Edward Kimball once described himself as having been a "broken-down business man" because of anxiety, overwork, and fear. Journal, Vol. 18, June 1900, p. 140. In 1887 he cut short his round-the-world search for a medical cure and, in agony and despair, decided to go back to his Chicago home to die. He had spent more than a year in a sanitarium, unable at times to digest even baby food, and he had been separated from his two children for seventeen months.
Arriving in New York with his wife, who was also in poor health, he learned of his sister's healing in Christian Science. As a last resort the couple turned to this religion. After spending ten to twelve hours a day in study, he wrote to Mrs. Eddy, "I have fully espoused the Science and one of my dearest wishes is to fully understand it and to do good with & through it." Kimball letter to Mrs. Eddy, January 20, 1888, Archives and Library of The Mother Church.
Soon he and his wife, both restored to health, were taught by Mrs. Eddy. During that class, when someone inquired about where the different classmates came from, Mr. Kimball replied, "Most of us came from our graves." Journal, Vol. 12, July 1894, p. 140.
