This novel compares how various aboriginal groups - i.e. Inuit and First Nations - have long traditions involving treatment of their elderly and disabled citizens as compared with how our supposedly sophisticated societies deal with the same problem.

We justify the expansion of our full care nursing homes on the basis that they provide more efficient utilisation of professional services and resources to achieve a higher standard in quality of care but we tend to neglect the even more important objective of quality of life.

This book is based upon the author's many years spent in his hometown of Fredericton, New Brunswick. There are dozens of references to current and historical sites in the province.

At Boston's Havenhouse Nursing Home, Will Howard, a retired professor of far eastern studies, and Joe Fiske, a former construction worker, join five women residents to begin a therapy group led by Meredith Saunders, a medical student. The Director of Nursing, Emily Rogers, doubts they are capable of having meaningful discussions, but also fears that the group will disrupt the smooth operation of her nursing home. As the group members meet with Meredith and share each other's stories of illness and family problems, they develop new friendships. The support they give each other emboldens them to confront restrictions and indignities they face daily in the nursing home.

When group members break the rules so they can watch the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, Mrs. Rogers sees her prediction come true. She insists they stop therapy and engage in a more harmless activity. Inspired by Will and assisted by the staff, the group designs and supervises the creation of a Japanese garden in their backyard. In so doing, they find new self-esteem and joy.

But even while they relish this achievement, all is not well. Old problems reassert themselves and unsuspected developments threaten their newly recovered happiness.

Dr. Duke has a thriving practice in New Jersey treating a variety of mental disorders. As luck would have it, four of his most bizarre clients are scheduled for his infamous Thursdays. As therapy progresses, the good doctor is forced to examine his own inner workings while attending to his strange and eccentric foursome.

Are his patients improving, or has the doctor crossed the line into madness? The race for sanity has begun. Will there be any winners, or will reality become a thing of the past for them all?

Continuing from Book I (Hessian John, 19th Century Military Surgeon, that ended in 1849) and Book II (Hessian John, Army Surgeon in the Pioneer West that ended in 1861), 44-year-old Mississippi plantation-owner Johann becomes a Confederate Army surgeon helping to organize the South’s medical corps and serving briefly as a Southern spy in the Union’s medical headquarters in Washington. While in the Union Army, he serves as a battlefield surgeon in the opening battles of the Civil War where he is wounded, captured by his own army, and returned to Confederate service where he continues as an army surgeon until sent on a gold-collecting mission to California serving President Davis’s hopes to stabilize the collapsing Confederate economy and to overcome the South’s blockaded access to European weapons and supplies. Finally, he participates in the attempted escape of President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet officials, ultimately returning to his Davis Bend plantation, Lindenbaum, where he is faced with the harsh problems of the Reconstruction Era so troubling to many Old-South landowners. In this third of a four-book series, military surgeon John continues on a stark Civil War Journey through mid-19th-Century Southern and Western America, participating in major historical events that deeply influenced his life.

Continuing from Book I (Hessian John, 19th Century Military Surgeon, that ended in 1849) and Book II (Hessian John, Army Surgeon in the Pioneer West that ended in 1861), 44-year-old Mississippi plantation-owner Johann becomes a Confederate Army surgeon helping to organize the South’s medical corps and serving briefly as a Southern spy in the Union’s medical headquarters in Washington. While in the Union Army, he serves as a battlefield surgeon in the opening battles of the Civil War where he is wounded, captured by his own army, and returned to Confederate service where he continues as an army surgeon until sent on a gold-collecting mission to California serving President Davis’s hopes to stabilize the collapsing Confederate economy and to overcome the South’s blockaded access to European weapons and supplies. Finally, he participates in the attempted escape of President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet officials, ultimately returning to his Davis Bend plantation, Lindenbaum, where he is faced with the harsh problems of the Reconstruction Era so troubling to many Old-South landowners. In this third of a four-book series, military surgeon John continues on a stark Civil War Journey through mid-19th-Century Southern and Western America, participating in major historical events that deeply influenced his life.

Continuing from Book I (Hessian John, 19th Century Military Surgeon that ended in 1849), 32-year-old Captain Johann is an assistant surgeon who has recently returned from the Mexican War. After being chastised by Army Surgeon General Tom Lawson for criticizing poor camp-sanitation practices, he was sent on an inspection trip to camps along the Oregon Trail where cholera and other diseases were spread by Forty-Niners. In the early ‘50s, his 4th Infantry Regiment was sent via Panama to Fort Vancouver where he served with Lieutenant U.S. Grant and Captain George McClellan. Still later, he roamed the gold fields to find a missing brother-in-law and to practice proper medicine among gold seekers who were poorly served by medical charlatans. In the mid-‘50s, he returned to Europe, serving with the U.S. Observer Team at the Crimean War where he learned more about sanitation from Florence Nightingale. Finally, he returned to his Hessian hometown where he was again captured by his pursuers who served the Baron Horst von Biebertal. In this second of a four-book series, frontier doctor John continues on a pre-Civil War journey through mid-19th century Western America, participating in historical events that further changed his life.

