The Other Side of Impossible

Ordinary People Who Faced Daunting Medical Challenges and Refused to Give Up

By: Susannah Meadows

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

You’re faced with a difficult health condition. You have exhausted medicine’s answers. What do you do? Susannah Meadows tells the real-life stories of seven families who persisted when traditional medicine alone wasn’t enough.

Their adventures take us to the outer frontiers of medical science and cutting-edge complementary therapies, as Meadows explores research into the mind’s potential to heal the body, the possible role food may play in reversing disease, the power of agency, perseverance, and hope - and more.

When journalist Susannah Meadows noticed her three-year-old son, Shepherd, shying away from soccer practice, she had no idea it was the first sign of juvenile idiopathic arthritis. The diagnosis was the first step of a long journey, physically painful for Shepherd and emotionally wrenching for Susannah and her family. But they pressed on, and using a combination of traditional and complementary medicine they beat the disease, and the odds.

Meadows chronicles her own story and takes you into the lives of other remarkable people, exploring their heartbreaks and triumphs. One boy who has severe food allergies undergoes an unconventional therapy and is soon eating everything. An organic farmer in Washington State tries to solve the puzzle of her daughter’s epileptic seizures. A physician with MS creates her own combination of treatments and goes from a wheelchair to riding a bike again. A child diagnosed with ADHD refuses to take medication and instead improves his life, and the life of his family, after changing his diet. Other families take on rheumatoid arthritis and autistic behaviors.

Meadows includes new information about traditional and nontraditional medicine and the latest science on how the health of our gut bacteria is connected to wellness - and how the right foods play a key role in helping this microscopic population thrive. She also talks with scientists who study the traits and circumstances that may make some people keep going when others feel helpless. These researchers are illuminating the psychology of healing - how the mind, and asserting control over your body and health, can play a part in recovery.

Fascinating, moving, and profoundly inspiring, The Other Side of Impossible gives us people driven by love, desperation, and astonishing resolve - a community of the defiant who share an extraordinary talent for hope and for fighting the battle for healing in today’s world and tomorrow’s.

©2017 Susannah Meadows (P)2017 Random House Audio

So very informative

I love the style of how she made me feel part of the book ;

Brave people refusing to take no for an answer

I really enjoyed the families showcased and the dedication shown in seeking cures when the odds were so against them. I was sorry to see it end. Inspiring.

Very Helpful

As an educator, I found this book to shed light onto certain childhood illnesses and diseases. The commitment required for these kids and their family members is nothing short of stellar.

Timely

Well written and easily understood by those people that need it most. An even handed approach to the prevailing science. A crack in the wall that will allow energy medicine to take its rightful place integrated in and as a complement to Western medicine.

A Must Read

I've learned so much from listening. thank you. you have just confirmed why I keep searching!!

Better alternatives available

It is hard to know how to review this book. The writer is talented. However, the downsides are significant. The stories vary quite a bit. Some rely on the well-documented relationship between health and nutrition, including various diets that have become widely adopted (i.e. the Paleo Diet). Others seem to be a bit more quackery, where the described patient gets well through a series of seeming psychological changes. The latter are hard to take seriously. I also found it a bit off-putting how every story, minus Dr. Wahls', seem to come from upper class individuals with enormous resources to investigate their health issues. Where were the stories from everyday Americans not on the East Coast?

The narration is also a bit hard to take. She has the NPR voice. If you can listen to NPR for 10+ hours, you can listen to this book. Perhaps it was the narrative style of the writing that exacerbated this.

Overall, this is not a book I would recommend to others beginning on their health journey. If the writer had used more consistent stories, I might say otherwise.