Buddha in the Waiting Room
My friend and co-author Paul Brenner has a new book out called Buddha in the Waiting Room (Beyond Words Publishing). It is a moving and inspiring autobiographical book filled with stories that reveal the clarity and wisdom of patients and of what they have to teach doctors, and us, about health.
Dr. Brenner says that health has nothing to do with illness. Rather it is the acceptance and appreciation of life that makes someone healthy. The book recounts an incredible journey through the making and unmaking of a medical doctor trained in traditional Western medicine, his discovery and practice of acupuncture and energy healing, and his realization of his inadequacies and gifts.
The cover of the book is filled with praise from people like Deepak Chopra, Larry Dossey, and Christiane Northrup, author of Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom. She writes that "this book will change the way you think about health and healing and will also help you trust yourself and the wonder of your own life more fully." Rachel Naomi Remen, author of Kitchen Table Wisdom, says that this book "will take you through the heart of Medicine and into the heart of Life".
I love the way Paul Brenner has disclosed the difficult parts of his unconventional life path and the beautiful ways that his patients have been his Buddhas and teachers on this quest to understand the nature of health and healing. He writes, "The only thing that health demands is that no one… take us away from love of self, love of others, the experiencing of the experiences of life." The book is dedicated "to my patient-teachers whose lives have been an inspiration to me and who have provided me with a compass to direct me home to a life of health."
No one has been a more important, more inspirational, and more loving friend to me in this life than this wonderful man, Paul Brenner. I hope you, dear reader, will give yourself the wonderful gift of reading this little gem, Buddha in the Waiting Room. Ask for it in your local bookstore or go to amazon.com.