This is a very large book (>500 pages), covering several universes of knowledge, each relating to the age-old elixir of the healthy life we are all seeking. Furthermore, true to Leslie Kenton's sterling pedigree regarding nutrition, diet, herbal remedies and more latterly, our complex interwoven hormonal and neural pathways, this book is a veritable masterpiece of authentic information, conveyed in a highly readable fashion.

This hefty book (over 500 pages) is actually two books in one: Backache Relief and Backache what Exercises Really Work.

Arthur Klein and Dava Sobel have tackled the issue of backache from a rather novel angle. They conducted an extensive survey of about 500 back pain sufferers. 93 of the total respondents who replied by telephone were interviewed for an average of 55 minutes; 40% of the people surveyed were readers of Family Weekly, a widely distributed American magazine. The participants came from every stratum of society, ranging from a publisher of The New York Times, a goalie for the New York Rangers (an US hockey team), healthcare practitioners, teachers, musicians, truck drivers, ranging in age from 10 to 90 years of age.

I was a huge advocate of Jonathan Chamberlain's earlier book Fighting Cancer: A Survival Guide (Headline 1997, 1998), in which Jonathan recounted how his wife Bernadette had been diagnosed with cancer, that she had followed the advice of the oncologists and underwent all the prescribed treatments – surgery, radiation and chemotherapy – and had died a year later.

I believe that every human being has an innate desire for happiness and does not want to suffer. I also believe that the very purpose of life is to experience this happiness. I believe that each of us has the same potential to develop inner peace and thereby achieve happiness and joy. Whether we are rich or poor, educated or uneducated, black or white, from the East or the West, our potential is equal. We are all the same, mentally and emotionally. Though some of us have larger noses and the color of our skin may differ slightly, physically we are basically the same. The differences are minor. Our mental and emotional similarity is what is important.

As regular readers of Positive Health will know, Dorothy Rowe is one of my favourite authors, primarily because I find deliciously wicked her outspoken, subversive and politically incorrect views on God, the Church, Politics and Government, Psychiatry and pretty much every other aspect of life today. Beyond Fear, originally published in 1987, has now been updated, substantially enlarged (now 680 pages, including extensive Notes and Index); upon my second or third reading this seems to be a totally new and entirely riveting book

An extract from the book

Mary experiences a turning point

'I first learned I had cancer of the colon in 1996. The news was devastating – I couldn't believe this was happening to me. My first thoughts were to look for someone to help me. As a practising homeopath I turned to complementary medicine for help, as well as help from the medical profession. I telephoned the Bristol Cancer Help Centre. I had read about how they worked with people with cancer and how they addressed the spiritual as well as the physical needs of patients. I thought it would be a good place to start.