• October 8, 2018
  • Fiction
  • USD $16.95
  • Format: Paperback
  • ISBN-13: 9781626345300
  • Trim: 6in × 9in

The Reluctant Healer

Andrew D. Himmel & Andrew D. Himmel
Named to Kirkus Reviews' Best Books of 2018
Winner of 2019 International Book Awards (General Fiction and Inspirational Fiction Categories)
Winner, 2019 New York City Big Book Award (General Fiction)


Between Doubt and Belief
The Reluctant Healer tells the story of a young attorney who is torn between mounting evidence that he has the spiritual ability to heal others and his life-long skepticism of alternative views. Will Alexander is cautious and conventional. But when he meets Erica, a beautiful, intense energy healer, he becomes troubled not only by her unorthodox endeavors but also by the limitations of his own existence. Amidst this turmoil, Will is startled to discover that he may possess metaphysical gifts of healing that confront the narrow doctrines of his regulated life.

​The Reluctant Healer paints a portrait of a reasonable man who traces a path between skepticism and belief. Flawed, funny, and agnostic, Will distrusts much of the alternative world, even as he struggles internally with phenomena that challenge both his sense of self and his orderly perspective. Will’s love for Erica, the exposure to her world, and his newfound powers place his life in a state of uncertainty, teetering between disruption and liberation.

Andrew Himmel practices law in New York City and is a founding partner of Himmel & Bernstein, LLP, located in the Flatiron District. Prior to his legal career, Mr. Himmel worked in book publishing for The Dial Press, Harper & Row and William Morrow. While at William Morrow, Mr. Himmel worked for the veteran editor Harvey Ginsberg, whose writers included Saul Bellow and John Irving. Mr. Himmel lives in Manhattan with his wife, the universal energy healer Michele LaGamba-Himmel. Their daughter, Nicole, is a writer, who also lives in Manhattan.