome self-agrandizement, and he makes it sound as though he is the only true healer among energy and laying-on-of-hands healers, and the rest are simply non-professionals with no real ability.

Brugh Joy, M.D., Barbara Ann Brennan, Rosalyn Bruyere, Janet Mentgen and thousands of certified Healing Touch practitioners, Reiki healers and others work within hospitals and other professional health care settings and have been scientifically documented to have a beneficial effect on patients, contrary to the impression Kraft gives. Many massage therapists do hands-on healing as a part of their practices, and they often get results far beyond what can be explained by the benefits of massage alone.

It is disturbing to hear the many, many anecdotal stories, several of them among these reviews, in which Kraft or his wife appear to turn a deaf ear and a cold heart to desperate people begging for help or hope. It is completely understandable that Kraft cannot see everyone who wants his help, but it would be easy enough for him and his wife to refer patients seeking hands-on healing to a registry of certified healers, even if the referral included a caveat that Kraft does not endorse any other healing technique, but only provides the referral as a possible source of help because he is unable to see the patient.

Kraft's instruction section has given me a technique or two to add to my toolbox, but overall his hand-placement regimen is very similar to basic Reiki and to Healing Touch's chakra balancing routine. His instruction to spend 10 to 20 minutes in relaxation and preparation before touching a patient may well be an important element many healers overlook.

I intend to try Kraft's technique of using the infinity symbol (a figure 8 on its side), which is very similar to what I do by placing my hands on each side of the person's body and gently allowing my energy to ebb and flow back and forth between them, "washing" the body parts with healing energy as it passes through.

Dean's visualization techniques and his strong encouragement to acquire and use medical texts and to ask for a medical history from the patient also are suggestions many healers probably would do well to follow. Some healers seem to believe using intuition is better than simply asking the patient what is already known about the condition. While many healers, Kraft included, develop better intuitions than we had before we started healing, not to look at X-rays and other medical reports, and not to take advantage of the patient's knowledge is to ignore valuable information.

A curious aspect of Kraft's technique is his repeated discussion of how healing can drain him of his energy and leave him depleted. Both Healing Touch and Reiki instruction teaches the practitioner how to use "universal" energy for the healing, letting it flow through the healer without depleting the life force necessary to continue working and even living. Most of us who use that technique feel energized after a healing session, rather than depleted, as Kraft says he does.

Overall, the book is a valuable contribution to the literature of hands-on healing, but despite his assertion that he wants to promote the practice and encourage thousands of people to do what he does, Kraft gives the impression he believes all other healers are charletons and non-professionals, when nothing could be further from the truth.