Customer Reviews

A Touch of Hope

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This is the amazing and true adventures of the life of a REAL Hands on Healer, Dean Kraft. This is not a fiction story. This book is extraordinary! You must keep reminding yourself that this is not the X-Files, but it is all real and has been documented. Each chapter will keep you riveted as you discover what healing powers Dean Kraft posses. Dean Kraft has killed cancer cells in the lab & cured thousands of people, including some dying from ALS, (which has no known cure). The book is filled with this man's compassion and love for people. The book describes his frustrations and his drive to overcome his doubters. After all these fantastic true stories, Dean set aside a portion of the book like a "do-it-yourself" guide. He reveals his step by step instructions and by use of illustrations gives you a clear understanding that you can learn to help yourself and others with his own healing techniques. This book will blow you away,it's a must read!

I read the book and it gave me a great deal of hope for my son who was dying of cancer. Unfortunately, the book does not portray the current practices of Dean Kraft. In his book he claims to help the person with as many visits needed . In reality he works only 2 weekends a month, with a price of 750.00 cash only. It is nearly impossible to get a session with him. For my son who needed more attention than they could schedule, proved to be of little help and has since passed away Jan.20,.he was only 7 years old. I pleaded with Rochelle kraft many times that my sons illness was serious, and that he needed more visits. All she could coldly say was" there are NO exceptions, and that I would have to wait until there was an available time slot". So for the person seeking Dean Kraft's help keep in mind that they don't care for your situation. They care only for the large amounts of money that they make working only 2 weekends a month.

I had high "hopes" for this book but right from the start there were obvious fabrications in Kraft's autobiographical story. Having lived in Brooklyn I very quickly noticed references to non-existent places such as a "tunnel running from the Prospect Expressway to Ocean Parkway." I overlooked these as possible artistic license. But when Kraft tells the story of how, in 1973, his friend Buddy tries to get him to profit from the "talking car" by going to Atlantic City to "hit the jackpot" I drew the line. Kraft says he "knew intuitively" that his gift should not be used in such a manner. Well, Mr. Clairvoyant, your spirits should have told you that casino gambling didn't even exist in Atlantic City until 1979! What a disappointment!

This notice is for all of those who have been unsuccessful in trying to reach Energy Healer Dean Kraft, or for those people now seeking the most documented Energy Healer of our time.

After writing 2 books with his wife, Rochelle - "Portrait of a Psychic Healer" in 1981 and then "A Touch of Hope" in 1998 (both published by Putnam), Dean was deluged with people seeking his help. Then in October 1999, NBC-TV aired a world premiere movie based on a part of his life and second book, also entitled "A Touch of Hope", and demands for his help reached astronomical proportions.

After 35 years of helping the majority of the people that the doctors had given up on, Dean has become world-renown as the most medically and scientifically documented healer there is - and this is due to his amaziang success rate and his willingness to subject himself to paranormal, medical and healing research. He subjected himself to laboratories around the country, killing cancer cells in test tubes, effecting electrostatic and electromagnetic fields at will, lowering rodent's blood pressure and effecting plant growth - his watered plants grew slower, but just as healthy as the control plants - a Fountain of Youth Effect?

Dean Kraft is the only laying-on-of-hands healer (non-religious) that has ever cured ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) and has helped many, many others with this deadly disease to all varying degrees. In addition to working with this terminal illness, Dean also works with many types of cancers that medical science has given up on. Strongly believing in medical science, he is not in conflict with the doctors, but works as an adjunct along side the physicians in a complementive manner.

There are never any promises or guarantees that he can help - but instead of giving up when the doctors say "there's nothing more that we can do", there IS another step that people can take in order to try and help themselves with their health problems.... back problems, herniated disks, arthritis, eye and ear disorders as well as sports injuries are among the other problems that doctors can only help to a certain degree, and Dean has worked with successfully. Over the years, hundreds of doctors have recommended their ill patients to Dean.

For the last 10 years, Dean Kraft has removed himself from the public's eye and has been involved in healing research and writing. But as the television movie airs frequently, as well as "Unexplained Mysteries" having aired again recently, it's come to his attention that many people on the Internet are seeking his help, and are looking for a way to contact him.

Presently, Dean and Rochelle are working with a great website designer and VERY SOON they will be COMING OUT WITH A UNIQUE WEBSITE that will be extremely informative and innovative - http://www.deankrafthealer.com.

Dean Kraft sincerely appreciates your continued interest in him. For further information, you can contact The Krafts via their answering service: 212. 358. 3677 (New York City, USA)

Thank You.

I did not read this book, however, I did recently watch the movie "A Touch of Hope" Normally, I don't watch movies like this, but I saw the name Dean Kraft, and my mind was flooded with memories of my teenage years. I grew up in Kansas, and at age 16 contracted shingles in my left eye. I was in severe pain, and losing my vision in one eye. It was also very unattractive. My mother read an article in the newspaper about Dean Kraft, and how he had been healing people. I was very young and didn't know how to get in touch with him, but I did get his phone number. I knew that our family didn't have the money to take me to him, so I didn't call. I have always believed that it was a mistake to give up like I did In my heart, I felt that he could have helped me. Now, at age 50, I have suffered life long misery after losing my eye at age 25. I know it is too late for him to help me now. I just know that after not hearing about him for 34 years, and seeing that movie today...he's the real thing. So, he charges a fee. Not near as much as doctors charge. I'm sure this is very draining on him and has surely kept him from pursuing other careers. A man has to make a living. If you are debating? I say...take the chance. I wish I had.

Dean Kraft is a one of a kind healer. He is truly gifted. This book is a must read for those who are unable to fathom the gift this healer has. His search for truth and his own unanswered questions about how his magnetic power in his hands and body came about is fasciating. Follow with him his road of discovery and doubts, but mainly follow his long ihistory of healing the unhealble. Dean Kraft does not use any religious schools to bring about his energy. It's based on touch, and touch alone. A Touch of Hope is exactly that, he brings hope to the hopeless and cures 80% of those he touches He welcomes scientific experiments and doubting Thomas's. The books screams out to you to want to meet him and talk to him, let alone send anyone you might know who is suffering to him for help. Never before have I read a more compelling and heartwarming account of love and giving by one human being. Mr. Kraft has spent more than half his life in the service of healing others, many times at risk to himself. Through reading his book, I had occasion to meet with Dean and Rochelle Kraft. They are devoted not only to one another but to healing and finding answers so that others might be able to heal. Mr. Kraft is sure that there are others out there who do have his ability and don't know it. Throuth this book, I've seen some of his patience, and saw firsthand their recovery. One an ALS patient that was given a death sentence upon diagnosis. My husband. We now know he will not die, of ALS. Even non belivers will walk away from his book, questioning their own disbelief.

For those who feel uncomfortable in the face of the new and inexplicable, this book will provide an ample opportunity for upset, ranting and raving. For those who love the fresh breeze blowing through the doorway into a new paradigm, this book will gently and persistently blow your mind. Try on a spirit world that found the only way to get his attention was by controlling the clicks from an electric car window. How's that for going outside the nine dots? Dean Kraft writes large across our world, "We are infinitely more than we know and even than we can imagine."