Book Review: Close to the Bone

Life-Threatening Illness as a Soul Journey

by Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D.

In her book, Close to the Bone, Jean Bolen succeeds at 1) describing the soul-body connection and 2) prescribing how to utilize it for positive gain.  Her insight fits very securely with the insights of connectivity familiar to those who understand and practice spiritual living.  The author is well-known for her use of illustrations from mythology to describe psychological behavior and elicit an Aha! response.  She has written Gods in Every Man and Goddesses in Every Woman, among  many others.  Dr. Bolen was invited to address a Cancer Patients Conference, drawing explicitly on the myth of Persephone.  The descent of the Soul into The Underworld proved to be a meaningful frame for them as they sought to take control of their own health and well-being.  The mother-daughter relationship represented by Demeter and Persephone and coupled with the agency of Hermes, the messenger god, further fleshes out the complexities of healing.  Dr. Bolen reinforces my conviction that just as we can make ourselves sick, so too can we make ourselves well. She speaks of “guardian angels” who are accessible to us when we pray.  They represent the bridge between the invisible world and the physical one.  Healing energy is very real.

Review by Jane Waldorf

Close to the Bone is available by special order from Stepping Stones Books & Gifts.  Please call us at (707) 527-8372 to place an order.