Compassionate Laughter: Jest for Your Health! (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Wooten, a nurse since 1969, discovered she could cope better with the stresses of critical care, hospice, and home health nursing by using her sense of humor. So she worked on clowning skills and created her own wacky characters, Nancy Nurse and her whimsical counterpart, Nurse Kindheart, to educate professional and nonprofessional caregivers about the healing power of humor. She now lectures, consults, and develops therapeutic humor programs for health-care professionals. Her book decries the "dearth of mirth" in many hospitals and extols the power of playfulness and humor's capacity to relieve tension, which Wooten illustrates with examples of POWs and the terminally ill meeting tragedy, death, and disaster with laughter. Wooten describes humor's various uses; explores the differences among hoping, coping, and gallows styles of humor; and holistically connects humor to the interrelationship of mind, body, and spirit. Although Wooten aims her book primarily at health-care professionals, it deserves a larger audience. Whitney Scott

Review

Compassionate Laughter is the ultimate resource for people wishing to understand the health benefits of laughter. Besides presenting an accurate description of the scientitic research, Wooen provides a comprehensive glossary and extensive literature base. a must for those serious about laughter! -- Dr. Lee Berk - Assistant Professor Loma Linda University School of Medicine

Compassionate Laughter: Jest For Your Health is an essential book on healing explaining the effects of psychological feelings of well-being on the immune system. Patty Wooten explains the purpose of clowns and jesters throughout history, then provides tips for caregivers (at home and in hospital settings) on how to keep a sense of humor while caring for others. Peppered with hilarious anecdotes and conversations with Wooten's clown characters, Nancy Nurse and Nurse Kindheart, Compassionate Laughter will delight the reader who wants to learn, laugh, and heal! Readers will learn how to use laughter as medicine for body, mind and spirit; facilitate recovery from illness through laughter, enhance their sense of humor as a caregiver, and develop humor programs with the comprehensive resource guide. Compassionate Laughter is a welcome addition to every hospital, medical center, and community library collection. -- Midwest Book Review

Patty Wooten has illuminated the crucial role of a light heart in healing. The world of medicine owes her a great debt. -- Larry Dossey MD - author Healing Words

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Product Details

• Paperback: 204 pages
• Publisher: Barbour Publishing (August 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1881394441
• ISBN-13: 978-1881394440
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #752,074 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The only thing better is attending one of her workshops, March 27, 1999

By	D. Wooten (Virginia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For those who have suspected (or are convinced) that doctors don't know everything about getting and staying well, Patty Wooten provides the cure. Using her fine workshop as the foundation of this book, she brings her clown personas, Nancy Nurse and Nurse Kindheart, to life on the printed page. They guide you through the connection between humor and health in a convincing way that has certainly changed my life. If you can't meet Nancy Nurse in person...buy this book!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good entry point for beginners. , July 2, 2006

By	Glenda White "creativity coach" (Berea,KY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Compassionate Laughter: Jest for Your Health (2nd edition) (Paperback)

This is a good basic text for care providers who are just entering the field of patient centered needs work. It is a bit tedious if you have been doing the work for a long time, but still has useful reminders...a bit "one size fits all", which I think is part of the problem of this approach if not carefully
monitored and mentored for ways to make things tailored to the specific needs of the individual.