[Beacon Staff]

About the book

by Beacon Staff on Thu Jul 03, 2014 11:38 am

Description (from the book)

This book is a culmination of what I’ve learned. I hope it will open the door for you to embrace your humanity, accept uncertainty, and live a life of gratitude. —from Enjoy Every Sandwich

As medical director of the famed Preventive Medicine Research Institute, Lee Lipsenthal helped thousands of patients struggling with disease to overcome their fears of pain and death and to embrace a more joyful way of living. In his own life, happily married and the proud father of two remarkable children, Lee was similarly committed to living his life fully and gratefully each day.

The power of those beliefs was tested in July 2009, when Lee was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. As Lee and his wife, Kathy, navigated his diagnosis, illness, and treatment, he discovered that he did not fear death, and that even as he was facing his own mortality, he felt more fully alive than ever before. In the bestselling tradition of Tuesdays with Morrie, told with humor and heart, and deeply inspiring, Enjoy Every Sandwich distills everything Lee learned about how we find meaning, purpose, and peace in our lives.

About The Author

Lee Lipsenthal, M.D., ABIHM, was an internist, trained in the prevention of heart disease and in integrative medicine. A popular and acclaimed speaker and author, he was the medical director of Dean Ornish's Preventive Medicine Research Institute for a decade and has also served as president of the American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Lust for life
Life-changing sandwich
I saw her standing there (before I saw her standing there)
Two doctors enter the valley of the shadow of death
From neurotic to knowing
When your world collapses
Sitting down and shutting up
Do I need to be locked up?
World of your own making
Mind games
Sound of heartbreak
Sickest patients are sometimes the healthiest people
Where no me has gone before
Digging in the dark
Me, myself and I
Pennies from heaven
Zuzu's petals
Love soup
Living and dying outside the box

Reviews

"Dr. Lipsenthal is a profound explorer of our inner and outer worlds. Enjoy Every Sandwich will help you heal your fear of death and embrace the true joy of life’s extraordinary journey."
—Edgar Dean Mitchell, Apollo 14 astronaut

"Often, patients given a terminal diagnosis reach a surprising, transforming conclusion--you have to be ready to die to embrace being alive. But Lee Lipsenthal tells his story with such intimacy and humanity that this paradoxical fact can be accessed even by those who have not (yet) leaned out over the abyss. To deny death is to deny life. Read Enjoy Every Sandwich to know why."
--Andrew Weil, M.D., New York Times bestselling author of Healthy Aging and 8 Weeks to Optimum Health

"This book is about the lessons one learns on the journey from understanding the experience of life and all its difficulties. It contains the profound wisdom derived from the greatest teacher, our mortality. So read on and learn how to spend your life's precious time with more love and less fear."
--Bernie Siegel, M.D., Author of Peace, Love & Healing, and Love, Medicine & Miracles

"With courage and candor, Dr. Lee Lipsenthal shows us that facing death means facing life: Your own, and the lives of those around you. After his stunning diagnosis of an often-fatal cancer, Dr. Lipsenthal embarks on a journey of bravery, practicality, and humor to guide his way through the greatest of uncertainties. He allows us in, during the dark days and the brighter ones. Let Dr. Lipsenthal be your guide on a journey that, ultimately, all of us will take."
--Clint Eastwood

“What if you were not afraid to die? What if the universal fear that makes us small was suddenly gone and you were free? How would you live then? Lee Lipsenthal's beautiful memoir of the first 18 months of his journey with cancer reads at times as a prose poem, at times as a wisdom story and at times as an invitation to the Dance. To read it is to step through a door that opens only one way into a larger life. Of all the books you've read this year, this is the one that will heal you.”
--Rachel Naomi Remen MD, author of Kitchen Table Wisdom and My Grandfather's Blessings

"If you want to learn to love with your whole heart, so that when you come to the end of your life you will have no regrets, Lee Lipsenthal's gracious and caring book is for you. In revealing his own struggles, and doing so with remarkable transparency and responsibility, Lee has not just written a book that is filled with grounded inspiration and hard-earned wisdom. He has written a book that you will never forget."
--John Robbins, Author of Diet for a New America, Healthy at 100, and The New Good Life

[Jan Stafl]

About the book

by Jan Stafl on Fri Jul 04, 2014 7:36 am

Thank you, Myeloma Beacon for posting the description of Lee's book, and for my fellow readers for making it the top choice in our inaugural book club. I have to disclose that Lee became a dear friend of mine before his passing from esophageal cancer in Sept. 2011, and still is a role model for me. In addition to being an excellent preventive cardiologist, Lee helped thousands of physicians and others through his retreats, "Finding Balance in a Medical Life" (the title of his first book), and other workshops. My wife Liba and I found them very helpful.

He was also the president of the American Board of Integrative and Holistic Medicine, while I was on the board of the American Holistic Medical Association. I read the transcript of his book before he passed away, and was amazed how open he was about some really personal (and I suspect controversial) topics. We discussed it by phone shortly before he passed away, and the depth he reveals in his book is to me astounding; he lays his experiences all out.

I have reread his book several times since, and always find it inspiring. You can also read his excellent final entry on the Huffington Post, referenced at the bottom of his Wikipedia page. Lee did not have the luxury of time to do a book tour, including a scheduled David Letterman appearance.

So I really look forward to our discussion about his book. It is a great balance to this month's other excellent book, Emperor of All Maladies, which is the best scientific yet personalized book on cancer that I have read (and a Pulitzer Prize Winner). Happy Fourth of July, USA! Jan

[Steve]

Re: About the book

by Steve on Mon Jul 07, 2014 12:30 pm

Jan, Wow!

Having the opportunity to discuss this book with someone who knew the author well is something to which I'm looking forward ... it's pretty rare that kind of connection happens.

Best,

Steve