This Is How I Save My Life: From California to India, a True Story of Finding Everything When You Are Willing to Try Anything

Amy Scher’s memoir is a gut-wrenching, enthralling, and exquisitely beautiful account of a person finding healing when all seemed to be lost. There are quite a few beautiful reviews here on the site, like Susan Bauman’s, so I won’t repeat the book’s storyline or give a synopsis. What I want to say is that I cried. I felt her words’ ability to evoke the complete range from despair to transcendent joy, from grief over the loss of beloved ones, to the heart-melting happiness of finding love where she least expected it.I cried for my own journey, for the journeys of my patients, the anguish and happiness of so many friends and family members who’ve suffered some loss of health, or loved ones, or security. And then I cried with happiness, for her healing, and for all those in my life who also found the farther reaches of joy and well-being. When Amy tells her story, with that raw, naked truth, it becomes a universal story, one that anyone, anywhere, can relate to, if only they open their heart.In the process, Amy discovers the real truth that Eastern medicine has always spoken of – that our health is not separate from what goes on in our hearts, minds, and spirit. To truly find healing we must integrate them all, fearlessly, and set about on the path of the Good. Amy goes to India to find many of these truths, and then embodies them.And as I read her story, I could not but help remember the words of the great Chinese teacher of T’ai Chi Chuan, Professor Cheng Man-Ching, who was also a doctor, calligrapher, poet, and painter. This poem hung on the wall of his studio in New York City. . .Hall of Happinessby Cheng Man-ChingMay the joy that is everlasting gather in this hall. Not the joy of a sumptuous feast, which slips away even as we leave the table; nor that which music brings—it is only of a limited duration. Beauty and a pretty face are like flowers; they bloom for a while, then die. Even our youth slips swiftly away and is gone.No, enduring happiness is not in these, nor in the three joys of Jung Kung. We may as well forget them, for the joy I mean is worlds away from these.It is the joy of continuous growth, of helping to develop in ourselves and others the talents and abilities with which we were born—the gifts of heaven to mortal men. It is to revive the exhausted and to rejuvenate that which is in decline, so that we are enabled to dispel sickness and suffering.Let true affection and happy concourse abide in this Hall. Let us here correct our past mistakes and lose preoccupation with self. With the constancy of the planets in their courses or of the dragon in his cloud-wrapped path, let us enter the land of health and ever after walk within its bounds.Let us fortify ourselves against weakness and learn to be self-reliant, without ever a moment’s lapse. Then our resolution will become the very air we breathe, the world we live in; then we will be as happy as a fish in crystal waters. This is the joy which lasts, that we can carry with us to the end of our days. And tell me, if you can; what greater happiness can life bestow?New York City, 1973

Scher travels to India for bold, controversial stem cell treatments for her advanced Lyme disease after exhausting her options in the U.S.. At the time, she’d spent nearly a decade chasing a return to elusive health. She was plagued with debilitating fatigue, limited mobility and a battered immune system. India held an intriguing promise of hope, a maverick doctor with a new protocol and a belief in the body’s ability to help heal itself. Scher’s book demonstrates the wonder of stem cells to restore some physical vitality to her illness-ravaged body. Yet, when other complications arise, she realizes that she must also do the difficult work of finding how to heal herself from within. She mines the dark parts of her life that she has managed to tamp down, embraces her fears and simply lets go of her need to control outcomes. The result is transforming. Scher finds a deeper sense of self and sustainable wholeness in the process. This is not the typical sickness to wellness book. While that part is interesting and compelling, it is Scher’s inner transformation that is the most engaging and wonderful part of the book. She began as a wary, worried patient who made a medical “pilgrimage” to an unfamiliar country, and emerges as an independent person, confident in her ability to survive and weather the storms of life. This book will appeal to anyone struggling with chronic, life-threatening illness or merely the challenges of day-to-day living. Scher writes with humor, honesty and genuine exuberance. The reader takes the remarkable journey with Scher, inspired by her strength and sheer tenacity. A joyful, enlightening read that leaves a lasting impression.

Recommended to buy. I love India and this book was a page turner.

I have followed Amy's work for the past 7 years and I found this to be her best writing yet. She is far enough on the other side of her health challenges to write about her journey with humor, perspective and earned wisdom. An inspiring memoir, this page turner was quickly devoured in two days. I was on the edge of my seat as her story unfolded.This books takes you on the sometimes bumpy but always inspiring journey that led Amy to study energy work and develop many of her own emotional healing techniques. (Refer to her last book, "How To Heal Yourself When No-one Else Can", which is a "how to" book for her approach.) Amy's honesty and humor throughout this memoir are refreshing and admirable. She is very personable and relatable and I deeply valued her honest sharing of all the ups and downs and backstories behind her experiences. (Plus, you'll also fall in love with her parents along the way!)Highly recommend to anyone who loves a good memoir - it's just a damn good story. And, if you have had your own health challenges, you will be especially inspired by her tenacity, grace and grit!

This book is a ray of hope for those of us with loved ones who have exhausted every means available in Western medicine. The author's journey is eye-opening and honest, and I found it refreshing that, unlike many other stories of this nature, there aren't heroes or villains or an all-too-easy judgment of one approach vs another. The characters, interpersonal relationships, and cultural experiences are nuanced as well.

"This is How I Save My Life" is Amy B. Scher's account of her self healing journey both before and after a diagnosis of stage four Lyme disease.Amy sought treatment from the best medical clinics in the US, yet her health continued to deteriorate.However, "Fate" intervened and Amy learns of a clinic in Delhi, using ground breaking stem cell treatments on patients with spinal injuries, and she is successful in being accepted for treatment.Although costly, her parents support her decision, and travel with her to India.I enjoyed her honesty, which includes both the highs and the lows of her transformation, as the stem cells invite change not only on her physical body, but on her emotions, mind and spirit.The Indian doctors provide many pearls of wisdom, including:"The Universe is shifting to bring you what you need to heal yourself, so then you will be able to move on and do bigger things."Amy's transformation continues and indeed never ends, as I too have found on my own journey with chronic illness.

Incredible, remarkable, beautiful, inspiring. I don’t often leave reviews but Amy B. Scher’s writing has me running to the keyboard to tell you to BUY THIS BOOK! The story will warm your heart, the writing will take you on a journey. I found myself on the bustling streets of India - the noise and smells and the colours so vivid, the heartbreaking and heartmaking journey had me in tears, I was shouting and cheering, willing Amy on from the sidelines. After a while, I looked up and realised the colours were grey and white and the sounds were the train I was on, travelling not through Delhi but though the English countryside. I was transported - and Amy will transport you too. So get this book.. it really is some kind of wonderful.

Lived this book.

I think to say this is my favourite book would be quite accurate 😊It’s hard to explain but some how this book pulled me in , I felt like I was there …For someone whom has been dealt the chronic health card also this so resonated with me .For any one who has been through a whirl wind of health / life this would be an amazing read . To open your eyes more to see things just that little differently…To just let go and let life show you the way ..Will definitely read again 😊 and 200% recommend .

I am overcoming different illnesses but going through a similar internal process. I could relate to so much of your story, Amy, especially the pleaser/perfectionist that I believe was a major factor in being that sick person. Thank you for articulating it so well and in such beautiful written language.