Discovering the Center: A Surgeon's Spiritual Journey

The author, eminent Harvard and Tufts professor, surgeon, chairman of the National Cancer Commission approvals committee, Dr. Edward Gray, tells of the conversion experience, the profound, inexpressibly joyous and mystical awareness of God's presence, that deepened his faith and transformed him in the process.

Recounting his life as husband, father, friend and surgeon, Dr. Gray finds that, after the conversion experience, he is more patient and peaceful with family and friends, and miraculously resolute and confident in his surgical practice. Recounting his patients' lives, he finds many patients who were considered hopeless, but who miraculously recovered or extended their lives through their strong faith and serene acceptance of God's will. Dr. Gray describes how he practices God's presence through private prayer, meditation, Centering Prayer, the prayer of "consenting to the Holy Spirit," attendance of daily Mass, and reception of Holy Communion.

This work adds to the growing body of evidence that attests to a connection, however mysterious and beyond intellectual understanding, between science and religion. It is written with sensitivity and great depth of feeling in the tradition of Kübler-Ross, Benson, Keating, and McGinn, and should comfort and encourage physicians and patients alike.