Norman Cousins

Norman Cousins became editor in chief of the Saturday Review in 1942 at the age of twenty-seven and held the position until 1972. In the 1960s Cousins was stricken with a life-threatening collagen disease. He made a full recovery and chronicled his experiences in a collection of best-selling nonfiction books on illness and healing. Cousins died in 1990 at the age of seventy-five.

The Dog-Eared Page

The Mysterious Placebo

excerpted from
Anatomy Of An Illness As Perceived By The Patient

Over long centuries, doctors have been educated by their patients to observe the prescription ritual. Most people seem to feel their complaints are not taken seriously unless they are in possession of a little slip of paper with indecipherable but magic markings. To the patient, a prescription is a certificate of assured recovery.

January 2011
What Do You Think?

Has something we published moved you? Fired you up? Did we miss the mark? We’d love to hear about it.

 SEND US A LETTER