The first book of its kind, A Thousand Miles in the Rain is a fascinating exploration of our desire to re-spiritualize medicine and a thought-provoking consideration of the history and metaphysics of healing. It delves into our compulsion to attach meaning to disease, and ranges across the dialectics of the mind-body problem to probe the mysterious healing role of faith, energy, and other elusive phenomena (see chapter entitled Bludgeoning the Ineffable).In the pages of this lyrical, scholarly book, readers will encounter scientists, seekers, psychiatrists, philosophers, physicians, healers, patients, purveyors of the paranormal, and a gallery of gurus, goddesses, and spirit guides. Throughout it is leavened with genuine humor and truly breathtaking feats of writing. Chip Brown, recipient of more than a dozen journalistic prizes, including the National Magazine Award for feature writing, uses intrepid reportage, painstaking research, and a keen, nimble intelligence to investigate the so-called spiritual crisis in modern medicine. He is an original, sublimely eloquent first-person guide to this thousand-mile journey through the terra incognita of healing and the mind. Notes.