Thomas A. Sharon, R.N., M.P.H.

By Yosef ZussmanMoshe is a very descriptive writer. I like his style and he has a lot of stories to tell in this book. His discussions on complex subjects like cancer, trauma and depression are extensive. I discovered a lot in this book. I thought much about the conversations going on in my head. I had a lot of anger stored up from the years after my father left home and I felt abandoned by my dad, even though my mother made up for the missing parent. For one reason or another, I have always struggled with bad temper and over-eating. This book has gone a long way to help me control the destructive conversations I would have, but it has mostly, surprisingly, helped me to overcome chronic procrastination. As Moshe says in the book, if you don’t like the way your life is going “you need to change the conversation.”This book is very easy to read and I was able to complete it on two Sabbath afternoons. Chapter 3, “Eliminating Stressful Responses to Mundane Things” is my favorite chapter. Chapter 5, “Dealing with Trauma” is an eye opener. The last chapter on public health will be of interest to public health practitioners. I felt that some health issues, like depression, do not necessarily only manifest from the mind-body thing (which many just blanket label psychosomatic illness) but also from physical and chemical imbalances that we don’t always have control over. Moshe conceded that he understood that point. For the most part you can trace all what ails you to an issue that has manifested itself in your mind. Some of the most apparent problems include neck pain, back pain, ulcers, heart arrhythmia, cold sores, cold and flu.What I felt was missing from the book was a more detailed discussion of Tanya but I believe that that feeling comes from how the author connects the concepts of Tanya to health. Through this book you end up yearning to learn more about Tanya and yet you hardly even know what it is. I searched Amazon for Tanya books and there are a few. Your local Chabad center, and there are thousands of them all over the world, have Tanya courses and you don’t have to be Jewish to learn Tanya, although it does help. For a price of under $15 (Amazon’s discounted price) HEALTH SECRETS FROM THE SEVENTH HEAVEN is a definite buy. I give it five stars for value and information. Now I need to go find a beginners guide to the Tanya or join a local Chabad study group. Yosef Zussman.

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