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The Magic Feather Effect: The Science of Alternative Medicine and the Surprising Power of Belief
The acclaimed author of Pandora’s Lunchbox and former New York Times reporter takes an enlightening, engaging deep dive into the world of alternative medicine and the surprising science that explains why it may work.
We all know someone who has had a seemingly miraculous cure from an alternative form of a friend whose chronic back pain vanished after sessions with an acupuncturist or chiropractor; a relative with digestive issues who recovered with herbal remedies; a colleague whose autoimmune disorder went into sudden inexplicable remission thanks to an energy healer or healing retreat.
The tales are far too common to be complete fabrications, yet too anecdotal and outside the medical mainstream to be taken seriously scientifically. How do we explain them and the growing popularity of alternative medicine more generally? Is there a biological basis for practices like acupuncture, tai chi, chiropractic, and energy healing? Who are the faithful patients and practitioners who tell these stories and speak of such mystical-seeming concepts as qi, chakras, and meridians in the first place?
In The Magic Feather Effect , author and journalist Melanie Warner attempts to answer these questions, taking us on a vivid, fascinating journey through the world of alternative medicine. Crossing continents and sides of the debate, visiting prestigious research clinics and ordinary people’s homes, she investigates the scientific underpinning for the purportedly magical results of these practices and reveals not only the medical power of beliefs and placebo effects, but also the range, limits, and uses of the surprising system of self-healing that resides inside us.
Equal parts helpful, illuminating, and compelling, The Magic Feather Effect is a brilliant exploration of some of the world’s most popular health treatments, the people who seek them, the scientists who study them, and the reasons they may work.
We all know someone who has had a seemingly miraculous cure from an alternative form of a friend whose chronic back pain vanished after sessions with an acupuncturist or chiropractor; a relative with digestive issues who recovered with herbal remedies; a colleague whose autoimmune disorder went into sudden inexplicable remission thanks to an energy healer or healing retreat.
The tales are far too common to be complete fabrications, yet too anecdotal and outside the medical mainstream to be taken seriously scientifically. How do we explain them and the growing popularity of alternative medicine more generally? Is there a biological basis for practices like acupuncture, tai chi, chiropractic, and energy healing? Who are the faithful patients and practitioners who tell these stories and speak of such mystical-seeming concepts as qi, chakras, and meridians in the first place?
In The Magic Feather Effect , author and journalist Melanie Warner attempts to answer these questions, taking us on a vivid, fascinating journey through the world of alternative medicine. Crossing continents and sides of the debate, visiting prestigious research clinics and ordinary people’s homes, she investigates the scientific underpinning for the purportedly magical results of these practices and reveals not only the medical power of beliefs and placebo effects, but also the range, limits, and uses of the surprising system of self-healing that resides inside us.
Equal parts helpful, illuminating, and compelling, The Magic Feather Effect is a brilliant exploration of some of the world’s most popular health treatments, the people who seek them, the scientists who study them, and the reasons they may work.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 22, 2019
33 people are currently reading
629 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
November 19, 2021
Thanks to NetGalley for a Kindle ARC of
The Magic Feather Effect: The Science of Alternative Medicine and the Surprising Power of Belief.
This was a fascinating and informative look at alternative therapies that include acupuncture and tai chi and how these less traditional methods of healing promote therapeutic benefits and positive mental health.
The author is honest about her skepticism; she's pro-science all the way, but she's open to the possibilities of alternative methods.
She meets patients who have benefited from these alternative therapies and medical doctors who are pushing to include such therapies alongside traditional medicine.
She meets healers who can see and mold 'healing energies;' she speaks with survivors of traumatic injuries who have healed themselves using non-traditional methods and she even journeys to the religious shrine of Lourdes and speaks to those who have been healed by the curative waters.
In the end, the author realizes traditional doctors can learn from alternative therapy, to listen to their patients' concerns, to be more patient and kind.
She is quick to point out that the kindness alternative therapists provide may also provide influential healing effects that are difficult to measure but no less important.
I am a proponent of proven alternative therapies like acupuncture and tai chi and just like the book states, positive mind-body connection and behavior conditioning is just as powerful in healing and well-being; in many ways, more so than just drugs and physical therapy alone.
