Robert A. Anderson’s Inspirational Memoir

review by Jule Klotter

, by Robert A. Anderson, MD

Lorian Press, 2204 E. Grand Ave. Everett, Washington 98201

© 2011; softbound; 168 pp.; $ 18.95.

Stories of Healing – A Family Doctor’s Journal is Robert A. Anderson’s memoir about patients who affected the way he practiced medicine. This is a book of heart, wisdom and humility by a family physician, now retired, who loved his work. In each short chapter, Dr. Anderson recounts stories about patients who helped him grow from a conventional doctor to a physician who became open to alternatives. He came to respect the importance of nutrients and proper nutrition and the effects of environmental exposures. He also developed a strong appreciation for the roles of mind and emotions in health and illness. Dr. Anderson is founding president of the American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine (1996). Long-term Townsend Letter readers will remember his mind-body research column “Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology Review and Commentary,” published from 1996 to 2010.

In his memoir, Dr. Anderson recounts cases in which nutrient supplementation was instrumental in healing numerous conditions, including gingivosis, osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes, skin conditions, shingles, and cardiovascular disease. He came to understand “that many damaged tissues in the body are in a state of flux and that adequate nutrients can push the equation toward reversal of disease.” Dr. Anderson first became aware of the healing power of nutrients when a 40-year-old patient with atrial fibrillation responded to magnesium administered by another doctor. Conventional treatment, prescribed by Dr. Anderson, had failed to help the man; but a slow intravenous injection of magnesium (2 grams) restored his heartbeat to normal within 15 minutes. That experience convinced Dr. Anderson to order magnesium for all of his patients who showed signs of a heart attack upon hospital admission. Although the magnesium did not always help, Dr. Anderson says, “Survival of my heart attack patients was far above average.” Magnesium’s pronounced effect on heart rhythm also propelled Dr. Anderson to study nutrition.

Sometimes, the key to healing is to remove specific foods from the diet. Dr. Anderson tells the story of a 32-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis who was “slowly and inexorably getting worse” despite medication. The woman had a childhood history of cow’s milk allergy; and, “on a hunch,” Dr. Anderson asked her to avoid all foods that contained cow’s milk for 14 days. By day 11, the woman was free of pain and joint swelling. A challenge test of three glasses of milk per day saw a resurgence of symptoms on day 4, convincing her to maintain a dairy-free diet. “Joan’s experience confirmed for me what physicians espousing different medical principles (Clinical Ecologists) have long taught – that any organ of the body can be the target for an allergic or sensitivity reaction,” he writes. “… I also learned again that the human body often manifests an amazing capacity for self-healing. In her case, the rheumatoid arthritis joint changes reversed themselves.”

Dr. Anderson’s experiences with patients pushed him to look beyond his conventional medicine training. A young woman who developed thrombophlebitis after a kitchen remodel with off-gassing particle board highlighted the effects of environmental chemicals. A woman with chronic diarrhea showed him that releasing intense feelings can resolve functional problems. With other patients, he learned about the power of imagination to heal. Each patient who pushed him beyond the comfort zone of his previous training sent him on a journey to see if known science could support the result he observed.

“Healing presents itself with many faces. There is no one road, no right or wrong, sometimes not even any conventional logic at all,” Dr. Anderson writes. “It behooves us all to pay attention, make observations, wrestle with making sense of them, and share them with those ready to listen.” Stories of Healing inspires readers to learn from their experiences. I highly recommend it to practitioners and patients alike.

QUOTE: “I trust these stories from my journal will stimulate you to think for yourself, make your own observations, and find what works.”

QUOTE: “Imagination, especially evoked when one is in the relaxed state of mind, is a largely untapped resource in the matrix of healing and maintaining health.”