New Pathway To Healing: An Interview With Dr. Bernie Siegel

For many, Dr. Bernard Siegel—or Bernie, as he prefers needs no introduction. He has touched many lives all over the Planet. In 1978, he reached a national, then international audience when he began talking about patient empowerment and the choice to live fully and die in peace. As a physician who has cared for and counseled innumerable people whose mortality has been threatened by illness, Bernie embraces a philosophy of living and dying that stands at the forefront of the medical ethics and spiritual issues our Society grapples with today. In May 2011, Bernie was honored by the Watkins Review of London, England, as one of the Top 20 Spiritually Influential Living People on the Planet. He continues to break new ground in the field of healing, supporting changes in medical education to “humanize” medical practice.

Bernie was born in Brooklyn, NY, and attended Colgate University and Cornell University Medical College. He trained to become a surgeon at Yale New Haven Hospital, West Haven Veteran’s Hospital & the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. In 1989, Bernie retired from Yale as an Assistant Clinical Professor of General and Pediatric Surgery to speak to patients, families & caregivers.

In his latest book, his 12th, published in September 2011, entitled A BOOK OF MIRACLES—Inspiring True Stories of Healing, Gratitude, and Love, Bernie is described in the Foreword written by Deepak Chopra who tells us “Bernie Siegel began his writing career twenty-five years ago, and from the outset he didn’t shy away from miracles. The title of his first book—LOVE, MEDICINE & MIRACLES (1986)—flaunted his disagreement with mainstream medicine. In his new book, Bernie reaffirms his original beliefs, & with a lifetime’s wisdom and experience, he trusts in miracles more than ever.”