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The Last Best Cure: My Quest to Awaken the Healing Parts of My Brain and Get Back My Body, My Joy, and My Life Hardcover – February 21, 2013
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Editorial Reviews
Review
Praise for The Last Best Cure:
“The Last Best Cure will change lives; it may even save some. For all who travel through the dark and lonely landscape of chronic illness, here is hope and healing supported by solid science and first-hand experience. Hand extended, heart open, Donna Jackson Nakazawa is a seasoned, compassionate guide, pointing the way to the light at the end of the tunnel.”
–Katrina Kenison, author of The Gift of an Ordinary Day
“This is a genuine page-turning science/non-fiction thriller! Nakazawa is endearing. Her situation is compelling. Her story-telling art is masterful. You will learn a great deal of up-to-the-minute neuroscience research all the while hoping that Nakazawa’s disciplined quest for health succeeds.”
–Sylvia Boorstein, author of Happiness is An Inside Job: Practicing for a Joyful Life
“Donna Jackson Nakazawa has written a moving account of her recovery from severe autoimmune disorders and her success with innovative mind/body therapies. It will certainly inspire others suffering from chronic illness to use integrative medicine to activate their innate healing potential.”
–Andrew Weil, M.D. author of Spontaneous Happiness
“As both a science journalist and someone struggling with serious health issues, Donna Jackson Nakazawa offers clarity, heart, and hope for recovery and well-being. Funny, fast-moving, honest, insightful, and always helpful, her story of her journey to wellness brings together mind and body, East and West, solid research and the upper reaches of human potential.”
–Rick Hanson, Ph.D., author of Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom
“Our seasons of serious illness can be scary, lonely and deeply depressing. Now, with The Last Best Cure we have a window into another possibility. Donna Jackson Nakazawa made discoveries about stress, disease and the role of meditation and yoga that led her to profound healing. Grounded in scientific research and presented with great lucidity and warmth, Donna’s story will guide, comfort and inspire you as you journey toward full aliveness and wellbeing.”
–Tara Brach, Ph.D., author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge
“The Last Best Cure will change lives; it may even save some. For all who travel through the dark and lonely landscape of chronic illness, here is hope and healing supported by solid science and first-hand experience. Hand extended, heart open, Donna Jackson Nakazawa is a seasoned, compassionate guide, pointing the way to the light at the end of the tunnel.”
–Katrina Kenison, author of The Gift of an Ordinary Day
“This is a genuine page-turning science/non-fiction thriller! Nakazawa is endearing. Her situation is compelling. Her story-telling art is masterful. You will learn a great deal of up-to-the-minute neuroscience research all the while hoping that Nakazawa’s disciplined quest for health succeeds.”
–Sylvia Boorstein, author of Happiness is An Inside Job: Practicing for a Joyful Life
“Donna Jackson Nakazawa has written a moving account of her recovery from severe autoimmune disorders and her success with innovative mind/body therapies. It will certainly inspire others suffering from chronic illness to use integrative medicine to activate their innate healing potential.”
–Andrew Weil, M.D. author of Spontaneous Happiness
“As both a science journalist and someone struggling with serious health issues, Donna Jackson Nakazawa offers clarity, heart, and hope for recovery and well-being. Funny, fast-moving, honest, insightful, and always helpful, her story of her journey to wellness brings together mind and body, East and West, solid research and the upper reaches of human potential.”
–Rick Hanson, Ph.D., author of Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom
“Our seasons of serious illness can be scary, lonely and deeply depressing. Now, with The Last Best Cure we have a window into another possibility. Donna Jackson Nakazawa made discoveries about stress, disease and the role of meditation and yoga that led her to profound healing. Grounded in scientific research and presented with great lucidity and warmth, Donna’s story will guide, comfort and inspire you as you journey toward full aliveness and wellbeing.”
–Tara Brach, Ph.D., author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge
About the Author
Donna Jackson Nakazawa is an acclaimed journalist, public speaker, and author of the award-winning book The Autoimmune Epidemic. An alumna of the MacDowell Colony and Yaddo, Nakazawa is a graduate of Duke University.
More About the Author
Donna Jackson Nakazawa
Donna Jackson Nakazawa is an award-winning science journalist and public speaker. In her newest book, The Last Best Cure (Hudson Street, February 2013), she chronicles her year-long journey investigating the groundbreaking neuroscience on how mind-body therapies such as meditation, yoga and acupuncture awaken the healing potential of our brains, change our biology, and revitalize our cells and our health.
Along the way, Nakazawa unveils a little known branch of research showing the profound link between "adverse childhood experiences" and chronic illness in adulthood; a discovery that helps to turn her own life around. Critics call Nakazawa's "story-telling art" "masterful" and The Last Best Cure "a genuine page-turning science/non-fiction thriller;" a book that will not only "change lives; it may even save some."
She is also the author of The Autoimmune Epidemic (Touchstone/Simon and Schuster, 2008, 2009), an investigation into the reasons behind today's rising rates of autoimmune and related diseases. In The Autoimmune Epidemic, Nakazawa lays out the mounting evidence showing how our modern lifestyles, stress levels, chemical-laden environment and twenty-first century diet have created the ripest possible conditions for today's autoimmune epidemic to take hold.
