Back to Life After a Heart Crisis: A Doctor and His Wife Share Their 8 Step Cardiac Comeback Plan

The book's title could not be more appropriate: Back To Life is the appropriate marquee for where this book's science-based guidance leads the reader. After a traumatic heart crisis, life itself hangs in the balance, not only for the patient but for surrounding loved ones who recognize the basic centrality of the heart's function and its pyschological weight on our self image. Dr. Wallack and Ms. Colby are obviously a couple very much in love and we are all the beneficiaries of their practical advice and lessons learned. 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!

My name is Michael Blasberg and I purchased this book to give to someone that I thought would be helped by reading it. I have had an opportunity over the years to meet both Dr. Wallack and Jamie when they lived in Miami. I had grown to respect both of them as professionals and as individuals. Dr. Wallack was someone who actually practiced what he preached to his patients. I had decided to read the book before giving it to my friend because I thought that it would allow me to be a better supporter. Little did I know that I would take away lessons from this book. Like everyone else I felt that this can not happen to me. 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. I want to THANK both Dr. Wallack and Jamie for the guidance and support I have received from reading this book.

A must have for every bookshelf. I can tell you one thing for sure, if you or a loved one are faced with a medical crisis you would want to have read this book. I found it's clarity remarkable. The authors show you how to handle the situation and how to navigate your way through the crisis. 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. It is never easy when you have to rebuild your life, redirect old habits and retrain your thought process. 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. You should get this book !

I have read the first few chapters of this excellent book and highly recommend it to anyone dealing with a serious illness or caring for a loved one through a health crises and the recovery process. Dr. Wallack provides unique insight as a skilled physician who found himself as a patient. Jamie Colby provides the reader with valuable insight on how to be the best advocate for your loved one and how to handle the stress of the pre operation and recovery process. This book tugged at my heartstrings remembering the emotions of caring for a terminally ill loved one. I wish I had this book for support at that time. 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 Hugh Barger

Disclaimer: Marc and Jamie are friends, but that is why I had the privilege to obtain a pre-print of this marvelous book. 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. I can only imagine how hard some of that must have been - the chapter on sexuality after heart surgery comes to mind. Often witty, always endearing, and overall immensely helpful. 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.