It is vital to point out that most of these therapies have helped those suffering from chronic pain, not with terminal or progressive illnesses like cancer.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the mind-body connection, not just for chronic ills but to better understand the importance of taking care of one's mental and emotional health.
You don't need to feel pain to be in pain.
This was a fascinating and informative look at alternative therapies that include acupuncture and tai chi and how these less traditional methods of healing promote therapeutic benefits and positive mental health.
The author is honest about her skepticism; she's pro-science all the way, but she's open to the possibilities of alternative methods.
She meets patients who have benefited from these alternative therapies and medical doctors who are pushing to include such therapies alongside traditional medicine.
She meets healers who can see and mold 'healing energies;' she speaks with survivors of traumatic injuries who have healed themselves using non-traditional methods and she even journeys to the religious shrine of Lourdes and speaks to those who have been healed by the curative waters.
In the end, the author realizes traditional doctors can learn from alternative therapy, to listen to their patients' concerns, to be more patient and kind.
She is quick to point out that the kindness alternative therapists provide may also provide influential healing effects that are difficult to measure but no less important.
I am a proponent of proven alternative therapies like acupuncture and tai chi and just like the book states, positive mind-body connection and behavior conditioning is just as powerful in healing and well-being; in many ways, more so than just drugs and physical therapy alone.
It is vital to point out that most of these therapies have helped those suffering from chronic pain, not with terminal or progressive illnesses like cancer.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the mind-body connection, not just for chronic ills but to better understand the importance of taking care of one's mental and emotional health.
You don't need to feel pain to be in pain.
March 4, 2019
I feel really conflicted about this book. In my mind it was equal part exploration and equal part memoir- not in the sense that it was about the author’s story, but in the sense that throughout the book her inner conflict regarding the topic was visceral and it felt as much about the topic as it did about her.
I think the premise that anything that’s not measurable can be attributed to the power of the psyche is misguided and arrogant. I realize this wasn’t explicitly stated, but seemed to be the subtext. To believe that the human mind has the capacity to fully grasp all the things that the universe is made of via science seems like a fallacy and a narrow perspective. I could really feel the author grappling with her beliefs, which I appreciated, as I grapple with my own. She seems to be pretty staunchly scientifically minded and in moments where she might consider something more mystical, she immediately comes back with commentary about science as if her foray into mysticism was something to be ashamed of and something to refute. I could feel her inner conflict and reactivity as much as I could hear the stories she was relaying.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading about her explorations of energy medicine and the seemingly miraculous healing. Her writing style and her stories pulled me in but it did feel a bit like a roller coaster.
Point. Counterpoint.
...which I suppose is the point of this type of exploration but there was something about the tone that was offputting and defensive. I worked at a teaching hospital for nearly a decade and research was part of my work. I’m also a person living with a traumatic brain injury who has found more relief from alternative medicine than I have from conventional medicine, despite my cynicism and skepticism.
I think there is more benefit from these less conventional treatments than we are currently able to measure. Overall, I am glad that I read this book, but I can’t say that I liked it.
I think the premise that anything that’s not measurable can be attributed to the power of the psyche is misguided and arrogant. I realize this wasn’t explicitly stated, but seemed to be the subtext. To believe that the human mind has the capacity to fully grasp all the things that the universe is made of via science seems like a fallacy and a narrow perspective. I could really feel the author grappling with her beliefs, which I appreciated, as I grapple with my own. She seems to be pretty staunchly scientifically minded and in moments where she might consider something more mystical, she immediately comes back with commentary about science as if her foray into mysticism was something to be ashamed of and something to refute. I could feel her inner conflict and reactivity as much as I could hear the stories she was relaying.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading about her explorations of energy medicine and the seemingly miraculous healing. Her writing style and her stories pulled me in but it did feel a bit like a roller coaster.
Point. Counterpoint.
...which I suppose is the point of this type of exploration but there was something about the tone that was offputting and defensive. I worked at a teaching hospital for nearly a decade and research was part of my work. I’m also a person living with a traumatic brain injury who has found more relief from alternative medicine than I have from conventional medicine, despite my cynicism and skepticism.
I think there is more benefit from these less conventional treatments than we are currently able to measure. Overall, I am glad that I read this book, but I can’t say that I liked it.
