The Reluctant Healer
by Andrew D. Himmel
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Pub Date Oct 08 2018 | Archive Date Mar 03 2020
Greenleaf Book Group | Greenleaf Book Group Press
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Description
Winner of 2019 International Book Awards (General Fiction and Inspirational Fiction Categories)
Winner, 2019 New York City Big Book Award (General Fiction)
Between Doubt and Belief
The Reluctant Healer tells the story of a young attorney who is torn between mounting evidence that he has the spiritual ability to heal others and his life-long skepticism of alternative views. Will Alexander is cautious and conventional. But when he meets Erica, a beautiful, intense energy healer, he becomes troubled not only by her unorthodox endeavors but also by the limitations of his own existence. Amidst this turmoil, Will is startled to discover that he may possess metaphysical gifts of healing that confront the narrow doctrines of his regulated life.
The Reluctant Healer paints a portrait of a reasonable man who traces a path between skepticism and belief. Flawed, funny, and agnostic, Will distrusts much of the alternative world, even as he struggles internally with phenomena that challenge both his sense of self and his orderly perspective. Will’s love for Erica, the exposure to her world, and his newfound powers place his life in a state of uncertainty, teetering between disruption and liberation.
Advance Praise
"Himmel's entertaining novel is on one level a fine comedy of ideological manners. . . . The author's sharply etched characters and smart, observant prose shrewdly capture the ways people think and talk about religious and philosophical issues . . . A vivid evocation of the conflict between reason and spirituality."
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"The Reluctant Healer is a gripping journey into the future of healing, in which the best of contemporary medicine is made even better by incorporating the powers of consciousness on behalf of healing. This extraordinary book is essentially a glimpse into the future of healing, in which science and spirituality join hands. And besides, it's a beautifully crafted, exciting read!"
–Larry Dossey, MD, New York Times best-selling author of Healing Words, author of One Mind: How Our Individual Mind Is Part of a Greater Consciousness and Why It Matters
"The Reluctant Healer is one of the most intriguing books I have read in a long time. The author has a gift for writing a novel that keeps the reader immersed in the story, page by page. I could not put it down. Truly, a significant book for our time."
–Joyce Hawkes, PhD, biophysicist, author of Cell-Level Healing and Resonance
"The Reluctant Healer tells an enthralling, deeply personal and honestly raw account of a transformational journey of inner discovery that reveals, however reluctant we may be, that we all have innate healing abilities. In showing how the power of such healing consciousness transcends the unsustainable myth of separation, it offers an inspiring way forward for our conscious evolution."
–Dr. Jude Currivan, cosmologist, author of The Cosmic Hologram: In-formation at the Center of Creation, recipient of the 2017 Silver Nautilus Award for science and cosmology
Marketing Plan
National trade marketing and sales campaign
Advance distribution of digital ARC to reviewers, bloggers, journalists, librarians, booksellers, and media via NetGalley
Online marketing campaign, including targeted advertising and giveaways via GoodReads
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781626345300 |
| PRICE | $16.95 (USD) |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Booksandchinooks L, Reviewer
I requested this book because the premise intrigued me and this was not a book I would naturally pick up. This is the story of Will, a NYC lawyer. He meets a girl that intrigues him but he soon realizes their ideas and interests are not at all similar. Erica considers herself a natural healer and is immersed in meditation and energies, pursuits that are not at all realistic in Will’s world. Although he finds Erica slightly wacky he is still very interested in her. Early on in their relationship Erica tells Will that he is also a natural healer with even stronger abilities than hers. Will is very skeptical but as time passes he begins to see that maybe some of what Erica believes is true. Ultimately Will is caught between logic and science and auras, chakras, and energies. The book is engaging and the characters were interesting. I found the book well written for a first time author.
Reviewer 238609
I was really excited to read "The Reluctant Healer". It tells us the story of a young man, a lawyer, who is skeptical in regards to energy healing. He runs into Erica, an energy healer, who tries to show him how energy healing works and that he himself is a healer as well.
I liked reading this book and I would recommend it to those interested in energy healing.
I would like to thank Netgalley and the Publisher for providing me with a copy of this book. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.
Annette H, Librarian
Interesting subject. Not something I would normally read but was intrigued. Thank you for the chance to read this
Stephanie H, Reviewer
Will Alexander is a lawyer, an up-and-comer at his firm who is just trying to get through the daily grind. His life changes when he meets Erica, a social worker turned energy healer. Will and Erica are drawn to one another. Erica sees a strong energy around Will, one that he doesn't realize he possesses. Will tries to dismiss Erica's beliefs as eccentricities, however as he is pulled more into Erica's life and healing practice, Will's own beliefs begin to waver as Erica tells Will that he has helped her patients simply by being with them and one of Will's legal clients feels a weight lifted off of his shoulders after Will met with him. Will begins to realize that there might be something about him that can help others, but his beliefs are still on the fence and his legal mind won't allow him to admit to doing anything, even as he begins to take on his own clients in Erica's practice.
The Reluctant Healer is a book to read with an open mind. It is the story of a perfectly ordinary man, Will -who thoroughly believes he is an ordinary man despite evidence of the extraordinary. There isn't a lot of action or suspense in The Reluctant Healer, it is mostly the story of Will coming to grips with forces within himself yet outside of his control, and slowly changing his worldview and belief system. Even without a lot of excitement, The Reluctant Healer still had me intrigued. I really wanted to know what Will's ability was, how he was going to decide how to use it and if it had any limits. Since this is a story of Will, his character is really the only one who is fully fleshed. Erica is a large part of the story, yet I didn't get the feeling that I knew her too well. Will's choices were what powered the story. I found some choices very natural and some choices baffling, especially towards the end. Overall, The Reluctant healer is a story of opening your mind to a world of opportunities beyond what you would normally consider.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
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