Cure : A Journey into the Science of Mind Over Body

Writing with simplicity, clarity and style, and covering an enormous range of material, [Marchant] surveys with grace what we think we know, and what we would like to know, about the mysterious and troubling relationship between our minds and our bodies * GUARDIAN * A well-researched page-turner ... may very well lead to widespread changes in the ways we practice medicine * NEW YORK POST * A diligent and useful work that makes the case for 'holistic' medicine while warning against the snake-oil salesmen who have annexed that word for profit * SUNDAY TIMES * A rewarding read that seeks to separate the wishful and emotion-driven from the scientifically tested * WASHINGTON POST * This is popular science writing at its very best ... I would recommend this book to anybody who has a mind and a body -- HENRY MARSH * author of DO NO HARM: STORIES OF LIFE, DEATH, AND BRAIN SURGERY * Compelling * NATURE * Marchant is a skeptical, evidence-based reporter - one with a background in microbiology, no less - which makes for a fascinating juxtaposition against some of the alternative treatments she discusses * NEW YORK MAGAZINE * This is an important book, and one that will challenge those dismissive of efforts to investigate how our thoughts, emotions and beliefs might directly influence our physical wellbeing ... intriguing and trailblazing * SYDNEY MORNING HERALD * A powerful and critically needed conceptual bridge for those who are frustrated with pseudoscientific explanations of alternative therapies but intrigued by the mind's potential power to both cause and treat chronic, stress-related conditions * PUBLISHERS WEEKLY * Cure represents a journey in the best sense of the word: a vivid, compassionate, generous exploration of the role of the human mind in both health and illness -- DEBORAH BLUM

Dr Jo Marchant is an award-winning science journalist based in London. She has a PhD in genetics and medical microbiology from St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College in London, and an MSc in Science Communication (with a dissertation in evidence-based medicine) from Imperial College London. She has worked as an editor at New Scientist and at Nature and her articles have appeared in publications including the Guardian, Wired UK, The Observer Review, New Scientist and at Nature. Her radio and TV appearances include BBC Radio 4's Start the Week and Today programmes, CNN and National Geographic. She has lectured around the world. Her book Decoding the Heavens was shortlisted for the 2009 Royal Society Prize for Science Books.