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The Last Best Cure: My Quest to Awaken the Healing Parts of My Brain and Get Back My Body, My Joy, a nd My Life by Donna Jackson Nakazawa2013 | ISBN: 159463128X | English | 320 pages | EPUB | 0.7 MBOne day Donna Jackson Nakazawa found herself lying on the floor to recover from climbing the stairs. That’s when it hit her. She was managing the symptoms of the autoimmune disorders that had plagued her for a decade, but she had lost her joy. As a science journalist, she was curious to know what mind-body strategies might help her. As a wife and mother she was determined to get her life back.Over the course of one year, Nakazawa researches and tests a variety of therapies including meditation, yoga, and acupuncture to find out what works. But the discovery of a little-known branch of research into Adverse Childhood Experiences causes her to have an epiphany about her illness that not only stuns her—it turns her life around.Perfect for readers of Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project, Nakazawa shares her unexpected discoveries, amazing improvements, and shows readers how they too can find their own last best cure. Editorial ReviewsPraise for The Last Best Cure:“The Last Best Cure will change lives; it may even save some. For all who travel through the dark and lonely landscape of chronic illness, here is hope and healing supported by solid science and first-hand experience. Hand extended, heart open, Donna Jackson Nakazawa is a seasoned, compassionate guide, pointing the way to the light at the end of the tunnel.”–Katrina Kenison, author of The Gift of an Ordinary Day“This is a genuine page-turning science/non-fiction thriller! Nakazawa is endearing. Her situation is compelling. Her story-telling art is masterful. You will learn a great deal of up-to-the-minute neuroscience research all the while hoping that Nakazawa’s disciplined quest for health succeeds.”–Sylvia Boorstein, author of Happiness is An Inside Job: Practicing for a Joyful Life“Donna Jackson Nakazawa has written a moving account of her recovery from severe autoimmune disorders and her success with innovative mind/body therapies. It will certainly inspire others suffering from chronic illness to use integrative medicine to activate their innate healing potential.”–Andrew Weil, M.D. author of Spontaneous Happiness“As both a science journalist and someone struggling with serious health issues, Donna Jackson Nakazawa offers clarity, heart, and hope for recovery and well-being. Funny, fast-moving, honest, insightful, and always helpful, her story of her journey to wellness brings together mind and body, East and West, solid research and the upper reaches of human potential.”–Rick Hanson, Ph.D., author of Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom“Our seasons of serious illness can be scary, lonely and deeply depressing. Now, with The Last Best Cure we have a window into another possibility. Donna Jackson Nakazawa made discoveries about stress, disease and the role of meditation and yoga that led her to profound healing. Grounded in scientific research and presented with great lucidity and warmth, Donna’s story will guide, comfort and inspire you as you journey toward full aliveness and wellbeing.”–Tara Brach, Ph.D., author of Radical Acceptance and True RefugeAbout the AuthorDonna Jackson Nakazawa is an acclaimed journalist, public speaker, and author of the award-winning book The Autoimmune Epidemic. An alumna of the MacDowell Colony and Yaddo, Nakazawa is a graduate of Duke University. BiographyDonna Jackson NakazawaDonna Jackson Nakazawa is an award-winning science journalist interested in exploring the intersection between neuroscience, immunology, and the deepest inner workings of the human heart. Her most recent book, Childhood Disrupted: How Your Biography Becomes Your Biology, and How You Can Heal, examines the lifelong consequences–both emotional and physical–of adverse childhood experiences, and offers readers suffering from chronic conditions a window to healing. Donna’s other works include The Autoimmune Epidemic (Touchstone, Simon & Schuster, 2008, 2009), which investigates the causes of a growing environmental health crisis, and The Last Best Cure (Hudson Street Press / Penguin, 2013), which chronicles a year-long journey to test a variety of mind-body therapies in order to unlock the restorative powers of the brain. She is also the author of Does Anybody Else Look Like Me?: A Parent’s Guide to Raising Multicultural Children (Perseus, 2003).In addition to her work as a science journalist, Donna lectures nationwide and has keynoted numerous events, including the 2012 International Congress on Autoimmunity; the Johns Hopkins Women’s Health Conference, “A Woman’s Journey;” and the To Your Health Lecture Series, hosted by the 92nd Street Y in New York City. She has moderated panels for national health symposiums, including the American Association of Autoimmune Related Diseases (AARD) 2010 Summit, and lectured at medical schools nationwide.Donna has appeared on The Today Show, National Public Radio, and ABC News. Her work has been highlighted on the cover of Parade, as well as in Time, USA Today Weekend, Parenting, and Psychology Today. Additionally, her writing has been featured in The Washington Post, Glamour, Ladies Home Journal, and AARP Magazine. She has been a regular contributor to More and blogs for Psychology Today.She is the recipient of the 2012 AESKU award, presented to those who have made a lifetime contribution in the field of autoimmunity, and the 2010 National Health Information Award, which strives to recognize the nation’s best magazine articles in health.Donna has completed writing-in-residence fellowships at the Corporation of Yaddo, the MacDowell Colony, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English and Public Policy from Duke University and is a graduate of the Radcliffe Publishing Procedures Program.She lives with her husband, two children, and three dogs in Stevenson, Maryland.