Prayed to Death

I wrote this book because the person hoping for a cure deserves someone willing to ask difficult questions on their behalf.

Those questions are easy to postpone. A promise may be offered warmly, surrounded by testimony and the support of people who seem entirely sincere. A person may feel comforted, encouraged or less alone. Challenging a claim in that setting can feel like taking something precious away.

The question becomes more urgent when a promise begins to govern decisions about treatment, money or whom a person is allowed to trust. Prayed to Death examines that movement closely. It asks what is being claimed, what would count as evidence, and who bears the consequences when the claim fails.

I want to keep the person seeking help at the centre. Desperation is not stupidity. Trusting somebody who offers hope does not make a person responsible for being misled. Nor should someone have to abandon every source of faith or belonging before they are allowed to question a particular healer.

The people used repeatedly to illustrate situations in this book are composites, as the note on case material explains. They are not accounts of particular patients. The research notes identify the published work behind the discussion.

If you are worried about someone you love, I hope these pages help you remain close enough to be useful while speaking honestly. If you are beginning to question a promise yourself, I hope they make it easier to ask for an answer that can be examined. An illness that continues is never a verdict on the worth of the person living with it.

Stuart Corlett