Healing Connection: Story of Physicians Search for Link Between Faith & Hea

By Gregg Lewis and Harold G. Koenig

Book Overview

"It is inspiring to see a physician who is unafraid to stand up for his religious beliefs and who understands how those beliefs can resonate with good science." --Larry Dossey, MD, author of Reinventing Medicine and Healing Words

The name Harold G. Koenig is well known in the fast-growing field of spirituality and health. Founder and director of the widely respected Duke University Center for Theology, Spirituality, and Health, Dr. Koenig is recognized worldwide for his groundbreaking work in medical science and religious faith. In this book--now available in paperback--he shares his remarkable personal story and shows how personal trials became the catalyst for his pioneering research.

In part one, he describes his turbulent youth: growing up on a California vineyard, college days of experimentation during the 1970s, adventures as a student researcher in Africa with Jane Goodall, an emotional breakdown, expulsion from medical school for disruptive behavior, battling mental illness as a street person in San Francisco. He refers to his ongoing battle with a chronic and debilitating physical disease in terms of the insights it gives him for his work, and he recounts the striking realization of God's call, the people and events that helped him refine a vision into a mission, and the subsequent professional opposition that resided alongside his success.

Part two draws on the real-life examples of former patients and summarizes Koenig's most important findings concerning the impact of Christian faith on mental and physical health, encapsulated by the statement: religious faith and practice are connected to mental and physical health.

In part three he challenges individuals and the American church to consider the implications of the research and to develop constructive ways of implementing the healing connection that can be found in faith.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1932031650
• ISBN13: 9781932031652
• Release Date: May 2004
• Publisher: Templeton Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

How his own life trials become a catalyst for his pioneering research

Featuring informative remarks by John M. Templeton Jr., The Healing Connection is the personal story of Dr. Harold Koenig (founder and directory of the Duke University Center for the Study of Religion/Spirituality and Health) in which he shares the memorable true story of just how his own life trials become a catalyst for his pioneering research in the area of spirituality and health which is quite literarily changing the core practice of medicine. In this complete and unabridged audiobook edition (ably narrated by John Matthew and Lisa Friedman), The Healing Connection describes Dr. Koenig's on-going battle with a chronic debilitating physical disease and how it provided keen insights with respect to his professional work and research as a medical doctor. Also related are pertinent observations on the impact of religion upon mental and physical health, and challenges for individuals and churches to utilize the benefits of faith in the mental and physical healing processes of the human mind and body. Especially recommended for Medical School and community library "Spirituality & Health" reference collections, 6 CDs for a total running time of 6 hours, 13 minutes.

Refreshingly honest

Dr. Harold Koenig is a professor of medicine and psychiatry at Duke Unversity Medical School. He writes a candid account of his spiritual journey that motivates his research interests in religion and health. Evangelical Chrisitans will especially appreciate the book and its honesty.

An easy read and encouraging presentation!

It is pleasantly refreshing to find a medical doctor and scientist willing to tell their life story with such vulnerability and humility. Disagreeing with the editorial review mentioned earlier that Koenig, "succumbs too often into self-congratulatory mentions of his many achievements," I rather think that Dr. Koenig presents his story honestly as part of his own struggle to realize his purpose in life. The Healing Connection by Koenig is an excellent book for the lay person interested in the relationship between faith and health. I would strongly reccommend this book!

Common Sense for an Uncommon Subject

I just finished reading "The Healing Connection" by Dr. Koenig. Being a non-scientist and a Christian, I was pleased to find the writing clear, honest, mostly non-technical, and a real page-turner. Dr. Koenig tells his life story and fuses sound scientific research data with common sense and heartfelt Christian convictions. An especially good section is the last 40 pages, where we see exactly what the decades of research means and what it holds for the future of healthcare in the U.S. I recommend the book to people who have not made the "connection" between health and religious faith, or who have read in this area and want a more personal point of view.