Family Update

• Dr. Walt Named in “Guide to America’s Top Family Doctors”
• Dr. Walt Finally on Facebook

Publication Update

• New Title for Dr. Walt’s First Novel: The Gabon Virus
• Dr. Walt writes chapter for Joe Gibbs’ new book: Game Plan for Life
• Nice Blog Review of Bryon City Seasons and Bryson City Secrets
• Nice Blog Review of Alternative Medicine: The Christian Handbook

Broadcast Update

• Dr. Walt and Barb to be featured on the Focus on the Family Radio Broadcast in July

Events of the last month and Upcoming Events 
More Information:
Family Update

• Dr. Walt Named in “Guide to America’s Top Family Doctors”

I just learn that I have been named in the 2009 edition of the “Guide to America’s Top Family Doctors” by the Consumers’ Research Council of America. You can learn more about this guide here.  I am thankful to the Lord for the blessing of being able to serve my patients at the Mission Medical Clinic in Colorado Springs. My greatest reward is being able to care for, pray for, and learn from each of them.

• Dr. Walt Finally on Facebook

After much cajoling by son, Scott, and daughter-in-law, Jennifer, I bit the bullet and began a website on Facebook. If you are on Facebook, be sure to connect with me. We can be BFF, I am told. Now, will Barb follow???

Publication Update

• New Title for Dr. Walt’s First Novel: The Gabon Virus

My first novel, co-written with Paul McCusker, is scheduled to be released in August. The publisher has just changed the title from “The Eyam Factor” to “The Gabon Virus.”

They have also decided to make the cover art a bit different. You can learn more about the book and follow the progress of the book here, on the Simon and Schuster website. 

For those of you who don’t know Paul, he is a Peabody Award-winning writer and director who has written novels, plays, audio dramas, and musicals for children and adults. He currently has over thirty books in print. We became dear friends when we worked together at Focus on the Fmaily. You can learn more about Paul here.

Here’s some information about the novel from its back cover:

An ancient disease, a modern pandemic, and the person who may hold the key to the cure has been dead for nearly 350 years. 

In 1666, a horrible disease took the lives of almost every person in Eyam (pronounced Eem), England. Ministering to their needs was a mysterious man known only as the Blue Monk, a clergyman who seemed to appear and disappear at will. His strange appearance terrified some and comforted others.

Over three centuries later the disease has returned, more virulent than before. Every day more are infected; every hour more die. 

The lives of millions rest in the hands of a crack bio-team who find ways to cure modern diseases by studying those who died in the past. At the heart of the team is Dr. Mark Carlson, a fractured, faithless man who loathes himself and the world. Now he must save both.

With every tick of the clock the world approaches a global pandemic. To stop the spread of the disease, Mark Carlson and his team must find a frightened boy—the carrier who leaves countless corpses in his wake. They must also dredge up a cure from the past—and with each hour that passes, they become more convinced that the secret lies buried with the Blue Monk.

The most frightening fact about this book is that it may be tomorrow’s headline.

• First Homerun Endorsement for The Gabon Virus

I was so pleased to hear from the publisher that the book has received its first major endorsement – and, from a New York Times bestselling novelist, no less. What a blessing this is:

I was on the edge of my seat from the very first page of The Gabon Virus and didn’t breathe again until I turned the last page. Fast-paced and gripping, this book will make us all think. This could happen.  

Debbie Macomber, New York Times bestselling novelist.

You can learn more about Debbie here.

•  Dr. Walt working hard on his Second Novel – The Influenza Bomb

While we’re talking about novels, Paul McCusker and I are hard at work finishing the manuscript for the sequel to “The Gabon Virus.” We’re working under the tentative title of “The Influenza Bomb.” We have to turn the manuscript in the first week of July. It won’t be out until the summer of 2010.

• Dr. Walt writes chapter for Joe Gibbs’ new book: Game Plan for Life

Many of you likely know about Joe Gibbs. He is best known as the three-time Super Bowl winning head coach of the Washington Redskins and the owner of three-time NASCAR championship Joe Gibbs Racing team.

He’s also an author and his newest book, to be released in July, is “Game Plan for Life.”

I’m privileged to be one twelve authors chosen by Coach Gibbs to contribute to his new book. The other authors are Jerry Jenkins, Dr. Ken Boa, Dr. John Lennox, Josh McDowell, Ravi Zacharias, Chuck Colson, Don Meredith, Ron Blue, Dr. Os Guinness, Randy Alcorn, and Dr. Tony Evans. Quite a team, eh? 

What is the book about? Here’s a blurb from Joe’s website:

What does it mean to win in life? How can you find true success and relevance in your life?

