Book Title: The Scalpel and the Soul: Encounters with Surgery, the Supernatural, and the Healing Power of Hope

Synopsis:

The 2013 newly revised edition

Highly recommended and a bestseller in the Humanities category with a five-star rating on Amazon US!

◎ The author discovered he could predict when a patient was about to pass away...

◎ A severely burned, comatose young boy managed to escape the brink of death only because of the appearance of his father's spirit...

◎ A patient clinically diagnosed as "brain dead" could, upon awakening, clearly describe all the conversations and details inside the operating room...

◎ The author needed the assistance of a Native American medicine man to exorcise the spirit of a deceased patient from within his own body...

This book is filled with extraordinary experiences between doctors and patients, serving as a physician's confession about life.

For doctors, professional training causes things like superstition, omens, and spirits to be viewed as foolish and crazy. However, in this book, real stories unfolding under the scalpel go beyond the imagination of traditional medicine. The many mysterious and unexplainable events presented enhance the spiritual communication and exchange between caregivers and patients, further opening up another perspective for comforting patients' bodies and minds.

The fascination of this book also lies in the author sharing his own spiritual transformation.

In hospitals, disease is treated as the enemy, and doctors are the warriors in this kingdom whose bounden duty is to dispassionately remove obstacles. Yet, where lies the boundary of intervention? When should one stop, and when should one forge ahead? At what point must a doctor's ego surrender?

Furthermore, when doctors themselves face illness and pain, how do they cope with a life that has lost its center, and how can they best utilize their skills to make a different kind of contribution? The twenty pieces of advice on doctor-patient relationships in the book are his precious experiences and the best gift dedicated to readers.

This is a brilliant life story encompassing life, death, joy, and sorrow. But most importantly, it lets us know the power of love and hope in times of hardship, and teaches us to hold respect for the invisible and the unknown.

About the Author:

Allan J. Hamilton, M.D., FACS

Once a janitor, he later attended Harvard Medical School and became an Attending Neurosurgeon and Chief of Surgery at the University of Arizona Medical Center. He is currently a Clinical Professor of Radiation Oncology and Psychology, as well as a Professor of Neurosurgery at the medical center. He is also the Executive Director of the Arizona Simulation Technology and Education Center, a medical think tank dedicated to improving surgical techniques and reducing surgical errors. Dr. Hamilton also serves as a neurosurgical consultant for the script of the TV drama Grey's Anatomy. He lives with his family in the suburbs of Tucson.

About the Translator:

Hsieh Yao-ling

Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Illinois, and an Associate Professor at Soochow University and National Chengchi University. She has been engaged in translation work for nearly thirty years with nearly two hundred translated books to her credit. Her representative translated works include The Name of the Rose, Sophie's Choice, The Garden Party, Bel Canto, Essential Shakespeare Handbook, Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words, The Beautiful Child, The Scalpel and the Soul, Can You Use Your Attention Correctly? (tentative translation), among others. She also compiled and wrote the book The Most Touching English. She remains dedicated to translation, teaching, and writing without interruption.