July 26, 2023
Melanie Warner looks at why alternative medicine works (or doesn't) and the power of placebo in The Magic Feather Effect. Everyone has heard a story of someone who was miraculously cured by acupuncture or energy healing, but is that really the case? And is there science to back up alternative medicine? I was surprised to learn that there are tons of scientists out there trying to study whether alternative medicine is beneficial and also studying the power of the placebo effect. One thing I found particularly interesting is that the placebo effect is more powerful and has a longer lasting effect for some ailments over others - it's not particularly helpful with things like cancer or diabetes, but can greatly benefit things like fibromyalgia or chronic pain. Warner does a great job of really looking into several common alternative medicines/treatments and finds people along the way who claim that particular treatment is what cured them. I definitely think our medical system/industry is not always right and that people often seek out alternative treatments when they feel the medical establishment has failed them or harmed them. And after reading this book, seeking out alternative treatments obviously work for lots of people.
Definitely an interesting book. I picked this one up because I had read Warner's previous book, Pandora's Lunchbox, about processed food. When I saw that she had this one it sounded interesting too so I picked it up and it was definitely worth reading.
Some quotes I liked:
"...Arthur Kleinman, a noted Harvard psychiatrist and medical anthropologist who, in a series of articles and books starting in the late seventies, drew a distinction between the treatment of illness and disease. People often use these terms indistinguishably, as I've done to this point, but in Kleinman's view, disease is the objective pathology of things you can measure - cancer cells, inflammatory markers in the blood, arterial blocks, blood sugar levels, reduced lung capacity. Such defects, he says, are the primary, if not exclusive, focus of most doctors, who seek to address them with drugs, surgery, the implantation of tiny machines, and the wholesale replacement of organs, sometimes with miraculous results. Disease, Kleinman writes, 'deals with the patient as a machine.' Illness, on the other hand, is the lived experience of symptoms, 'the monitoring of respiratory wheezes, abdominal cramps, stuffed sinuses or painful joints,' and the personal and emotional meaning we attach to such things. It is also the difficulty these symptoms create in our lives and the failure, frustration, anger, demoralization, and depression they breed." (p. 131)
"Since embarking on this journey, I've learned that this is what alternative medicine does for people. By making us feel supported, by summoning the power of expectations and belief, by relaxing our bodies and reducing stress, mind-body therapies move molecules in our brains in a way that can reduce the ills we feel in our bodies. They shift those symptoms for which brain activity plays a significant role - pain, panic attacks, fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea, psychosomatic neurological problems, and other unexplained symptoms - even though we're far from a complete scientific understanding of how exactly they do all this. These therapies can also calm, empower, and inspire us, giving us more resilience than we imagine we have, and leading us down paths we wouldn't otherwise find. They do things that standard medicine doesn't often pay enough attention to or quite know how to handle." (p. 229)
Definitely an interesting book. I picked this one up because I had read Warner's previous book, Pandora's Lunchbox, about processed food. When I saw that she had this one it sounded interesting too so I picked it up and it was definitely worth reading.
Some quotes I liked:
"...Arthur Kleinman, a noted Harvard psychiatrist and medical anthropologist who, in a series of articles and books starting in the late seventies, drew a distinction between the treatment of illness and disease. People often use these terms indistinguishably, as I've done to this point, but in Kleinman's view, disease is the objective pathology of things you can measure - cancer cells, inflammatory markers in the blood, arterial blocks, blood sugar levels, reduced lung capacity. Such defects, he says, are the primary, if not exclusive, focus of most doctors, who seek to address them with drugs, surgery, the implantation of tiny machines, and the wholesale replacement of organs, sometimes with miraculous results. Disease, Kleinman writes, 'deals with the patient as a machine.' Illness, on the other hand, is the lived experience of symptoms, 'the monitoring of respiratory wheezes, abdominal cramps, stuffed sinuses or painful joints,' and the personal and emotional meaning we attach to such things. It is also the difficulty these symptoms create in our lives and the failure, frustration, anger, demoralization, and depression they breed." (p. 131)
"Since embarking on this journey, I've learned that this is what alternative medicine does for people. By making us feel supported, by summoning the power of expectations and belief, by relaxing our bodies and reducing stress, mind-body therapies move molecules in our brains in a way that can reduce the ills we feel in our bodies. They shift those symptoms for which brain activity plays a significant role - pain, panic attacks, fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea, psychosomatic neurological problems, and other unexplained symptoms - even though we're far from a complete scientific understanding of how exactly they do all this. These therapies can also calm, empower, and inspire us, giving us more resilience than we imagine we have, and leading us down paths we wouldn't otherwise find. They do things that standard medicine doesn't often pay enough attention to or quite know how to handle." (p. 229)
March 7, 2019
It always feels too good to be true when a book crosses your radar that just happens to be about a subject you're currently interested in. I went into this book with no expectations and was pleasantly surprised to find a nuanced and fair examination of alternative medicine and the ways in which it crosses paths with mental health, chronic pain, and traditional medicine.
