The
Wall Street Journal named Back to Life After
a Heart Crisis to its top five Wellness Books of 2010.
Dr.
Denton A. Cooley, Texas Heart Institute
"Thank you for sending me a copy of
your book, Back to Life After a Heart Crisis. I have
perused it and found many parts which were meaningful to me...
...I do think this book has a place
in graduate medical education and education of medical students
and surgery residents." Read
the full letter >
Huffington Post
"Power Couple, Power Recovery" www.huffingtonpost.com
By Arthur Rosenfeld, Novelist, philosopher, martial arts
teacher.
Back To Life after a Heart Crisis is
chock-full of useful information, including explanations of
medical terms, tests and procedures from the proverbial "horse's
mouth." There are good notes at the back of the book, a
useful index, and a chapter full of "Back-To-Life resources
worth the price of admission. These include ways to assess a
hospital or physician's track record, inspiring books and audio
series, support groups, charity events, even funny movies.
Readers are unlikely to find another
book quite like this one. It's unique and important for those
who need it, and a clarion call to those who need to turn their
health around, but are avoiding the tough decisions required
to do so.
Starr
Report
By MICHAEL STARR
Books . . . FNC's Jamie Colby
has written "Back to Life After a Heart Crisis"
with her husband, Dr. Marc Wallack, a cancer surgeon (and
marathon runner) who under went unexpected quadruple- bypass
surgery when his arteries were discovered to be 95 percent
blocked. It's timely, especially with former president Bill
Clinton's emergency heart procedure last week.
Fox
News' Jamie Colby and Husband Pen Inspirational Memoir By Lauren Le Vine - www.tonic.com
The journalist and her husband have written
an emotional memoir about his recent surgery — and the
will to survive.
Heart disease doesn't just prey on the weak
and unhealthy — that's the hard lesson that Dr. Mark Wallack
learned when he was forced to undergo quadruple bypass surgery.
Wallack was a well-known oncologist, the Chief of Surgery at
Metropolitan Hospital, and Vice-Chair of the Department of Surgery
at New York Medical College. He was an avid runner and a healthy
eater. One day while running in Central Park, Wallack began
to suffer from angina-like symptoms.
Two days later, after learning from doctors
— his own colleagues — that his arteries were 95
percent blocked, Dr. Wallack underwent quadruple bypass surgery.
He found that he was entirely unprepared for both the physical
and emotional repercussions of this life-altering news and surgery.
Now, Mark Wallack has written an inspirational memoir with his
wife, Fox News anchor Jamie Colby, called Back to Life After
a Heart Crisis: A Doctor and His Wife Share Their 8-Step Cardiac
Comeback Plan.
In the book, Wallack and Colby present their
8-step plan to getting their lives back on track after this
major setback that they never thought they would encounter.
According to BasilandSpice.com, they present their advice in
an "sports/military fashion," and provide an "honest,
detailed account of the surgical, rehabilitative and emotional
dimensions of coming close to death, putting your life in the
hands of people you don't know, and then attempting to rebuild
that (active, accomplished, stressed, and full) life once out
of the hospital."
Colby and Wallack's voices are both interwoven
throughout the book. She presents advice on getting recovering
patients, who are often depressed and finding it hard to go
on, out of the house for something as simple as taking a walk.
Wallack speaks frankly about how much a serious illness changes
a person and is candid about his anxiety and feeling that he
was losing control.
Even if you aren't a Fox News viewer, or
you don't know anyone going through a serious surgery, this
memoir teaches us that it really can happen to anyone. It's
truly inspiring to see how Colby and Wallack worked together
to make it through the good doctor's ordeal. Screengrab courtesy
of FoxNews.com
Review:
BlogCritics blogcritics.org By Christy Corp-Minamiji
Back to Life After a Heart Crisis is
like having a purse-sized personal physician — you know,
the fantasy doctor seen on TV, the trusted, wise, supportive
family friend. Through exposure of his own weaknesses, Dr. Wallack
avoids the common medical bullying, and instead writes with
compassion for and acceptance of human frailty.
Book
Reviews From Real People
Nobody can think clearly in times of health
related stress, I wish I had this book as my guide when my family
experienced a recent medical disaster. This is a how to, step
by step guide. In this very tough subject I found the book very
easy to read. That alone is very impressive. The resilience
shown in the healing process, the stamina to face the situation
head on and the courage to make their life normal again are
awe inspiring. I was blown away. Shaun Orcinolo (Miami,
Florida)
The perspective of surgeon-patient that
it brings is an extraordinary one, and while its audience is
rightfully intended to be the patient I think that the Society
of Thoracic Surgeons would do quite well to urge each of its
surgeon members to read and refer to it. The husband-wife team
are to be congratulated for letting down their shield of privacy
to allow the world to see what they have gone through together.
This is a must-read not only for the patients it is intended
for who have also gone through cardiac surgery. It is something
that medical students, residents in training, and perhaps most
of all the attending physician-surgeons that care for heart
surgery patients MUST read. T. Whalen MD (Voorhees,
NJ)
I am overweight and a candidate for a major
crisis due to this problem. I realized that if someone in the
shape that Dr. Wallack was in could succumb to a major crisis
like this who am I to think I couldn't. I realized that this
would not be fair to my family, friends and most of all myself.
I figured that the courage that Dr. Wallack and Jamie have shown
while dealing with this crisis why couldn't I have this same
courage to deal with my issues. I have decided THANKS to this
book to be proactive and not reactive. Since reading this book
I have taken both Dr, Wallack's and Jamie's advice and set goals
for myself. I have been following a better eating plan and since
have lost 40 pounds and I am planning on running a 5K. Michael C. Blasberg (North
Miami Beach, Florida, US)
As a person with heart issues I am particularly
interested in Dr. Wallack's ideas on the process of choosing
the best doctor, procedure and hospital. This book will help
you be a better advocate for the best care and provides you
with valuable information for a better recovery and healthier
lifestyle. Buy this book, we all will deal with serious medical
issues in our lives and this book will help you and your loved
ones make each day better. Ralph H. Barger (Arkansas)
The book's title could not be more appropriate:
Back To Life…through their words and candid testimonials,
those who suffer a heart crisis will find their way back from
the abyss of prolonged illness and death toward the simple grace
of life in its truest essence..not back to wealth, not back
to business-as-usual, not back to an unexamined or robotic life,
but instead to a richer LIFE with its ever present opportunities
to live and learn. Cheers to Dr. Wallack and Ms. Colby! Roy Barquet (Miami, Fl.)
Hands down Jamie and Marc have the best
chicken soup recipe! Bart Ziegler (San Diego,
CA)
I have gained valuable insight that I can
utilize in my own life, especially the value never giving up
the idea of beating an illness and getting your life back to
the way it was and possible even better. Jamie's caregiver tips
are incredible. I hope that this remarkable couple are blessed
to live a long healthy life and to continue to help society
in issues as to how to cope with serious health issues. If Dr.
Isadore Rosenfeld endorses a book - I trust him implicitly that
the book is medically sound...and it is! Reva Hanzman (Miami, Florida)