Cure by Jo Marchant Summary
Overview of Cure
In "Cure," Jo Marchant explores how our minds heal our bodies, challenging Western medicine's mind-body divide. A New York Times Bestseller that The New Scientist called "compulsory reading for all young doctors." Can your thoughts actually reverse disease?
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Key takeaways
When Your Brain Becomes Your Medicine
A desperate mother watches her autistic son suddenly speak again after receiving a hormone during a routine medical procedure. An elderly woman leaps from her wheelchair after "spinal surgery" that involved nothing more than a small incision. These aren't miracles or frauds-they're glimpses into one of medicine's most profound mysteries: the mind's ability to heal the body. We've all heard about the placebo effect, usually dismissed as a nuisance in clinical trials or proof that someone's pain was "all in their head." But what if we've been looking at it all wrong? What if the very thing we've been trying to eliminate from medicine holds the key to better healing? Parker Beck's story captivated millions when it aired on NBC's Dateline in 1998. After years of silent withdrawal into autism, three-year-old Parker miraculously began speaking and engaging with the world following a dose of secretin, a gut hormone. Within weeks, the pharmaceutical supply vanished as desperate parents paid thousands on the black market. Yet when rigorous trials tested secretin against saline injections, both groups improved by nearly 30%-the "real" treatment performed no better than fake medicine. This pattern repeats across modern medicine with unsettling frequency. Bonnie Anderson returned to her beloved golf after vertebroplasty surgery for her fractured spine, never knowing her procedure was fake-the surgeon made an incision but injected nothing. Sleeping pills often work no better than sugar tablets. Even major surgeries sometimes fail to outperform sham procedures. The uncomfortable truth? Much of what we credit to pills and procedures may actually come from something else entirely: our expectation of healing.
Your Brain's Hidden Pharmacy and the Power of Ritual
Rewriting the Story of Exhaustion and Accessing Unconscious Control
The Medicine of Human Connection
The Longevity of Belonging
Beyond Survival-Finding Meaning That Heals
The Future of Healing
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"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
From Columbia University alumni built in San Francisco
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
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