"Why do you want to live longer?" cardiovascular surgeon, researcher and man of faith Lester R. Sauvage, MD, asked his patients before their life-saving surgery knowing that the answer would aid their healing by bringing to their consciousness a motivation to live. In Opening Hearts, Dr. Sauvage poses that same question for all of us because he knows that the answer will guide our actions. He also asks us to consider: What is the purpose of my life? How can I live a life of meaning? What is happiness and how do I find it? What do my actions reveal about whom or what I love? Why does it matter?
Doctor Sauvage then guides us with his unique and very spiritual "heart wisdom" to find our answers.
He shares how the human body and the universe provide evidence for God. He reveals how spiritual awareness and life choices relate to healing, health, and happiness. And finally, he provides practical information to nurture the body, mind, and spirit.
His goal: to help you create a life full of love and purpose.
During his career, this Renaissance-style philosopher-surgeon-scientist performed 10,000+ surgeries, many miraculous. His research lab abounded with life-saving medical devices and advances. Yet he'll tell you his most important discovery was recognizing that love is the ultimate medicine that heals our body, mind, and spirit.
This book is part faith, part science, part healing and health, and part autobiography describing an amazing life. It will inspire and challenge you to live in a more conscious, loving, and heart-centered way.
About the Author: Prior to his retirement from medical practice in 1991, Lester R. Sauvage, MD was a world-renown cardiovascular surgeon and researcher.
His innovative work in the early 1960s paved the way for successful cardiac bypass graft surgery; the most frequently performed life-extending heart operation in the world. During his prolific career, his research added a tremendous amount of new knowledge about surgical procedures and techniques plus yielded medical device inventions including artificial heart values, and synthetic veins and arteries.
At a critical juncture in his life Dr. Sauvage chose medicine over the priesthood but his deeply-held faith has permeated everything he has ever done. As his reputation for "whole person care" spread, he earned the designation as the "Mother Teresa of heart surgery" for the compassionate way he attended every patient regardless of their beliefs or ability to pay. It wasn't unusual to see him post-surgery feeding his patients or washing their hair. His mission was to love everyone with the same Divine love he experienced.
In retirement, Dr. Sauvage turned his attention to spreading his passion for healing through writing and speaking.
He is the author of 253 professional papers and one medical book plus three previous books for the general public: The Open Heart (1996, forewords by Mother Teresa and C. Everett Koop, MD); You Can Beat Heart Disease (1998, endorsed by forty-seven medical authorities); The Better Life Diet (2000).
Barbara Mulvey Little is an author, writer, editor, certified spiritual director, and hospice volunteer with nearly two decades of experience writing about spiritual topics for books, magazines, journals, newspapers, and online. You can see more of her work at BarbaraMulveyLittle.com.
