Memoir of John E Sarno by his daughter

I came across this intimate memoir of Dr Sarno written by his daughter Lindianne & wanted to share. It's about him not only as the doctor we know but as father, a husband & more.

@JanAtheCPA pls feel free to move to another subforum if this is not the correct one. Thx.

Mala

https://essaysbylindianne.wordpress.com/2017/06/29/memoir-of-my-father-john-ernest-sarno-md/ (Memoir of My Father John Ernest Sarno, MD)

 

Loved reading this! Thanks so much for sharing! It's tragic how estranged he and his daughter became though! He sounded like a very complicated man but a genius and very loved as well.

 

That was great! I never knew much about Sarno's life other than the occasional personal experience with TMS he would drop in the text.
He was part of the "Great Generation" that lived through the depression and WWII. He was quite the renaissance man.
The painful reality dropped in the article made him more 'real'. I am glad him and his daughter had some sort of reconciliation.

Thank you for posting that!

 

I found that several weeks ago and cried and cried, and so did my partner. It was really touching and sad. Everyone has their own struggles, even Dr. Sarno.

 

The Great Generation indeed. There was something special about those men - a strong self sufficiency.

I'm confused about that strange gap.
" Dad said, 'You have a passive dependent personality. Go away and don’t come back until you are independent.' After that command, I did not visit Dad and Martha for 20 years. "

There is more to that story.

PS. @Baseball65, love your new profile pic.

 

Thank you @Booble. I was inspired by Jan… After hearing her on The podcast, I realized a lack of anonymity might make it easier for people to identify with you?… also, I live alone and I have an aversion to selfies so I had to wait until somebody took a picture of me and sent it to me. I think I own three pictures of myself that aren’t from far away… my entire photo album is pictures of my dog, Sophie, Other dogs and work projects Basically everything I probably get TMS over

 

I am going to miss your dog picture but it's nice to see you and that's a great photo.

 

This is so beautiful. Thanks @Mala for posting it.

It brings up many emotions as I think about my own complicated relationship with my father, who was of the same generation.

 

He was obviously a very accomplished man not only in the field of medicine but in many other areas. The parts that made me sad were his estrangement with his daughter & the way he said that he was looking after three and a half children when he spoke of his wife. Sad but real & made him human like the rest of us.

 

Perhaps we have his own foibles to thank in part for his TMS theories. He clearly had some troubling areas of his life and perhaps he experienced some physical manifestations from how he handled (or didn't handle) those emotions that helped lead to his discoveries.

 

If I'm inferring correctly, there was tremendous feeling of hurt and betrayal by his daughter over the divorce. She understandably had an allegiance to her mother who sounds like a loving and generous person. They married in the 1940's, a time of traditional morés ...she also alludes to the immigrant experience and the way it can impact families. He was born in Brooklyn, where there was a huge Italian immigrant community (my grandparents were part of that) and there was a huge push to better yourself and get an education (especially after the depression). Maybe Dr. Sarno outgrew his wife and this caused tremendous rifts within the family. Divorce was less common in the 60's. Bitter estrangements happen in many families and sometimes it's caused by stubbornness. Anyway, there is definitely a heck of a lot more to that story on both sides I'm sure. I'm sure it informed his work greatly!

 

Yes, recognising his own feelings, thoughts & emotions and the conflicts they must created must have given him greater insight into the understanding & effects of TMS & would have influenced his work massively. We are very lucky to have gained from his life experiences.

 

Thank you for posting! I still remember my shock when I learned of Dr. Sarno's death. I so much wanted him to know that he saved my life, but also to give him another proof that CRPS is TMS. All I do on this forum is in gratitude to him and his heroic quest for the truth in science and for all of us.