This book strikes a healthy balance between acknowledging that alternative medicine offers legitimate benefits to patients without going off the rails into the unscientific and acknowledging that traditional medical doctors frequently lack the interpersonal skills that are critical to the healing process, even though their methods have the most scientific backing. Warner really did her research and I was surprised I didn't really find myself objecting to any of her findings. A thought-provoking book.
This book strikes a healthy balance between acknowledging that alternative medicine offers legitimate benefits to patients without going off the rails into the unscientific and acknowledging that traditional medical doctors frequently lack the interpersonal skills that are critical to the healing process, even though their methods have the most scientific backing. Warner really did her research and I was surprised I didn't really find myself objecting to any of her findings. A thought-provoking book.
January 21, 2019
Alternative medicine has always interested me. I believe doctors are too quick to prescribe drugs (and then more drugs to counteract the side effects of those drugs) rather than suggesting lifestyle changes and less invasive, holistic treatments to their patients. This book discusses several alternative medicine methods and how they developed, including stories from practitioners and patients. While I don't personally believe in all of the methods covered here, I do believe positive effects can come from alternative medicine, even if those are at times a result of placebo effect.
Thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.
December 2, 2022
I like the author's perspective as she looks for the evidence of each alternative healing practice, talking with experts in each area and trying things out for herself.
I feel like I do have a new understanding of why so many alternative treatments do tend to work, and yet not be effective in lab tests. Believe and trust in a practitioner, who takes time to listen and understand, and then explain the cause of symptoms, and prescribing a treatment plan, altogether seem to have a healing effect.
I feel like I do have a new understanding of why so many alternative treatments do tend to work, and yet not be effective in lab tests. Believe and trust in a practitioner, who takes time to listen and understand, and then explain the cause of symptoms, and prescribing a treatment plan, altogether seem to have a healing effect.
April 21, 2019
More people need to read this book! From the title, I was afraid it'd be a pseudo-scientific rant telling me to go get Reiki to cure cancer. Quite the opposite! It's an investigative journalism piece focusing on the WHY behind different kinds of alternative healing movements and how they are so popular in this age of Science. It's well researched, chock-full of interviews from people on all sides, and its main thesis is on the Placebo Effect's underrated role in medicine. And how maybe we should pay more attention in how we can use Placebo to help people, instead of putting a huge stigma against it or people who have 'not-real' diagnoses.
It made me rethink Chiropractors and Acupuncturists too, whose teachings I believe to be out of date and huge shams. The author goes into how these practices are essentially shams in that they can't cure cancer, but provides plenty of studies where they have helped patients with subjective things, like chronic pain. In fact, I was surprised to see that your mind can be tricked by the spine 'popping' sounds or small pricks of needles. Where patients believe that since it's hurting and is supposed to be doing something, then it must be. I even liked the test where people went in knowing it was Placebo and still felt the benefits of the Placebo effect.
Ms. Warner is very much a skeptic, but I like that she keeps an open mind about practices that help people suffering in their life and seeks to find out how it helps them. Great book. Also well organized, which I appreciate for a medical-based book.
It made me rethink Chiropractors and Acupuncturists too, whose teachings I believe to be out of date and huge shams. The author goes into how these practices are essentially shams in that they can't cure cancer, but provides plenty of studies where they have helped patients with subjective things, like chronic pain. In fact, I was surprised to see that your mind can be tricked by the spine 'popping' sounds or small pricks of needles. Where patients believe that since it's hurting and is supposed to be doing something, then it must be. I even liked the test where people went in knowing it was Placebo and still felt the benefits of the Placebo effect.