Ms. Nakazawa lectures nationwide and has keynoted numerous events including the 2012 International Congress on Autoimmunity; Johns Hopkins Annual Women's Health Conference, "A Woman's Journey;" and New York's 92nd Street Y's To Your Health Lecture Series. She has also moderated panels for national symposiums including the American Association of Autoimmune and Related Diseases (AARDA) 2010 Summit.
She is also the author of Does Anybody Else Look Like Me? A Parent's Guide to Raising Multiracial Children (Perseus 2003), as well as a contributor to the Andrew Weil Integrative Medicine Library book, Integrative Gastroenterology, (Oxford University Press, April 2010).
Ms. Nakazawa has appeared on The Today Show, National Public Radio, and ABC News. Her work has been featured on the cover of Parade, in Time, USA Today Weekend, Parenting, and Psychology Today. She has been a regular contributor to More, and her work has appeared in The Washington Post, Glamour, Ladies Home Journal, and AARP the Magazine.
She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2012 AESKU award, presented to those who have made a lifetime contribution to the field of autoimmune disease, and the 2010 National Health Information Award, recognizing the nation's best magazine articles in health.
Ms. Nakazawa has received writing in residence fellowships from the Corporation of Yaddo and the MacDowell Colony. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Public Policy from Duke University and is a graduate of the Radcliffe Publishing Procedures Program.
Donna Jackson Nakazawa is an award-winning science journalist and public speaker. In her newest book, The Last Best Cure (Hudson Street, February 2013), she chronicles her year-long journey investigating the groundbreaking neuroscience on how mind-body therapies such as meditation, yoga and acupuncture awaken the healing potential of our brains, change our biology, and revitalize our cells and our health.
Along the way, Nakazawa unveils a little known branch of research showing the profound link between "adverse childhood experiences" and chronic illness in adulthood; a discovery that helps to turn her own life around. Critics call Nakazawa's "story-telling art" "masterful" and The Last Best Cure "a genuine page-turning science/non-fiction thriller;" a book that will not only "change lives; it may even save some."
She is also the author of The Autoimmune Epidemic (Touchstone/Simon and Schuster, 2008, 2009), an investigation into the reasons behind today's rising rates of autoimmune and related diseases. In The Autoimmune Epidemic, Nakazawa lays out the mounting evidence showing how our modern lifestyles, stress levels, chemical-laden environment and twenty-first century diet have created the ripest possible conditions for today's autoimmune epidemic to take hold.
Ms. Nakazawa lectures nationwide and has keynoted numerous events including the 2012 International Congress on Autoimmunity; Johns Hopkins Annual Women's Health Conference, "A Woman's Journey;" and New York's 92nd Street Y's To Your Health Lecture Series. She has also moderated panels for national symposiums including the American Association of Autoimmune and Related Diseases (AARDA) 2010 Summit.
She is also the author of Does Anybody Else Look Like Me? A Parent's Guide to Raising Multiracial Children (Perseus 2003), as well as a contributor to the Andrew Weil Integrative Medicine Library book, Integrative Gastroenterology, (Oxford University Press, April 2010).
Ms. Nakazawa has appeared on The Today Show, National Public Radio, and ABC News. Her work has been featured on the cover of Parade, in Time, USA Today Weekend, Parenting, and Psychology Today. She has been a regular contributor to More, and her work has appeared in The Washington Post, Glamour, Ladies Home Journal, and AARP the Magazine.
She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2012 AESKU award, presented to those who have made a lifetime contribution to the field of autoimmune disease, and the 2010 National Health Information Award, recognizing the nation's best magazine articles in health.
Ms. Nakazawa has received writing in residence fellowships from the Corporation of Yaddo and the MacDowell Colony. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Public Policy from Duke University and is a graduate of the Radcliffe Publishing Procedures Program.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 38 people found the following review helpful
By
S. Judd
on February 21, 2013
Format: Hardcover
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Everyone should read this book! I was very lucky to receive an early copy of this incredible book, and I literally could not put it down.. I had been waiting for Nakazawa's next book, because I had loved reading Autoimmune Epidemic and had learned so much from it. I read her last book really for my loved ones who suffer from autoimmune disease, so I could understand their struggles more clearly. I wasn't expecting this book to speak to me personally, knowing that the author was going to be writing about dealing with a chronic physical condition earlier in her life. But as the pages unfolded, I realized that her desire to find joy and move past pain and all the fears that plague us -- WHATEVER our source of suffering might be -- was EXACTLY the place I find myself in at this point in my life. The further I got in the book, the more I identified with her, and the more I wanted her to WIN! She blends science with her own story seamlessly - making it easy to follow and fold into my understanding of myself. I came away with some great tools to find ways to increase my own sense of joy despite my migraines, my daily struggle with anxiety, and every other challenge in my life that feels like an obstacle. Nakazawa explains in this book how everything works against us, our biology, our brains, our lives. And yet taking the simple steps to engage in the science-based practices she outlines is vital because, as this book helped me to understand, finding joy is like taking a vitamin that's as protective as any medicine in our medicine cabinet. I will be taking that vitamin every day because I want my joy back, too. I will honestly be recommending this book to all my friends and will be buying more than a few copies to give as gifts.(less)
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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful
By
K. Minear
on February 23, 2013
Format: Hardcover
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I stayed up all night to finish this great book. I fell in love with the authors story and what unfolded surprised me. She is an award winning science journalist but she writes about her efforts to find joy through the science in a memoir form and weaves the two together beautifully.
