One Man’s Odyssey

One Man’s Odyssey – Ian Pearce

One Man’s Odyssey by Dr Ian Pearce is the account of a doctor’s personal spiritual journey, a journey that led him away from the conventional medical point of view and towards a holistic approach to healing. Dr Pearce, also the author of The Gate of Healing, became known for his pioneering and unorthodox work in the complementary care of people with cancer.

In this book One Man’s Odyssey, he describes how this spiritual path shaped his mission of healing and holistic care. Dr Pearce was educated at Lancing College, Trinity College, Oxford and the London Hospital. He qualified in 1939 and was a house physician at the London Hospital until he joined the RAFVR (Medical Branch) in 1940. During the war he was mentioned in Despatches for his services in malaria control in India, Burma and Malaya. From 1946 to 1979 he worked as a family doctor in the NHS, and during those years he became convinced, through experience, that a more holistic approach to all disease was essential. After his retirement he devoted himself to complementary cancer care. He broadcast on radio and television and lectured in the UK, Ireland, South Africa, the USA and Canada. Dr Pearce died in 1987.

His story is that of an experienced, conventionally trained doctor who came to see the patient as a whole person: body, mind and spirit together. That view, once considered unusual, has since gained much wider attention in healthcare.

An inspiring read for anyone interested in holistic health, spiritual growth, complementary medicine and the personal journeys of doctors and healers.