Ms. Warner is very much a skeptic, but I like that she keeps an open mind about practices that help people suffering in their life and seeks to find out how it helps them. Great book. Also well organized, which I appreciate for a medical-based book.
August 29, 2019
Yet another "I didn't read the whole thing so take this review with a grain of salt (yada yada yada)"
I only made it to the second disc of the audiobook. I just didn't feel like I really needed to finish it --> my impression is, the main thrust of the book is "look, some alternative/complementary medicine is bunk, but not as much as you think, the placebo effect/belief is also more powerful than people realize, science science science," and so forth.
I'll likely pick this up again at some point, I just felt like I couldn't be fully bothered with it right now.
I only made it to the second disc of the audiobook. I just didn't feel like I really needed to finish it --> my impression is, the main thrust of the book is "look, some alternative/complementary medicine is bunk, but not as much as you think, the placebo effect/belief is also more powerful than people realize, science science science," and so forth.
I'll likely pick this up again at some point, I just felt like I couldn't be fully bothered with it right now.
February 13, 2019
I found this book very interesting, but I would have liked to have found out more. The author went very deeply into some subjects, but not deeply enough, I believe, into the subject of pain. And why did she not mention the "mirror therapy" that has worked to help those with phantom pain from missing limbs? That must have seemed like a crazy alternative therapy when it was first proposed. Why do scientists think that works?
February 14, 2019
This book examines alternatives medicine and the healing power of the mind. There are ways of healing that don't include pharmaceuticals. By harnessing the power of the mind to heal, you can become stronger without masking your symptoms.
The author looks at a range of practices including energy healing, acupuncture, and mindfulness.
The author looks at a range of practices including energy healing, acupuncture, and mindfulness.
October 18, 2019
Such a fascinating topic. It is amazing to me what our minds can do.
November 30, 2019
3.5 stars
Fascinating! Amazing to look at how healing works but not at all they way you think it is working!
Fascinating! Amazing to look at how healing works but not at all they way you think it is working!
August 6, 2019
I loved this book — not so much for the writing as for the subject matter. The power of belief and the mind-body connection are super fascinating to me. Since college I've been enamored with the scientific method and extremely skeptical of anything that bypasses it and sells itself as a cure with nothing but anecdotal evidence as support. And yet there is this thing called the placebo effect that is not only accepted by science but is used as a measuring stick in scientific studies. It's very real; it's a positive change in a person's physical state as a result of their thinking. It's not magic, but it's amazing.
This book is an exploration of the placebo effect, or rather the many different effects that can happen in the body as a result of the state of mind created by popular alternative medicine practices such as chiropractic, acupuncture, and energy healing. It finds the line between what is and isn't possible in mind-body healing. Infectious diseases and cancerous growths have not been shown to be affected by alternative healing methods, for example. I loved that the book emphasized the importance of the belief of both the patient and the healer, as well as the environment and circumstances surrounding the healing event. It's important for a person to feel heard and cared for in order to believe that she's being treated and therefore unlock the healing power of her own mind-body connection. More and more, physicians are rushed through appointments and can't spare the time to really listen to people, and they have to enter data into computers instead of touching their patients, and treatment is often misguided or ineffective as a result. People leave doctor's offices and hospitals feeling misunderstood and unhelped. It's no wonder that people turn to alternative practitioners who will listen and try to understand what is going on in a person's life and in her mind that might be affecting her body.
Reading this book made me feel much more forgiving of alternative medicine. If a treatment really does make people feel better, then I guess I shouldn't knock it as long as it isn't sending them to the poor house. I still don't think it's quite right for healers to claim that they're doing things that they aren't in fact doing, like putting joints back into alignment or activating meridians and chakras. I wish they could tell patients upfront that it's more of a helpful metaphor than a literal truth. But I'm sure most healers believe that they're literally doing those things and don't understand that the benefit actually comes from the placebo effect in most cases. Plus, it's possible that the treatment wouldn't have the same effect if it was presented differently.
