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Pilgrimage: A Doctor’s Healing Journey
Catholic Media Association 2022 Book AwardsFIRST PLACE, Marriage & Family LivingFIRST PLACE, Self-Published BookHonorable Mention, Healing & Self Help"We learn of the struggles [Donna] faced in her marriage and career. She provides us with tools we can use to begin to heal from all the struggles we face in our own lives. The choice is ours. If we commit to this journey, we can improve our mental and physical health and we can find ourselves growing closer to God in the process.”
Illumination Book Awards GOLD MEDALReader Views Literary Awards GOLD MEDALReaders’ Favorite SILVER MEDAL in Christian Non-fiction
“If you’re looking for inspiration on how to begin you own healing journey, take your first step by reading the amazing A Doctor’s Healing Journey.” T. Ruggles
“…one of the best books I have ever read. Donna Chacko, MD, does an outstanding job of writing her life story and sharing her knowledge, skills, and experience with us…Highly recommended to all adults, young and old.” N. Soine
“…a great book for anyone going through a challenging marriage or the terminal illness of a loved one…I recommend this book to people who love memoirs, health, and discovering spiritual healing.” C. Scherba
Described as a “…a searingly honest memoir…” by Dr. Kenny Lin, Deputy Editor, American Family Physician, A Doctor’s Healing Journey can help anyone who is stressed, hurting, or stuck. Dr. Chacko, a successful physician, describes her unbearable marital strife and how she ultimately found serenity, health, and God. She lays her life bare as she digs into her upbringing, relationships, life choices, and profession in a deeply personal journey toward healing and wholeness. Pilgrimage vividly illustrates her universal each of us has more power to improve our health than we realize, especially when we let God help us.
Pilgrimage's message of hope and health comes at a time when the focus on mind-body-spirit health is desperately
4 out of 10 adults report symptoms related to anxiety or depression, up from 1 out of 10 in 2020.*Substance abuse, sleeping disorders, and chronic health conditions are on the rise.*Access to healthcare is challenging for too many Americans, church participation is low, and families are often too stressed and busy to deal with their problems.In Pilgrimage, Dr. Chacko connects how trust in God and self-care can help each of us feel better. In sharing her journey, she provides the map and compass to lead, empower, and inspire others to take their courageous first steps towards the healing of their own body, mind, and spirit.
*Kaiser Family Foundation, 2021
Illumination Book Awards GOLD MEDALReader Views Literary Awards GOLD MEDALReaders’ Favorite SILVER MEDAL in Christian Non-fiction
“If you’re looking for inspiration on how to begin you own healing journey, take your first step by reading the amazing A Doctor’s Healing Journey.” T. Ruggles
“…one of the best books I have ever read. Donna Chacko, MD, does an outstanding job of writing her life story and sharing her knowledge, skills, and experience with us…Highly recommended to all adults, young and old.” N. Soine
“…a great book for anyone going through a challenging marriage or the terminal illness of a loved one…I recommend this book to people who love memoirs, health, and discovering spiritual healing.” C. Scherba
Described as a “…a searingly honest memoir…” by Dr. Kenny Lin, Deputy Editor, American Family Physician, A Doctor’s Healing Journey can help anyone who is stressed, hurting, or stuck. Dr. Chacko, a successful physician, describes her unbearable marital strife and how she ultimately found serenity, health, and God. She lays her life bare as she digs into her upbringing, relationships, life choices, and profession in a deeply personal journey toward healing and wholeness. Pilgrimage vividly illustrates her universal each of us has more power to improve our health than we realize, especially when we let God help us.
Pilgrimage's message of hope and health comes at a time when the focus on mind-body-spirit health is desperately
4 out of 10 adults report symptoms related to anxiety or depression, up from 1 out of 10 in 2020.*Substance abuse, sleeping disorders, and chronic health conditions are on the rise.*Access to healthcare is challenging for too many Americans, church participation is low, and families are often too stressed and busy to deal with their problems.In Pilgrimage, Dr. Chacko connects how trust in God and self-care can help each of us feel better. In sharing her journey, she provides the map and compass to lead, empower, and inspire others to take their courageous first steps towards the healing of their own body, mind, and spirit.
*Kaiser Family Foundation, 2021
272 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 29, 2021
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2 people want to read
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January 5, 2022
“Pilgrimage: A Doctor’s Healing Journey” is Dr. Donna Chacko’s account of her difficult marriage and the loss of her first husband. Seemingly successful in her career as a radiation oncologist, wife, and mother to a family of beautiful, high-achieving daughters, no one would have guessed the turmoil going on inside Donna’s home. Subjected to isolation and a controlling husband, Donna spent years after his untimely death trying to make sense of the suffering she experienced and find God’s purpose in allowing her to go through such trials. She shares her life with raw honesty and provides readers with some of the tools she developed to overcome these issues.
