When literary journalist Chip Brown offers up his heart to various healers for mending, the result is a probing, often hilarious journey into the depths of the alternative-medicine movement. Consider the power of mummified bananas. You may call exponents of this diet "woo-woos and wackos", as Brown once did, but as the director of the University of Nevada's Consciousness Research Lab said, "You're wacky before you succeed. Afterwards, you're a genius."

Afterwards, You're a Genius should appeal to a much broader readership than most New Age titles because Brown's first-person narrative succeeds in fusing humour, intellect, and curiosity with a dazzling writing style reminiscent of Tom Wolfe. Suddenly, reading about metaphysics is hip, not dippy. Examining not only his own intentions but the healers', Brown's record of his growing awareness of such things as chakra influences is amusing. At the same time, the book asks truly important questions about conventional Western medicine and ponders the meaning of a widespread loss of faith in doctors. While he acknowledges that "most of the secular academic world equates faith with naïve self-delusion and holds that to entertain the fairy tales of a higher power is to affront the only real higher power, which is reason", he reports that more and more highly educated people are seeking alternative treatment. "Belief", he writes, "is still working some of the weirdest voodoo in the healing world".

Highly informative and offering prolific footnotes, Brown struggles with "chronic misgivings", the "ineffable", and logic as he witnesses things that can "no more be corralled in language than the essence of smell". He writes that the trauma in Cynthia's back felt like when you go from a paved road to gravel. Cancer felt like dancing in a mosh pit. The voice of the liver was like a cassette playing too slowly in a Walkman with rundown batteries. The pancreas had an agile, hyper feeling. Lymph nodes felt like humid wind blowing over small grapes.

Ultimately Brown, an award-winning journalist, offers readers a critical look at the field of medicine and metaphysics without supposing solutions. Quoting from great thinkers like Saint Augustine ("Understanding is the reward of faith") and Thomas Sydenham ("the arrival of a good clown exercises more beneficial influence upon the health of a town than twenty asses laden with drugs"), perhaps Brown is most in sync with Emerson, who wrote: "Our life is not threatened so much as our perception".Afterwards, You're a Genius dares to open the doors. --Cristina Del Sesto

"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.

ThriftBooks-Reno

Reno, NV, U.S.A.

5-star seller

AbeBooks seller since May 25, 2012

Shipping rates within U.S.A.

Item	4 to 8 business days	4 to 8 business days
First item	£ 0.00	£ 0.00

Delivery times are set by sellers and vary by carrier and location. Orders passing through Customs may face delays and buyers are responsible for any associated duties or fees. Sellers may contact you regarding additional charges to cover any increased costs to ship your items.

Payment methods

Seller's business information

Thrift Books Global LLC

18300 Cascade Ave S, Ste 150
Seattle, WA U.S.A. 98188

Contact sellerView this seller's itemsView seller's storefront

Terms of sale

We guarantee the condition of every book as it's described on the Abebooks website. If you're dissatisfied with your purchase or if the order hasn't arrived, you're eligible for a refund within 30 days of the estimated delivery date. Please use the "Ask bookseller a question" link to contact our dedicated Customer Service team and we will be happy to assist you.

Right of withdrawal

If you are a consumer you can withdraw from the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.

Information regarding the right of withdrawal

Statutory right to withdraw

You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.

The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the last good or the last lot or piece.

To exercise the right of withdrawal, electronically fill in and submit a clear statement on our website, under "My Purchases" in "My Account". We will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a withdrawal on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.

To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.

Effects of withdrawal

If you withdraw from this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).

We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.

We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract.

We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.

We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back, or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.

You shall send back the goods or hand them over to ThriftBooks-Reno, Dallas, Texas, U.S.A., without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.

Exceptions to the right of withdrawal

The right of withdrawal does not apply to:

The delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
The supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium (e.g. on a CD or DVD) if you accepted when you placed your order that we could start to deliver it, and that you could not withdraw once delivery had started.

Shipping terms

All domestic Standard and Expedited shipments are distributed from our warehouses by OSM, then handed off to the USPS for final delivery.

2-Day Shipping is delivered by FedEx, which does not deliver to PO boxes.

International shipments are tendered to the local postal service in the destination country for final delivery – we do not use courier services for international deliveries.

Afterwards, You're a Genius

Item description from seller

Bibliographic details

Synopsis

About the title

Review