A Journey Into The Human Experience Of Incurable Disease

Incurable disease is a natural phenomenon, inherent to the human condition. This book critically investigates the uniquely human experience of and response to illness and treatment, which affects the body, the mind, and the very core of human existence and identity. Uncertainties regarding the outcomes of laboratory and other investigations that aid in the diagnosis and assessment of disease exacerbate the apprehension inherent to the diagnosis of incurable disease. An excessively scientific approach may disregard the suffering patient. The book begins by analysing the nature, meaning and significance of hope in the context of disease, and goes on to reflect on the language of medicine and the role of emotion, ideology and politics in disease treatment and research. The epilogue reflects on healing as distinct from physical cures. Without hope, there is no future; without healing, no holistic recovery. The final chapters are devoted to the end-of-life period of this journey. This book is a revision, extension, and reconceptualization of the original Afrikaans publication Hoop, Heling en Harmonie: Dink Nuut Oor Siekte en Genesing, winner of the 2021 Andrew Murray Prize for Theological Publications.

Incurable disease is a natural phenomenon, inherent to the human condition. This book critically investigates the uniquely human experience of and response to illness and treatment, which affects the body, the mind, and the very core of human existence and identity. Uncertainties regarding the outcomes of laboratory and other investigations that aid in the diagnosis and assessment of disease exacerbate the apprehension inherent to the diagnosis of incurable disease. An excessively scientific approach may disregard the suffering patient. The book begins by analysing the nature, meaning and significance of hope in the context of disease, and goes on to reflect on the language of medicine and the role of emotion, ideology and politics in disease treatment and research. The epilogue reflects on healing as distinct from physical cures. Without hope, there is no future; without healing, no holistic recovery. The final chapters are devoted to the end-of-life period of this journey. This book is a revision, extension, and reconceptualization of the original Afrikaans publication Hoop, Heling en Harmonie: Dink Nuut Oor Siekte en Genesing, winner of the 2021 Andrew Murray Prize for Theological Publications.

"In this penetrating analysis of the social attitudes toward various major illnesses - chiefly tuberculosis, the scourge of the 19th century, and cancer, the terror of our own - Susan Sontag demonstrates that "illness is not a metaphor" and shows why "the healthiest way of being ill is one purified of metaphoric thinking." Once tuberculosis was identified as a bacterial infection, it ceased to be a symbol of a romantic fading away or of a sensitive or artistic temperament, and it could be treated and cured. Similarly, we must today cease to think of cancer as a mark of doom, a punishment or a sign of a repressed personality, and recognize it for what it is: one disease among many and often receptive to treatment." -- from back cover.

This book systematically investigates successful aging, defined as the ability to actively participate in societal activity. Proceeding from historical insights and a wide frame of reference, it explores the development of contemporary conceptions of aging; the sociological, psychological, and physiological process of aging; age-related discrimination; financial aspects of aging; the apparent contradiction that there are both affluence and increasing poverty in the aging population; inappropriate sexual expression in the aged; the notion of the Third Age; and the quest to extend human lifespan. A thorough literature review, the author’s personal experience as an older person and as a medical doctor spanning five decades, and the author’s knowledge of ethics have contributed to this informative text aimed at a wide audience: healthcare professionals, caregivers, therapists, ethicists, and every person attending to older persons, professionally and privately.

My deepest wish is that reading this book will inspire you to take a look at your human experience and see it for the beautiful, painful blessing that it is. Whether you face illness and pain or you want to build a scalable business, you have the power to do it no matter what life throws at you by doing it your perfectly imperfect way, with your perfectly imperfect body and mind. Flic Manning has lived a life that is anything but traditional. With the odds stacked against her, facing incurable invisible diseases and mental health issues, she has walked the path less traveled to embrace the power she believes we all have inside no matter what complexities we face. In this wellness memoir, Flic takes us through her deeply personal journey, from struggling with pain and illness as a dancer to finding her voice and stepping into her most human, raw, and powerful self as an entrepreneur and wellness advocate. Her story contains nuggets of wellness and mindset wisdom wrapped up in lessons from her journey that are sometimes dark, other times deeply funny, and always inspiring. You will be uplifted, but you will also discover the sustainable wellness steps you can take to make your life a profound and healthy one

As my wife and I sat in that hospital parking lot on that cold grey February morning following my initial ALS diagnoses, she stated, "Our lives have just changed." I agreed. Naturally at first I struggled with the physical and psychological realization of my incurable disease. I captured my personal reflections regarding how I was going to face my new life reality. I wrote about my sadness and my fears. I also wrote about my values and priorities. I became aware of how significant we are to each other. I became aware that care providers are usually the forgotten group during such transitions. The world took on a new brilliance. I concluded that my disease offered me a gift. The gift of knowing when and how I was going to die. I found myself retrieving my personal reflections during challenging times. I found them helpful even comforting as I "just kept going." I called them "Chapters" as they represented sequential events and observations. Indeed our lives did change on that cold February morning. Our lives changed for the better. This disease has made me a better person. It has reminded me that life is a gift as well as a journey with those who are important to us. Read on and confirm and/or rediscover the significance and beauty of your personal journey regardless of your challenges - for we all are disabled in some way or another and we will all die. -Matthew Butner