Ultimately, I feel a little less critical of alternative medicine and a little less defensive of traditional medicine after reading this book. Medicine certainly has its many problems, I just wish people wouldn't hate and mistrust doctors outright. I agree whole-heartedly with Melanie Warner that medicine and alternative medicine could both stand to learn some things from each other, and the whole U.S. medical system could use an overhaul of its approach to healing disease. I loved the partial quote from Kleinman about "the devastating effects of medicine as big business." Amen.
I only wish this book was twice as long and explored the nocebo effect as well, which has had a huge impact in recent years with fake food allergies and GMO panic, among other things. I would've also loved to hear about drugs and whether they're really worth taking. Ditto supplements.
Encore, encore.
This book is an exploration of the placebo effect, or rather the many different effects that can happen in the body as a result of the state of mind created by popular alternative medicine practices such as chiropractic, acupuncture, and energy healing. It finds the line between what is and isn't possible in mind-body healing. Infectious diseases and cancerous growths have not been shown to be affected by alternative healing methods, for example. I loved that the book emphasized the importance of the belief of both the patient and the healer, as well as the environment and circumstances surrounding the healing event. It's important for a person to feel heard and cared for in order to believe that she's being treated and therefore unlock the healing power of her own mind-body connection. More and more, physicians are rushed through appointments and can't spare the time to really listen to people, and they have to enter data into computers instead of touching their patients, and treatment is often misguided or ineffective as a result. People leave doctor's offices and hospitals feeling misunderstood and unhelped. It's no wonder that people turn to alternative practitioners who will listen and try to understand what is going on in a person's life and in her mind that might be affecting her body.
Reading this book made me feel much more forgiving of alternative medicine. If a treatment really does make people feel better, then I guess I shouldn't knock it as long as it isn't sending them to the poor house. I still don't think it's quite right for healers to claim that they're doing things that they aren't in fact doing, like putting joints back into alignment or activating meridians and chakras. I wish they could tell patients upfront that it's more of a helpful metaphor than a literal truth. But I'm sure most healers believe that they're literally doing those things and don't understand that the benefit actually comes from the placebo effect in most cases. Plus, it's possible that the treatment wouldn't have the same effect if it was presented differently.
Ultimately, I feel a little less critical of alternative medicine and a little less defensive of traditional medicine after reading this book. Medicine certainly has its many problems, I just wish people wouldn't hate and mistrust doctors outright. I agree whole-heartedly with Melanie Warner that medicine and alternative medicine could both stand to learn some things from each other, and the whole U.S. medical system could use an overhaul of its approach to healing disease. I loved the partial quote from Kleinman about "the devastating effects of medicine as big business." Amen.
I only wish this book was twice as long and explored the nocebo effect as well, which has had a huge impact in recent years with fake food allergies and GMO panic, among other things. I would've also loved to hear about drugs and whether they're really worth taking. Ditto supplements.
Encore, encore.
January 26, 2019
This book provides a fascinating, clearly written discussion of a journalist’s exploration of alternative medicine. The author provides a very balanced view of what works based on a combination of interviews, personal experiences, and review of relevant scientific literature.
I don’t want to discuss the well-reasoned conclusions she draws because part of the fun of reading this book is seeing how she unravels the mysteries of various claims about healing. I loved the distinction she made between illness and disease.
Reading this book has given me a much better understanding of the placebo effect and of which conditions might benefit from alternative medicine and which conditions are likely better treated conventionally. It also reinforced something I had already noticed—my outcomes are much better when I work with doctors or healers who seem confident and kind and with whom I have a good rapport.
The author discusses many scientific studies throughout the text, and she provides generous references for each chapter in the Endnotes. An index is also included at the end of the book.
I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in biopsychosocial medicine, alternative healthcare, the placebo effect, or healing. I think it would be very helpful for both practitioners and patients.
I was provided an unproofed ARC through NetGalley that I volunteered to review. Because I have not seen the final published version, I cannot comment on the final editing and formatting.
I don’t want to discuss the well-reasoned conclusions she draws because part of the fun of reading this book is seeing how she unravels the mysteries of various claims about healing. I loved the distinction she made between illness and disease.
Reading this book has given me a much better understanding of the placebo effect and of which conditions might benefit from alternative medicine and which conditions are likely better treated conventionally. It also reinforced something I had already noticed—my outcomes are much better when I work with doctors or healers who seem confident and kind and with whom I have a good rapport.
