Synopses & Reviews
In this revelatory memoir, Doctor Cynthia Li shares the truth about her disabling autoimmune illness, the limitations of Western medicine, and her hard-won lessons on healing — mind, body, and spirit.
Li had it all: a successful career in medicine, a loving marriage, children on the horizon. But it all came crashing down when, after developing an autoimmune thyroid condition, mysterious symptoms began consuming her body. Test after test came back "within normal limits," baffling her doctors — and baffling herself. Housebound with two young children, Li began a solo odyssey from her living room couch to find a way to heal.
Brave New Medicine details the physical and existential crisis that forces a young doctor to question her own medical training. She dives into the root causes of her illness, learning to unlock her body's innate intelligence and wholeness. Li relates her story with the insight of a scientist, and the humility and candor of a patient, exploring the emotional and spiritual shifts beyond the physical body.
Millions of people worldwide are affected by autoimmune disease. While complex conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) are gaining attention, patients struggling with these mysterious ailments remain largely dismissed by their doctors, families, and friends. This is the harsh reality that doctor-turned-"difficult patient" Li faced firsthand.
Drawing on cutting-edge science, ancient healing arts, and the power of intuition, this memoir offers support, validation, and a new perspective for doctors and patients alike. Through her story, you can find the wisdom and heart to start your own healing journey, too.
Review
"Brave New Medicine charts a new terrain, bridging conventional medicine with functional medicine, nutrition, environmental health, intuition, and spirituality — all in a highly entertaining, hard-earned miracle story." Lissa Rankin, MD, New York Times bestselling author of Mind Over Medicine and The Daily Flame, and founder of the Whole Health Medicine Institute
Review
"Beautifully written, heartbreakingly honest, and deeply inspirational. This is the story of a doctor whose personal experience transforms her view of what it means to be sick, and what it means to truly heal. Millions of people living with autoimmune disease (myself included) will see themselves reflected in these pages." Eileen Laird, host of Phoenix Helix, a podcast dedicated to autoimmune health
Review
"Each year brings a new stack of 'how-to' health manuals, but Cynthia Li's book is different. It's a moving, personal — and sometimes unsettling — investigation into the deepest questions surrounding chronic illness.... Her book is full of wisdom for both health care practitioners and those suffering from chronic illness." Chris Kresser, MS, LAc, New York Times bestselling author of Unconventional Medicine
Review
"In Cynthia Li's spellbinding book, we encounter the moving story of a physician struggling with her own autoimmune illness. Li's writing is so intimate — and so exacting — that it cuts like a knife. She raises fundamental questions about the future of medicine, her own future, and about being a doctor and a patient at the same time." Siddhartha Mukherjee, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Emperor of All Maladies--Siddhartha Mukherjee
About the Author
Cynthia Li, MD, graduated from The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and has practiced internal medicine in settings as diverse as Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, San Francisco General Hospital, and St. Anthony Medical Clinic for the homeless. She currently serves on the faculty of the Healer's Art program at the UCSF School of Medicine, and has a private practice in integrative and functional medicine. She lives in Berkeley, CA, with her husband and their two daughters.
Foreword writer Arlie Russell Hochschild, PhD, is a sociologist and author of Strangers in Their Own Land.