Covenants: Inspiring the Soul of Healing

by Glenna Crooks

Health care today is the source of increasingly contentious and escalating debates—patients, physicians and health care companies alike are struggling to prevail in chaotic times. There is no doubt that health care is ailing. If health care is to be healed, everyone involved in the healing enterprises of the day—the healers themselves, patients and communities—must enter into new and reinvigorated relationships. Inspiring the Soul of Healing offers just such a possibility. It looks back at the origins of healing and health care in order to look forward to its potential. It suggests that America’s health-care woes may be solved by reinvigorating ancient notions of covenant healing with modern-day collaboration among healers, patients and communities. Unlike far too many health reform proposals, it does not tinker at the margins. Instead, it radically challenges the relationships that are foundations of health care today. It demonstrates how to end the debate and begin a dialogue to create new, positive answers in healing. It is practical, and will stimulate a creative, new public discussion . . . It is for everyone involved in caring for others, and for everyone receiving that care. It is intended to re-wire the hard-wired conflicts between people and their doctors, and among communities. It disarms the hair-triggered willingness to shoot at the enemy on the other side of whatever table we share. It shows us in America how to embrace the world in healing ventures that will bring peace and prosperity to this post 9-11 era. It heads right to the heart of the matter, to return a heart to all our healing ventures and transform the chaos of our current health delivery system into a caring and compassionate system of healing.

Paperback

Published October 1, 2002

Reviews

[Tiina Lee]

This book was given to me for free on one of my rotations at the local hospital. I am not quite sure what to think of it yet.