Conspiring to Heal: A Love Story

When Van Metaxas’s wife, Maria, was diagnosed with terminal cancer in the winter of 2010—when their son, Satchi, was just seven years old—he began keeping an intimate journal of their quest for healing. He recorded the details of their visits with experts in oncology and integrative medicine, acupuncturists, a Tibetan healer, nutritionists, and their spiritual teacher, Ammachi, the hugging saint. He delved into cutting-edge scientific research as they sought out hope, clarity, and compassion in the sometimes-disheartening world of cancer treatment. Most importantly, he kept an unflinchingly honest diary of their family’s intimate moments: the way illness challenged and deepened their thirty-year marriage; their conversations with Satchi about healing, death, and God; and the final days of Maria’s life, as she relinquished her role as wife and mother, and turned to face her reunion with God. The result is a breathtaking story of one family’s empowering journey to love open-heartedly in the face of illness and death. It will touch the hearts of anyone who has faced loss—or aspires to live each day more fully.