The author finds out about an area of research relating really difficult things in childhood to later having physical conditions in adulthood. On two levels this really captured me. First, the science is riveting and I found it echoed some of my own issues with MS. Second, the book began to read like a detective novel, as she tried to piece together the relationship between the past and not only her present chronic health issues but also her difficulty in finding joy.
As I read the book, I found myself rooting for the author, doing every practice she practiced, and feeling better as she felt better. It was as much a healing experience for me as it was a great read.
This book reminded me of the bestseller, Blindsided, only it spoke to me much more, because it was as if she was inside my life as a woman and as a mom.
I loved it!
The author finds out about an area of research relating really difficult things in childhood to later having physical conditions in adulthood. On two levels this really captured me. First, the science is riveting and I found it echoed some of my own issues with MS. Second, the book began to read like a detective novel, as she tried to piece together the relationship between the past and not only her present chronic health issues but also her difficulty in finding joy.
As I read the book, I found myself rooting for the author, doing every practice she practiced, and feeling better as she felt better. It was as much a healing experience for me as it was a great read.
This book reminded me of the bestseller, Blindsided, only it spoke to me much more, because it was as if she was inside my life as a woman and as a mom.
I loved it!
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
By
suzanneb
on March 11, 2013
Format: Hardcover
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This book is the Bible for anyone with autoimmune disease. I read Donna Jackson Zakawaza's first book, "The Autoimmune Epidemic," after being diagnosed with two autoimmune diseases: autoimmune pancreatitis and hashimotos. It was an eye opener and convinced me that there had to be a way to live my life without prednisone and other drugs. I immediately commenced with a natural healing program and put myself on the list for her next book, "The Last and Best Cure" which I finished last week. It inspired me to keep with my program and taught me the new science behind it. It's been 6 months since my diagnosis and I am off prednisone and autoimmune antibody free (with a fully functioning thyroid and pancreas) by following the principles outlined in her latest work. It works! The new, evidence-based science she describes gives all of us hope for living a fuller, happier and more joyful life, no matter the status of your physical health, your age, or starting point. If you work on your mind, your body will follow. I will be first in line to order her next book.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By
Lissa Caltrider
on March 20, 2013
Format: Hardcover
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Donna Nakazawa's book The Last Best Cure should be a textbook for life. In my adult life, I have repeatedly sought "alternative" therapies because when I've done them I always feel better in some way. Accupuncture, reiki, breath work, meditation at a buddhist center, yoga, etc. But I never committed to any of them as they seemed indulgent; spa-like. Donna's honest, detailed relaying of her personal experience with illness (some that that western medicine couldn't fully explain) and wellness is invaluable in helping me commit to mindfulness/wellness in the name of longevity!! She reports on the scientific benefits of what I called "indulgent" therapies and translates them into language anyone can understand. The book was a gift to me and I have already sent it two others and imagine that along with The Art of Happiness it will be a regular gift I give. Plus, now I can feel good about giving myself the gift of more yoga classes and time for meditation! Thank you, Ms. Nakazawa!!
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By
Hope
on June 27, 2013
Format: Hardcover
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I cannot say enough about this book. It is WONDERFUL. Donna Jackson Nakazawa is brilliant technical writer and masterful storyteller. Once I started, I could not put the book down. I loved reading about her personal journey and could relate to her story so well. After suffering from progressive chronic illness for 15 years and trying every possible organic whole foods gf/df diet-from paleo to raw vegan, detox protocols, 100's of different supplements and protocols, endless bodywork and exercise, this book instills hope in me. I knew that a stressful childhood, shaped the person I am today. And I knew I had issues managing stress and my flight/fight response my entire life. But I never understood the connection between childhood and how it could shape my response to stress that then sets one up for illness. I had also recently said to one of my bodyworkers, before reading the book, I need more JOY in my life to heal. And felt like I had PTSD now from the illness itself. This book came to me at the perfect time in my life when I needed it most. I had begun to look at mind/body medicine, changing my thoughts, mindfulness, the power of neuroplasticity, and ways to retrain the Limbic system and get out of fight/flight mode of the Amygdala. This convinced me that is a path worth taking, with science to back it up. Our culture separates mind, body, and spirit--something that the ancients and what we believe to be primitive cultures, understood were all connected when you treat someone who is physically ill. Whether you suffer from autoimmune disease or any other chronic illness or want to maintain your health, you MUST read this book! Thank you for inspiring me Donna. I cannot wait to read you next book!
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