Johann Walbrecht, a young Germanic hunter/soldier, is immersed in medical training at Marburg University when he is forced to flee his country after a pistol duel with the son of the region’s Baron. He has no idea the course of his life is about to change forever. It is November 1840 when he boards a ship bound for America. Four months later, John arrives in New Orleans, Louisiana aboard the slave ship he has worked on keeping the captives alive. He buys four slaves, eats a hearty meal at a French restaurant, drinks too much, and is eventually robbed of the gold eagles gifted to him by ship’s captain. So begins Hessian John’s new and unpredictable adventure. He acquires Mississippi riverside land neighboring Joseph Davis (older brother of Jefferson Davis), completes his medical training, and is recruited as an army surgeon during the Mexican War of 1847. John soon becomes one of the earliest doctors to challenge the longstanding problem of poor sanitation in military camps and field operations. In the first of a four-book series, a frontier doctor embarks on a coming-of-age journey in the American South before the Civil War and participates in historical events that soon lead the direction of both his career and his life.”

Johann Walbrecht, a young Germanic hunter/soldier, is immersed in medical training at Marburg University when he is forced to flee his country after a pistol duel with the son of the region’s Baron. He has no idea the course of his life is about to change forever. It is November 1840 when he boards a ship bound for America. Four months later, John arrives in New Orleans, Louisiana aboard the slave ship he has worked on keeping the captives alive. He buys four slaves, eats a hearty meal at a French restaurant, drinks too much, and is eventually robbed of the gold eagles gifted to him by ship’s captain. So begins Hessian John’s new and unpredictable adventure. He acquires Mississippi riverside land neighboring Joseph Davis (older brother of Jefferson Davis), completes his medical training, and is recruited as an army surgeon during the Mexican War of 1847. John soon becomes one of the earliest doctors to challenge the longstanding problem of poor sanitation in military camps and field operations. In the first of a four-book series, a frontier doctor embarks on a coming-of-age journey in the American South before the Civil War and participates in historical events that soon lead the direction of both his career and his life.”

When an aging, agnostic physician encounters a young woman in the emergency room who is dying of respiratory failure; their relationship leads to an intense examination of faith and ethics in modern medicine. The friendship that develops between patient and physician is based on their shared Catholic background. Ethical conflicts develop as her disease becomes terminal and she requests a painless death. The ethical, legal, and emotional consequences for the physician are explored in the final chapters. A Single Degree of Freedom is a fictional account of what happened after the death of Sarah who spent over two and a half months in the hospital. Her physician stands accused of not only assisting her death but also of having an inappropriate relationship with her. The story from the Boston papers ran this lurid headline: “Mercy Killing- Doctor’s Assisted Suicide of His Lover.” As he sits before the Medical Board fighting for his reputation and his practice of over thirty-five years, he must also face his medical student daughter who questions what really happened and why! A Single Degree of Freedom is written in the form of a letter to his daughter allowing him to explain his relationship with Sarah and what ultimately caused her death.

When an aging, agnostic physician encounters a young woman in the emergency room who is dying of respiratory failure; their relationship leads to an intense examination of faith and ethics in modern medicine. The friendship that develops between patient and physician is based on their shared Catholic background. Ethical conflicts develop as her disease becomes terminal and she requests a painless death. The ethical, legal, and emotional consequences for the physician are explored in the final chapters. A Single Degree of Freedom is a fictional account of what happened after the death of Sarah who spent over two and a half months in the hospital. Her physician stands accused of not only assisting her death but also of having an inappropriate relationship with her. The story from the Boston papers ran this lurid headline: “Mercy Killing- Doctor’s Assisted Suicide of His Lover.” As he sits before the Medical Board fighting for his reputation and his practice of over thirty-five years, he must also face his medical student daughter who questions what really happened and why! A Single Degree of Freedom is written in the form of a letter to his daughter allowing him to explain his relationship with Sarah and what ultimately caused her death.

Doctor Klein looked into his young patient’s eyes, his heart going out to him. This would not be easy–telling Gene he was paralyzed from the neck down. He wondered where the parents were. They should be here beside him, especially now. The young man shouldn’t face this news alone. What had the doctor said? He would never be able walk or use his arms again? He was paralyzed. Why me, for God’s sake. I’m too young! I’m only seventeen. I have my whole life to live! No, his life was now delegated to living in a long-term care facility. Making things more difficult was his nurse, Cynthia. She was falling in love with him. She liked the control, knowing he couldn’t touch her like other men had. Weeks passed before Doctor Klein announced the news. There was a chance that Gene could possibly live a somewhat normal life again. The procedure would be risky... but Gene had nothing to lose. Would he be willing to take it–to take that chance? Of course he would. He would do anything rather than live in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. The doctors were reluctant in giving out any details about the procedure. It was highly controversial. That complicated matters. Gene finally convinced them to show him what they were doing. He was both shocked and excited. It was unbelievable what they had achieved in medical science. It was all too much for him. He told Cynthia a little of what they had done. She secretly vowed she would do anything to stop the doctors from making her man better. She loved him just the way he was–helpless.