This is a book that will take you on the journey of one woman’s tumultuous life. From her childhood relationship with her emotionally unavailable mother, to the first encounter with the man she would later marry, this story unfolds with open honesty as to what she experienced in both the happiest and darkest times of her life. If you think this memoir is simply about bashing her deceased husband, you would be wrong. Donna takes much of the blame and holds herself just as accountable as she does him. While her feelings towards him are no doubt still complex and difficult for her to fully come to terms with, this book does provide ways in which to find your center after going through some major storms.
I enjoyed being there through all of Donna’s discoveries as she detailed the challenges, decisions, and guidance she received from God as to how best to proceed with her marriage. On the brink of divorce, her husband was suddenly diagnosed with a terminal cancer that put things more into perspective. The chapters detailing his illness and the fight to survive were very impactful, since they also contained the stories of others who were in the same cancer ward. I found these chapters terribly relatable and emotional and it was interesting to see how her perspective on cancer radically changed once the diagnosis affected her family and she was no longer simply a radiologist treating patients. I also thought her criticism of the pharmaceutical industry was very insightful, since it’s so difficult to ever find a doctor or healthcare provider who feels comfortable enough to share these sentiments.
Donna’s connection to God was the guiding force that eventually led her to the happiness, hope, and healing she experienced after the darkness. People who are always “busy” will relate to Donna’s lack of slowing down, even changing her career to Primary Care medicine in her mid-fifties so she could provide aid for the homeless. A massive part of Donna’s self-care was to examine what she was truly afraid to face and why she needed to always be productive. Eventually, she created a program to help others find their way towards mind, body, and spiritual healing, a connection that so few in western medicine care to acknowledge exists.
This is a great book for anyone going through a challenging marriage or the terminal illness of a loved one. Not every life that looks grand is actually so perfect on the inside, and Dr. Chacko reveals that fully in her moving memoir. Still, there is peace, healing, and hope to be found for those who seek it. Her focus on the root cause of medical issues rather than simply overprescribing medicines and treatments will certainly appeal to those who prefer a healthy lifestyle with as few interventions as possible. I recommend this book to people who love memoirs, health, and discovering spiritual healing.
This is a book that will take you on the journey of one woman’s tumultuous life. From her childhood relationship with her emotionally unavailable mother, to the first encounter with the man she would later marry, this story unfolds with open honesty as to what she experienced in both the happiest and darkest times of her life. If you think this memoir is simply about bashing her deceased husband, you would be wrong. Donna takes much of the blame and holds herself just as accountable as she does him. While her feelings towards him are no doubt still complex and difficult for her to fully come to terms with, this book does provide ways in which to find your center after going through some major storms.
I enjoyed being there through all of Donna’s discoveries as she detailed the challenges, decisions, and guidance she received from God as to how best to proceed with her marriage. On the brink of divorce, her husband was suddenly diagnosed with a terminal cancer that put things more into perspective. The chapters detailing his illness and the fight to survive were very impactful, since they also contained the stories of others who were in the same cancer ward. I found these chapters terribly relatable and emotional and it was interesting to see how her perspective on cancer radically changed once the diagnosis affected her family and she was no longer simply a radiologist treating patients. I also thought her criticism of the pharmaceutical industry was very insightful, since it’s so difficult to ever find a doctor or healthcare provider who feels comfortable enough to share these sentiments.
Donna’s connection to God was the guiding force that eventually led her to the happiness, hope, and healing she experienced after the darkness. People who are always “busy” will relate to Donna’s lack of slowing down, even changing her career to Primary Care medicine in her mid-fifties so she could provide aid for the homeless. A massive part of Donna’s self-care was to examine what she was truly afraid to face and why she needed to always be productive. Eventually, she created a program to help others find their way towards mind, body, and spiritual healing, a connection that so few in western medicine care to acknowledge exists.
This is a great book for anyone going through a challenging marriage or the terminal illness of a loved one. Not every life that looks grand is actually so perfect on the inside, and Dr. Chacko reveals that fully in her moving memoir. Still, there is peace, healing, and hope to be found for those who seek it. Her focus on the root cause of medical issues rather than simply overprescribing medicines and treatments will certainly appeal to those who prefer a healthy lifestyle with as few interventions as possible. I recommend this book to people who love memoirs, health, and discovering spiritual healing.
Displaying 1 of 1 review