Waking The Spirit

An Oliver Sacks Foundation Best Book of the Year Selection, Finalist for the Books for a Better Life "Best First Book” Award, and a People Magazine Pick in nonfiction. The astounding story of a critically ill musician who is saved by music and returns to the same hospital to help heal others Andrew Schulman, a fifty-seven-year-old professional guitarist, had a close brush with death on the night of July 16, 2009. Against the odds—and with the help of music—he survived: a medical miracle. Once fully recovered, Andrew resolved to use his musical gifts to help critically ill patients at Mount Sinai Beth Israel’s ICU. In Waking the Spirit, you’ll learn the astonishing stories of the people he’s met along the way—both patients and doctors—and see the incredible role music can play in a modern hospital setting. Schulman expertly weaves cutting-edge research on neuroscience and medicine, as well as what he’s learned as a professional musician, to explore the power of music to heal the body and awaken the spirit.

Murther & Walking Spirits is available as an eBook for the first time. “I was never so amazed in my life as when the Sniffer drew his concealed weapon from its case and struck me to the ground, stone dead.” So begins the unusual story of Connor “Gil” Gilmartin when he catches his wife in flagrante with the Sniffer, his former colleague and now his murderer. Though he is struck dead in the very first line of this novel, death is only the first indignity Gil is about to suffer. For he lingers on as a ghost, and from this bleak vantage–made even less endurable by the fact that he must spend the afterlife sitting beside his killer at a film festival–he is forced to view the exploits and failures of his ancestors, from the forerunners who sailed up the Hudson to Canada during the American Revolution right up to his university-professor parents.

O, spread thy wings and fly to wondrous places! The winds shall take thee to undiscovered spaces where hearts dance to songs of delight sung by the spirits of life. #xD;#xD;Spirit, rise! You are about to fly to a world of dancing hearts, singing spirits, with infinite love from life, in the treasure trove of Waking Spirit. Swing to the melodies as the essence of the prose and poetry, including 102 beautifully written haiku of nature wonders and delightful animals, awakens your soul. The inspirational quotes in A Moment with Shirley, and autobiographical tales, such as I'm Not Disabled--I'm Ultra-Abled, shine with the author's invincible spirit and precocious wisdom, empowering you to take flight.#xD;#xD;Many songs have been left unsung, their tales all untold. The melodies were never formed, with words all but spoken. Do not let the same misfortune befall your spirit. Sing your song while it is young. Let those melodies travel far and wide, and when you do, prepare to embrace the sky.