There are a lot of “game plans” offered on TV and in bookstores every day. Some offer ultimate wealth (and inner peace) through real estate investments. Others promise the confidence needed to make it to the top of your company. Many propose to help you find that missing link towards becoming wealthy, powerful and popular.

These game plans sometimes have a strong sales pitch and a steep price connected to them. Maybe you’ve tried one, two, or even more plans. The question is—How’s that plan working out for you?

Coach Joe Gibbs has seen a lot of success failures. He’s seen that even the wealthy real estate tycoon successful on the outside, but on the inside living with a broken marriage and kids who want nothing to do with him. He’s also seen the guy who made it to the top of the company only to lose his position when the firm is sold, devastated and wondering what’s next. Coach Gibbs has experienced significant success and failures himself. That’s why he developed the Game Plan for Life.

The Game Plan for Life is a fail proof, long-term approach that will change you from the inside and impact every area of your life—from relationships to finances to your view of what winning really means. You’ll find true success, relevance and lasting peace if you follow it.

As a three-time Super Bowl winning Head Coach of the Washington Redskins, owner of a three-time NASCAR championship team with 450+ employees and sponsors like Home Depot, FedEx, Mars Candy, Coke and Interstate Batteries, Joe Gibbs has seen success. He is often asked to share his experiences and keys to winning. As a man of strong Christian convictions, Coach Gibbs believes success starts with knowing who is the head coach is (God), what is His playbook for life (the Bible), and what the winning strategies outlined in the Bible will help us live successfully today.

Coach Gibbs commissioned a national public opinion research firm to survey men and find out what they are most concerned about and where they’d like to have success in their lives. This survey revealed 11 areas of prime concern ranging from health, to finances to relationships to overcoming sin. These topics make up the Game Plan for Life. Coach Gibbs developed a team of top experts to address these topics so that the “average Joe” can find meaning in them.

The Game Plan for Life project will take many forms. It will be released as a book in July of 2009 at the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard in Indianapolis. It will reach the world through this site. It will be presented in other media as well including music and church curriculum.

You can learn more about the project here.  

• Nice Blog Review of Bryon City Seasons and Bryson City Secrets

I stayed up entirely too late last night to finish reading Bryson City Secrets, the third book in Dr. Walt Larimore’s Bryson City series. I hadn’t planned on blogging about it or the second book in the series because I had blogged on Bryson City Tales, the first book.

But I changed my mind after I finished reading them both. I found myself mentioning Bryson City Seasons to a couple of my friends in our conversations. 

And then, Bryson City Secrets moved me to tears. Perhaps it was the late night, perhaps because I consider Dr. Walt & Barb friends, perhaps it was the topic, or a combination of all three – but whatever it was, I just had to write about the rest of the Bryson City series.

Bryson City Seasons includes more stories of Dr. Walt’s time in Bryson City. Some of them were so hilarious I found myself laughing out loud. I mean, he won the Miss Flame competition! I read that one out loud to my husband, who also enjoyed a good laugh. I say that Dr. Walt is a really good sport to include that in his book.

But the reason I recommended Bryson City Seasons to my friend was the story of Dr. Walt’s daughter, Kate. I knew both Kate & Scott when we lived in Florida, and I enjoyed learning more about Kate’s miraculous story. I knew some of it because she was featured in the newspaper when she graduated from high school. She’s a remarkable person, with a remarkable story. My friend’s son has cerebral palsy too, and I thought reading Kate’s story would encourage her as she cares for her son. It encouraged me.

Bryson City Secrets includes more stories from Dr. Walt’s practice and relationships with the people in Bryson City. It also explains the reason why he and Barb felt compelled to leave the town and move to Kissimmee, Florida. I am not going to go into details, because it’s best explained by Dr. Walt. But I agonized with him, cried with him and Barb, and felt some measure of the pain of them leaving the town and the people they had grown to love.

Dr. Walt has a wonderful sense of looking at the people with whom he comes in contact (not just their ailments) and talking with them compassionately and graciously – or calling them on the carpet if needed. I admire him and Barb, Kate & Scott and am thankful to be able to call them friends. 

I’ve learned a lot from his books – not only about him and his family, but also from his examples of how to relate to people, value what’s important, and maintain a proper focus in the midst of every circumstance, both good and evil. 

Posted By Michelle to It’s Just Me Thinking Some More on May 28, 2009.

You can purchase the book Bryson City books here. Also, you can find links to the books’ first chapters here.

• Nice Blog Review of Alternative Medicine: The Christian Handbook

I absolutely adore Inter-Library Loans! I’ve been wanting to read Dr. Walt’s book Alternative Medicine: The Christian Handbook since it first came out. This past month, I finally got the chance.

