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Reviews
Molecules of Emotion: The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine by Deepak Chopra, Candace B. Pert
rebeccazh's review against another edition
Very misleading. This book is less about science and more about the author's life and achievements.
valentilka's review against another edition
I did not finish the book. I wanted, but it was just really boring and I was really forcing myself to read it. The author didnt even touch that much on the subject of molecules of emotion, to me it was more of an autobiography. And I wasnt really interested in that.
seekatyread's review against another edition
3.0
Finally finished this book that a friend lent me. After reading a few more negative reviews, I have to agree that this book is less about the mind-body connection that it is an auto-biography of her research in neuroscience (which is certainly interesting!). There were a few interesting takeaways, and I did enjoy reading about her personal journey which was the narrative of the book. But not as "new-age" as I thought it was going to be.
sponsler's review against another edition
5.0
Found this very interesting both for the science and the personal aspects.
jessicaleza's review against another edition
3.0
"We can no longer think of the emotions as having less validity than physical, material substance, but instead must see them as cellular signals that are involved in the process of translating information into physical reality, literally transforming mind into matter. Emotions are at the nexus between matter and mind, going back and forth between the two and influencing both." (p. 189)
laurenepbath's review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-paced
5.0
I thoroughly enjoyed reading the authors take on emotion, and in particular reading the science behind many long held beliefs on the body.
jennycn__'s review against another edition
2.0
I really don’t know what to make of this book, but it certainly wasn’t what I expected.
Recommended to me by a nutritionist I really respect, I thought there was going to be something more tangible to take away from the discovery of emotions being *in* the body as well as the mind. What it was instead was a blunt overview of neuroscience research practices (some of which were hard to stomach), a story about being overlooked for a Nobel prize that made me audibly cry out in contempt for the unfair practices and sexism demonstrated, get the gist that Candace moved ever closer to alternative therapies as her career progressed, and that there’s more to be said about the HIV/AIDS treatment (which is featured in the 2013 film The Dallas Buyers Club, though obviously this doesn’t get mentioned in a boiled written in the 90s).
All of these stories could have been developed into more detailed accounts of their own, and the whole book felt like a series of thoughts that aren’t fully formed. And it didn’t really make me much more the wiser about how emotions are created in your physical body let alone what we can practically do to alleviate or improve moods — maybe I need to read it again and do some more homework into peptides to get a better idea.
Overall — I was disappointed but not bored by the book and have more questions that answers now.
Recommended to me by a nutritionist I really respect, I thought there was going to be something more tangible to take away from the discovery of emotions being *in* the body as well as the mind. What it was instead was a blunt overview of neuroscience research practices (some of which were hard to stomach), a story about being overlooked for a Nobel prize that made me audibly cry out in contempt for the unfair practices and sexism demonstrated, get the gist that Candace moved ever closer to alternative therapies as her career progressed, and that there’s more to be said about the HIV/AIDS treatment (which is featured in the 2013 film The Dallas Buyers Club, though obviously this doesn’t get mentioned in a boiled written in the 90s).
All of these stories could have been developed into more detailed accounts of their own, and the whole book felt like a series of thoughts that aren’t fully formed. And it didn’t really make me much more the wiser about how emotions are created in your physical body let alone what we can practically do to alleviate or improve moods — maybe I need to read it again and do some more homework into peptides to get a better idea.
Overall — I was disappointed but not bored by the book and have more questions that answers now.
roma9062's review against another edition
4.0
Dr. Pert made me feel like I was the one making the discoveries, playing the politics, and finding a new life purpose. Emotionally and intellectually moving throughout with some holistic guidance at the end!
morgan_blackledge's review against another edition
2.0
Oh man I really took a chance on this one.
And oh man do I feel like a dip.
Who ate skittles and farted?
My brain did when I bought this book.
It's by Candice Pert (1946 – 2013) an American neuroscientist and pharmacologist who discovered the opiate receptor, the cellular binding site for endorphins in the brain, as well as being a distinguished lead researcher at the NIMH, who published over 250 scientific articles on peptides and their receptors and the role of these neuropeptides in the immune system.
I decided to read the book despite her association with the new age movement and appearance in the film What the #$*! Do We Know!? (a major black mark against anyone, regardless of their scientific accomplishments).
So I held my nose and did it. The first part of the book is a surprisingly lucid account of Perts groundbreaking research, told in an autobiographical form that reads like part feminist critique of the old boy network of research science circa 1970, and part confessional of a rather ruthless woman who got hers by all means necessary.
In other words, when she gets passed over or ripped off by a male colleague, she's righteous and indignant (and rightly so), and when she flat out rips off male colleagues, she's brawling with the boys and doing what it takes to be successful in science (and that's life so what ever).
In addition to being a fascinating and entertaining glimpse into the cutthroat world of bench science. The book is also an informative tour of affective neuroscience and endocrinology. If you're a fan of Robert Sapolsky's work you will dig some or most of the science Ms. Pert drops.
As I read the book, I found myself waiting for her to veer south of hard science and float some rainbow flavored new age doucery. But every time it looked like she was going off the rails, she made a reasonable, evidence based claim.
So I cautiously preceded despite the lingering, faint sound and smell of skittle colored farts! When would the other shoe drop. When would she fly off the rails on a crystal Pegasus?
It's like one of those scary movies that keeps tricking you into thinking the killer is about to jump out at the victim, and then it turns out to be the goofy roommate with a mask on, or a cat in the bushes. You're tension is relieved for a moment but you know what's going to happen, so you're right back on the edge of your seat waiting for the massacre, and then you let your guard down and PAPOW!