The author discusses many scientific studies throughout the text, and she provides generous references for each chapter in the Endnotes. An index is also included at the end of the book.
I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in biopsychosocial medicine, alternative healthcare, the placebo effect, or healing. I think it would be very helpful for both practitioners and patients.
I was provided an unproofed ARC through NetGalley that I volunteered to review. Because I have not seen the final published version, I cannot comment on the final editing and formatting.
March 4, 2019
Acupuncture, chiropractic, tai chi, qi gong, and energy healing are investigated by an author with a background in journalism to determine their medical efficacy, contrasting and comparing to accepted western medical options. Speaking with patients and practitioners, at times receiving treatment, she considers the placebo effect on psychosomatic pain, and finds that western doctors are becoming more accepting of the mind / body connection. American hospitals are incorporating reiki into their recovery programs, and German hospitals are adding Psychosomatic Centers as part of their rehabilitation programs. Through observation, interviews, demonstrations, and studies, Warner does not prove or disprove effectiveness of various alternative treatments, but allows people to share their success stories, leaving dear reader open to the possibilities, by the end of the book.
I received a digital copy of this enlightening book from the publisher Simon & Schuster through NetGalley. I highly recommend this book by a reputable journalist if you’re at all interested in alternative medicine for pain management or wellness in general, or learning more about our world.
I received a digital copy of this enlightening book from the publisher Simon & Schuster through NetGalley. I highly recommend this book by a reputable journalist if you’re at all interested in alternative medicine for pain management or wellness in general, or learning more about our world.
March 17, 2019
I love reading about the placebo effect, so this book was a real treat. While Warner is solidly in the science camp, that doesn't mean she dismisses the claims of alternate healers. Instead, Warner tries to match the weird, wild, and wacky of holistic healers with science's weird, wild, and just about as wacky concepts (i.e. synesthesia). In the end, she comes to the usual conclusion: science sucks at treating the whole person, while alternative medicines cheat on verifiable facts in pursuit of warm fuzzies. Each has much or learn from the other. None of that is particularly new, but I appreciate Warner's ability to maintain a sense of wonder at it all.
The book still left one nagging question. At one point, Warner breaks down one placebo treatment that works on 60% of participants. So what happens to the other 40% ? Do they not have a response at all? Is it a bad response? Does it work for some treatments, but not others? All the books I've read on placebos thus far discuss the amazing things they can do. But buried in the fine print is the note that even magical placebos don't work 100% of the time. Where's the book on that?
The book still left one nagging question. At one point, Warner breaks down one placebo treatment that works on 60% of participants. So what happens to the other 40% ? Do they not have a response at all? Is it a bad response? Does it work for some treatments, but not others? All the books I've read on placebos thus far discuss the amazing things they can do. But buried in the fine print is the note that even magical placebos don't work 100% of the time. Where's the book on that?
February 7, 2021
Overall, this book was great. As a scientist, I would say The author takes a fair and scientific approach to looking at alternative medicine and does not try to make anyone feel like their beliefs are being attacked. The author does a good job at explaining the experiments that have led to our current state of knowledge on alternative medicine and shares many interviews with medical doctors and alternative medicine practitioners.
More specifically, I enjoyed how the book acknowledges that alternative medicine does have positive effects on health, but sticks close to the science of it by showing that those affects are placebo driven. It really doesn’t matter what you do to get the placebo effect, many things could work if you believe they will. I also like that this book makes it clear that only certain illness/symptoms can improve from a placebo effect, and they usually have to do with our perception, such as pain and anxiety.
Regardless of how you feel about the subject going in, I think everyone should give this one a try.
More specifically, I enjoyed how the book acknowledges that alternative medicine does have positive effects on health, but sticks close to the science of it by showing that those affects are placebo driven. It really doesn’t matter what you do to get the placebo effect, many things could work if you believe they will. I also like that this book makes it clear that only certain illness/symptoms can improve from a placebo effect, and they usually have to do with our perception, such as pain and anxiety.
Regardless of how you feel about the subject going in, I think everyone should give this one a try.
January 3, 2019
3.5 stars
This book offers an interesting look at a few types of alternative medicine from both patient and practitioner perspectives. I appreciated how the author presented interviews and information on conventional and alternative practices. She clearly states her biases but does a great job offering research and patient stories so readers can develop their own opinion. I enjoyed reading about her experiences and openness to try different therapies.