FYI: The picture is of the recently revised version of the book. I read the original version, from 2001.

While I’m a firm believer in chiropractic care, massage, vitamins & supplements, I do have concerns about other forms of alternative medicines, and looked forward to getting Dr. Walt’s perspective (and that of his co-author Dr. Donal O’Mathuna) on the topic.

The authors did a great job of laying foundation in the first three parts of the book. They discuss the history of alternative and conventional medicine in the first part; a Christian perspective on health, healing and suffering in the second part; and lay out criteria for evaluating alternative medicine and their practitioners in the third part. The fourth part of the book is a reference section, where you can look up different therapies and practices and read their perspective on how safe or dangerous they are.

I particularly appreciate the spiritual approach they take to most of their evaluations. They give the history behind the method, and many times the philosophy so we can make wise choices about what we’re allowing into our minds & spirits. They also refer back to studies evaluating the effectiveness of the therapies. They put any “Christian” therapies through the same evaluation process – so things like the “Hallelujah Diet” do not get a free ride from them.

Chapter 10, in Part Three is called How Science Tests Therapies and Remedies. In it, the authors walk through, in an understandable way, the importance of double-blind, placebo-controlled trials in evaluation of what works and what doesn’t work. If you’re not familiar with what that means, it’s a great place to start gaining an understanding.

I didn’t read the whole book – it’s more of a reference book than a reading book – but did glean information about different alternative therapies my friends have recommended to me. If you’re looking into an alternative therapy, I’d recommend picking up this book from your library to check out what Dr. Walt & his co-author say about it.

(To which, they would say what the scientific evidence says about the particular therapy – but every study needs interpretation, and this book includes their interpretation of the currently available studies.)

Posted By Michelle to It’s Just Me Thinking Some More on May 5, 2009.

You can purchase the book here. And, you can find a link to the book’s first chapter here.

Broadcast Update

• Dr. Walt and Barb to be featured on the Focus on the Family Radio Broadcast in July

Dr. James Dobson’s two-day interview with the Larimores on their book, His Brain, Her Brain: How Divinely Designed Differences Can Strengthen Your Marriage, is scheduled to be broadcast on his daily Focus on the Family radio program on July 6-7. 

On or after July 6 you can listen to the broadcast on your computer by going to the Focus on the Family Daily Broadcast webpage here. 

Also, you can find a radio station in your area at carries the program here.

You can purchase the book here. And, you can read the book’s first chapter here.

Events of the last month

• May 8-10: I flew to Atlanta to visit with Scott, Jennifer, and Anna Kate. On Saturday, Scott and I drove to Murphy, NC, where I gave a talk and attended a book signing. I flew home on Sunday to have a week alone to write.
• May 11-16: Barb stayed in Atlanta where she was blessed to just be “Honey” (the grandmother) for the week.
• May 17-20: Barb participated in “Work Week” at Young Life’s Crooked Creek Ranch near Frasier, Colorado. She does this every year and absolutely loves her ministry of manual labor at this beautiful location. We’ll return there together in June to serve at the camp.
• May 25-26: I flew to San Diego to make a presentation to the Association of Christian Physician Assistants, on “Knowing God,” and then made two presentations to the American Academy of Physician Assistants Annual Scientific Assembly. I’ll talked on “The Spiritual History in Clinical Care” and “Natural Medications: How to Find Trustworthy Information – How to Find Safe and Effective Products – An Evidence-Based Evaluation.” The talks were well attended and seemed to be well received. They’ve already asked me to come back to their meeting next year.

Upcoming Events 

• Most of June, I will be working to finish my second novel, Time Scene Investigators: The Influenza Bomb, with co-author and friend Paul McCusker. The first novel in this series, Time Scene Investigators: The Gabon Virus, will be out this August.
• June 1-6: Barb will be in Baton Rouge visiting her family.
• June 10: I will be speaking at the Mesa Hills Baptist Church in Colorado Springs on the topic of “God’s Design for Highly Healthy People.”
• June 14-17: Barb and I will be at Young Life’s Crooked Creek Ranch where we will serve the staff and campers.
• June 25-28: Barb and I will fly to Tulsa and then drive out to the Western Hills Resort for the Graduation and Summer Retreat of the In His Image Family Medicine Residency Program.

You can get more information on many of Dr. Walt’s upcoming events here. As always, Dr. Walt and Barb so appreciate your support, notes, calls, and especially your prayers! If you know anyone who would like to get this monthly letter, please invite them by suggesting they go here to register.