**THE MILLION COPY BESTSELLER** 'Rattling. Heartbreaking. Beautiful,' Atul Gawande, bestselling author of Being Mortal What makes life worth living in the face of death? At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade's training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, the next he was a patient struggling to live. When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi's transformation from a medical student asking what makes a virtuous and meaningful life into a neurosurgeon working in the core of human identity - the brain - and finally into a patient and a new father. Paul Kalanithi died while working on this profoundly moving book, yet his words live on as a guide to us all. When Breath Becomes Air is a life-affirming reflection on facing our mortality and on the relationship between doctor and patient, from a gifted writer who became both. 'A vital book about dying. Awe-inspiring and exquisite. Obligatory reading for the living' Nigella Lawson

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The bestselling author of Everything Happens for a Reason (And Other Lies I’ve Loved) asks, how do you move forward with a life you didn’t choose? “Kate Bowler is the only one we can trust to tell us the truth.”—Glennon Doyle, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Untamed It’s hard to give up on the feeling that the life you really want is just out of reach. A beach body by summer. A trip to Disneyland around the corner. A promotion on the horizon. Everyone wants to believe that they are headed toward good, better, best. But what happens when the life you hoped for is put on hold indefinitely? Kate Bowler believed that life was a series of unlimited choices, until she discovered, at age thirty-five, that her body was wracked with cancer. In No Cure for Being Human, she searches for a way forward as she mines the wisdom (and absurdity) of today’s “best life now” advice industry, which insists on exhausting positivity and on trying to convince us that we can out-eat, out-learn, and out-perform our humanness. We are, she finds, as fragile as the day we were born. With dry wit and unflinching honesty, Kate Bowler grapples with her diagnosis, her ambition, and her faith as she tries to come to terms with her limitations in a culture that says anything is possible. She finds that we need one another if we’re going to tell the truth: Life is beautiful and terrible, full of hope and despair and everything in between—and there’s no cure for being human.

"Perhaps neither you nor your loved ones have faced a terrible disease. But we all from time to time must face overwhelming life events - perhaps a divorce, a death, a romantic breakup - something that drives us to call on resources beyond ourselves. "Lifeline" interweaves the story of the author's battle against amyloidosis with nuggets of wisdom about our spiritual resources and our ability to invoke them when we are in need. What is fascinating about Chidi's faith is its inclusiveness: from Christianity, to Light Healing, to energy fields, psychics, reiki, yoga and beyond! She addresses our purpose on earth - our lives being essentially a spiritual journey we must recognize and celebrate, even in its trials. We are ENERGY, she maintains (and of course science has proven this) - and this energy can be positive, negative or even toxic". Guy Larmon "It can't be easy for an author to be so transparent, I know as I am an author as well, but what I do know is this ... authors are willing to be vulnerable in an effort to help their readers. Chidi has invested the time, energy and money to produce an authentic account of her life experiences with the intention to help you live a better life and I believe as you go through each chapter you will be reevaluating your own life, and quite likely, see the precious gift that each day brings with it." Peggy McColl, New York Times Best Selling Author of Your Destiny Switch This is a story of the courageous healing of a terminal and incurable illness through the workings of divine faith. Lifeline offers many detailed incredible revelations to transform life and give hope to the sick. Through my awesome experience, I realized that many people suffering from debilitating terminal and incurable diseases live in fear. Lifeline is a sincere desire to promote the value of maintaining a strong core even in the face of looming death. It's a true story that portrays a deep passion to bring emphasis to the importance of self-advocacy. Self advocacy starts with being focused and alert enough to recognize and catch the lifelines usually thrown to us but we often miss to catch in life. "Lifeline is written from the heart. Chidi Asika-Enahoro writes as if the reader is a personal friend with whom she is sharing fully not only her journey through her illness, but all the thoughts she went through in the process. Chidi's love and caring for her family and her belief in and love of God shines throughout her story. This book is a must read as it will help all of us on our journey through life." Philena Bruce, Palmist, Author and Healer

Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman is widely recognized as a leader in bringing spiritual innovation into modern Jewish life and worship. Now, drawing on a lifetime of study, he explores the Jewish way of being in the world-the Jewish relationship to God and to questions of human purpose that lie just below the surface of biblical and rabbinic literature.