Doctor Klein looked into his young patient’s eyes, his heart going out to him. This would not be easy–telling Gene he was paralyzed from the neck down. He wondered where the parents were. They should be here beside him, especially now. The young man shouldn’t face this news alone. What had the doctor said? He would never be able walk or use his arms again? He was paralyzed. Why me, for God’s sake. I’m too young! I’m only seventeen. I have my whole life to live! No, his life was now delegated to living in a long-term care facility. Making things more difficult was his nurse, Cynthia. She was falling in love with him. She liked the control, knowing he couldn’t touch her like other men had. Weeks passed before Doctor Klein announced the news. There was a chance that Gene could possibly live a somewhat normal life again. The procedure would be risky... but Gene had nothing to lose. Would he be willing to take it–to take that chance? Of course he would. He would do anything rather than live in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. The doctors were reluctant in giving out any details about the procedure. It was highly controversial. That complicated matters. Gene finally convinced them to show him what they were doing. He was both shocked and excited. It was unbelievable what they had achieved in medical science. It was all too much for him. He told Cynthia a little of what they had done. She secretly vowed she would do anything to stop the doctors from making her man better. She loved him just the way he was–helpless.

Dr. Hill marries an attractive exciting (with an unrecognized personality disorder) much younger woman. Together they buy and run a family practice in an isolated coastal fishing town. Unknowingly, their intrusion into the closed medical community provokes the dominant, local hospital, druggy doctor and henchmen to exile them from the area, a drug distribution center where hitmen sell “perfect accidents with none any the wiser”, patients and M.D.S. alike dying in such accidents.

Stuart Matheson, 32, is trapped in a nursing home as well as his body, eerily immobile at the last stage of Huntington's Disease. Kelsey Raye is a science writer feeling guilty about the recent deaths of her parents. She volunteers for hospice and is assigned to Stuart. She's a PhD, he never finished school, but they share a love of rock music and disdain of religion. They instantly bond.

As Kelsey plays her iPod daily for Stuart, he improves - an impossibility - and when she misses a few days, he backslides. She deduces that Stuart's gains follow hearing U2 or their imitators. Kelsey, who writes about stem cells, thinks the frequency of the arpeggios is turning on stem cells in Stuart's brain. She shares her idea with researcher Peter Holloway, but evil Nurse Smithies overhears and outs them to a tabloid. Meanwhile, Peter scans Stuart's brain. He's getting better!

All hell breaks loose when the tabloid hits. The government shuts down Peter's lab and confiscates Kelsey's iPod, while anti-stem cell protestors harass them -- just as Peter discovers how music stimulates stem cells. Then something unexpected happens. Did science fail, or was it the anti-science forces?

The underlying love story and comical cast of characters propel this parallel tale of emerging spirituality and an evolving medical technology. Many of the characters and scenes are based on real people, and the science dead-on accurate - with the one tweak of the music turning on stem cells.

It could happen.

The Strange Case of Rabin Jynuri is a journey into the terra incognita of the mind. Rabin was an involuntary guest of a state mental hospital. A therapist, determined to get at the source of Mr. Jynuri's quixotic and delusional mind, was convinced he had stumbled across a rare case of "Megalomaniacal Munchausen's Disease."

Rabin would prove to be the case of a lifetime for the heroic Dr. D.W. Dedicated to meet the challenge he constructed a case file, which was intended to support his thesis Ð "Psychophysiosophy and the treatment of integrated neurological and psychiatric disorders." Beginning in the summer of 1967, and continuing up to the time of his murder in the winter of 1968, Dr. D.W. worked on a system of mind/body therapy. He was a pioneer in a field of neuroscience, which incorporates various modern biophysical principles alongside ancient practices of holistic healing.

Transcripts of colorful tape-recorded sessions evolve into picturesque articulations, which lead our minds into a field of splendor. Within the mind of Rabin, there is a valley of the lord, a golden orchis, a golden family, as well as a whole lot of otherworldly realms of weirdness and wonder. It was not an easy task for the good Doctor, but he persevered, and in the end his work survived to tell its amazing story. Readers are urged to partake in the struggle that ensues over a piece of gold; one tiny piece of gold that resides at the center of a madman's consciousness. It is an epic battle waged between a patient that dedicated his life in search of a sacred flower, and the doctor determined to bring him back to reality. Reality becomes obscured as a mystery arises from the battlefield, the line drawn between religion and science dissolves. The doctor finds himself blinded, unable to know "which side of black and white the gray was that he was standing in" Ð as you will soon come to see, it is not an easy distinction to make in Rabin's world. It is an exercise in self-discovery, of finding your way in the dark, of coming to know what it is that eclipses the mind, and troubles the soul.