When we think about healing, we usually picture treatments, medications, and therapies — the things wedoto get better. But one of the most underestimated medicines in recovery is something far less clinical and far more human:hope.

I think of my patient, James. He’s one of those people you instantly like — kind, curious, and grounded. A few years ago, he was diagnosed with cancer. He did everything by the book — saw the best doctors in New York, went through chemotherapy, radiation, and every heavy-hitting drug they recommended. But when the storm settled, he was still searching for something that medicine alone couldn’t give him.

So he went to a healing center in Mexico. There, instead of more medication, he was prescribedmovement,meditation, aclean, structured diet, and something intangible but essential —belief.

At that center, there were shelves filled with handwritten books of stories — real patients who had faced the same terrifying diagnoses and survived. Each page was a testimony to hope. James said those stories were one of the most powerful parts of his healing. They gave him proof that recovery wasn’t just a possibility — it was reality.

And that idea — thatbelief shapes biology— has shown up in my own life too.

A few months ago, my husband hurt his knee. I remember watching him move in a way that told me everything — guarded, hesitant, unsure. But what stood out wasn’t just the pain in his knee; it was thefearbehind it. The worry that maybe something was really wrong.

He didn’t have confidence yet because he hadn’t experienced recovery before. He hadn’tfelthis body heal from something like that. But me? I wasn’t panicked. I’ve seen hundreds of bodies bounce back, adapt, and surprise their owners with how resilient they really are. My calm came fromexperience— from witnessing recovery over and over again.

That’s what James found in those books in Mexico. Real stories that calmed his fear and fueled his faith.
That’s what my husband needed in that moment — someone who had seen recovery and could say,“You’re going to be okay.”

And honestly, that’s what every patient really needs — someone who not only treats them, but believes in their ability to heal.

Because when you’re hurting, the body needs treatment — but the mind needsevidence of hope.

We heal best when we can see ourselves in someone else’s success story.