Readers will learn a lot about the placebo effect and the brain's role in pain. I finished the book with more questions than answers about why conventional medicine programs don't incorporate information on how to honor a patient's healing journey. I would have liked to see more statistics about alternative medicine, interviews and patient experiences with naturopathic doctors, and the role of functional medicine.
I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This book offers an interesting look at a few types of alternative medicine from both patient and practitioner perspectives. I appreciated how the author presented interviews and information on conventional and alternative practices. She clearly states her biases but does a great job offering research and patient stories so readers can develop their own opinion. I enjoyed reading about her experiences and openness to try different therapies.
Readers will learn a lot about the placebo effect and the brain's role in pain. I finished the book with more questions than answers about why conventional medicine programs don't incorporate information on how to honor a patient's healing journey. I would have liked to see more statistics about alternative medicine, interviews and patient experiences with naturopathic doctors, and the role of functional medicine.
I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
July 17, 2019
A very interesting and captivating book riddled with great stories and compelling analysis. Melanie did a great job investigating many of the questions I myself have had about alternative medicine. As per usual the answer seems to lie somewhere in between alternative and modern medicine. A practical use of both seems to be the most effective solution, yet she does not discount the body's seemingly miraculous ability to heal, repair, and adjust at times.... Or is it simply that out limitations are internal from the onset?
July 31, 2019
Very good review of the placebo affect as one reason why certain aspects of medicine works. While the book stresses that there are benefits from alternative medicine, the main argument applies to all forms of medicine. There is a strong correlation to the positive belief and justification in the practice being implemented. People respond best to good bed-side manner, a practitioner who listens to the patient, and a practitioner who can provide a positive feeling in the patient. I think the book would be good for any medical practitioner.
March 22, 2019
An interesting read, if a bit slow in places. A journalistic approach to examining various alternative medicine techniques. I feel like the author didn't really come to any significant conclusions, but I agree with much of her findings that the mind does impact health & alternative medicine often does a better job of "treating" this than traditional Western medicine. My personal opinion is we should use the best of both styles for a more holistic approach to health care generally.
May 20, 2023
M Warner has taken her assignment very seriously and delivered her search for truths about the panoplay of alternative treatments for our illnesses. Non judgemental questioning of experts and faux experts, she reminds me of Michael Lewis. Placebos outperforming control groups. The therapist being more important than the therapy. Acupuncture, Tai Chi, Reiki, Chiropractic, stress, inflammation and more. Not a page turner but worthwhile.
February 18, 2019
I heard an author interview on a WGBH radio program (Living Lab?) one Sun and thought it sounded like an interesting read. I loved the fact that the author was upfront about being skeptical about the different types of alternative medicines but was willing to keep an open mind about there effectiveness. As well as how they might help some people along with the traditional medicine.
September 17, 2019
I was encouraged to continue using Tai Chi in my skimpy exercise regime. Research indicates that this type of exercise provides some relief for back and sciatic nerve pain.
The author concludes that science doesn't really know why one method of pain relief works for one person and not another. That is why our doctors seem to experiment on us, I guess. Hmmmm.
The author concludes that science doesn't really know why one method of pain relief works for one person and not another. That is why our doctors seem to experiment on us, I guess. Hmmmm.
September 15, 2021
I had to read this book for a HOSA competition and it was the one I was the most excited to read. I appreciated how it took the time to explain how the alternative medicine method came about as I don’t know much about it. Though at times I did feel a little overwhelmed with all the information and couldn’t follow very well, but that could have been just me.
July 3, 2024
This was such a good book!! Super interesting and engaging and well researched. I learned a lot about the “science” behind alternative medicine and how powerful our minds can be in terms of our health!
February 2, 2019
Great perspective on alternative medicine and the power of the mind. Provides thought provoking information without forcing an opinion.
February 3, 2019
4.5 stars.
February 12, 2019
An interesting exploration of alternative medicine practitioners and techniques that doesn't take cheap shots or preach for or against science, faith or the power of belief.
February 17, 2019
A fascinating and objective take on alternative medicine and how what we believe can make a difference. Also on the effect of placebos, now a larger discussion.
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