When I was healed of chronic alcoholism three years ago, I had no idea what had healed me or how I had been healed. But I did remember having recently read sections of a book. The worn paperback had been among a pile of others beside my bed, and had originally come into my hands by a roundabout route. It was, of course, the Christian Science textbook, science and Health by Mrs. Eddy. But as far as I knew at the time, it was, or it could have been, one of many books with similar titles. This was because my personal knowledge of Christian Science (until then) could have been summed up in two facts: I knew there was a religion called Christian Science, and I had heard of the newspaper, The Christian Science Monitor.
It was some weeks before I realized I had been reading the Christian Science textbook the night I was healed. The results of that casual reading were to me astounding. The next morning I was puzzled and in awe at the strange new sense of utter peace and tranquillity I was feeling. For the first time in over ten years I was not engaged in a losing battle with an insistent desire for alcohol. (My daily intake had always begun sometime between 10 a.m. and midday, and continued, steadily, until bedtime—around 11 p.m.)
I had obtained medical treatment for this problem some years before, which had included pills for sleeping and other drugs for relieving depression. This treatment had seemed effective for about a year, but then it failed. During this period I had experienced an oddly "empty" feeling. Now, after reading this book I felt "filled"—but with what, I didn't understand. I felt, for instance, as though I had never had a drink of alcohol my entire life—an inexplicable sensation. What was even more strange was that evidence of considerable mental and physical deterioration that had been building up for years had vanished. I felt fit, alert, and very well. It was a true healing.