And so it goes, slowly but surely Dr. Perts apparent personality flaws seem to catch up to her, and she goes to science jail (i.e. she pulls a slow mo Lindsey Lohan and alienates her colleagues to the point that they no longer support her and shwoop. She's suddenly an outsider, misunderstood righteous victim who's down with the Depak Chopra, and from there its a full on crystal catastrophe, replete with Christian conversion and dream healing experiences.
Ewe it stinks like a men's room at a Dairy farm all the sudden! Pure gas! I'm as ashamed as if it were I who dealt it.
I'm fully aware that I like what the other reviewers hated about the book, and disliked what other reviews seem to be after, i.e. the so called "Mind Body" medicine stuff of Dr. Perts later career.
Side rant: the fact that people still say mind body any more is totally irritating, the mind is a property of the brain, and last time I checked, the brain is a part of the body. Saying mind body is like saying vista view, what a lovely view of the vista. Calling the mind "non-physical" is not even wrong. That's how lame the idea is. For that matter, calling anything "non-physical" is not even wrong.
Anyway.
Before you write me off as a total dick skeptic, no wait a minute, I kind of am a total dick skeptic so go ahead and write me off. But if you're still reading this, I want to say that I'm not your average total dick skeptic.
I’m a therapist. I’m pretty close to finished with a doctorate degree. I teach psychology at a Buddhist University. I practice a mindfulness based psychotherapy modality as a mental health clinician, I have been meditating seriously for over 30 years. I have been doing Yoga for almost as long. I lived in India for a bit, meditated in a cave, the whole nine. But I also love science and I am a total neuroscience dork. All I can say is, there is really interesting hard science exploring mindfulness and wellbeing. Don't waste your time with this shit if you're really interested in this subject.
And oh man do I feel like a dip.
Who ate skittles and farted?
My brain did when I bought this book.
It's by Candice Pert (1946 – 2013) an American neuroscientist and pharmacologist who discovered the opiate receptor, the cellular binding site for endorphins in the brain, as well as being a distinguished lead researcher at the NIMH, who published over 250 scientific articles on peptides and their receptors and the role of these neuropeptides in the immune system.
I decided to read the book despite her association with the new age movement and appearance in the film What the #$*! Do We Know!? (a major black mark against anyone, regardless of their scientific accomplishments).
So I held my nose and did it. The first part of the book is a surprisingly lucid account of Perts groundbreaking research, told in an autobiographical form that reads like part feminist critique of the old boy network of research science circa 1970, and part confessional of a rather ruthless woman who got hers by all means necessary.
In other words, when she gets passed over or ripped off by a male colleague, she's righteous and indignant (and rightly so), and when she flat out rips off male colleagues, she's brawling with the boys and doing what it takes to be successful in science (and that's life so what ever).
In addition to being a fascinating and entertaining glimpse into the cutthroat world of bench science. The book is also an informative tour of affective neuroscience and endocrinology. If you're a fan of Robert Sapolsky's work you will dig some or most of the science Ms. Pert drops.
As I read the book, I found myself waiting for her to veer south of hard science and float some rainbow flavored new age doucery. But every time it looked like she was going off the rails, she made a reasonable, evidence based claim.
So I cautiously preceded despite the lingering, faint sound and smell of skittle colored farts! When would the other shoe drop. When would she fly off the rails on a crystal Pegasus?
It's like one of those scary movies that keeps tricking you into thinking the killer is about to jump out at the victim, and then it turns out to be the goofy roommate with a mask on, or a cat in the bushes. You're tension is relieved for a moment but you know what's going to happen, so you're right back on the edge of your seat waiting for the massacre, and then you let your guard down and PAPOW!
And so it goes, slowly but surely Dr. Perts apparent personality flaws seem to catch up to her, and she goes to science jail (i.e. she pulls a slow mo Lindsey Lohan and alienates her colleagues to the point that they no longer support her and shwoop. She's suddenly an outsider, misunderstood righteous victim who's down with the Depak Chopra, and from there its a full on crystal catastrophe, replete with Christian conversion and dream healing experiences.
Ewe it stinks like a men's room at a Dairy farm all the sudden! Pure gas! I'm as ashamed as if it were I who dealt it.
I'm fully aware that I like what the other reviewers hated about the book, and disliked what other reviews seem to be after, i.e. the so called "Mind Body" medicine stuff of Dr. Perts later career.
Side rant: the fact that people still say mind body any more is totally irritating, the mind is a property of the brain, and last time I checked, the brain is a part of the body. Saying mind body is like saying vista view, what a lovely view of the vista. Calling the mind "non-physical" is not even wrong. That's how lame the idea is. For that matter, calling anything "non-physical" is not even wrong.
Anyway.
Before you write me off as a total dick skeptic, no wait a minute, I kind of am a total dick skeptic so go ahead and write me off. But if you're still reading this, I want to say that I'm not your average total dick skeptic.
I’m a therapist. I’m pretty close to finished with a doctorate degree. I teach psychology at a Buddhist University. I practice a mindfulness based psychotherapy modality as a mental health clinician, I have been meditating seriously for over 30 years. I have been doing Yoga for almost as long. I lived in India for a bit, meditated in a cave, the whole nine. But I also love science and I am a total neuroscience dork. All I can say is, there is really interesting hard science exploring mindfulness and wellbeing. Don't waste your time with this shit if you're really interested in this subject.