Brave New Medicine with Cynthia Li, MD

Occupy Health

Doctor Cynthia Li shares the truth about her disabling autoimmune illness, the limitations of Western medicine, and her hard-won lessons on healing—mind, body, and spirit. Li had it all: a successful career in medicine, a loving marriage, children on the horizon. But it all came crashing down when, after developing an autoimmune thyroid condition, mysterious symptoms began consuming her body. Test after test came back “within normal limits,” baffling her doctors—and baffling herself. Housebound with two young children, Li began a solo odyssey from her living room couch to find a way to heal. Patients with complex ailments often are dismissed as difficult. Dr. Li faced this harsh reality of a doctor-turned-”difficult patient” Her book, Brave New Medicine details the physical and existential crisis that forces a young doctor to question her own medical training. She dives into the root causes of her illness, learning to unlock her body’s innate intelligence and wholeness.