Wonder Drug - by Stephen Trzeciak & Anthony Mazzarelli (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A pair of doctors team up to illuminate, through neuroscience and captivating stories from their clinical practice, how serving others--and pitching in to the world in general--is a secret superpower.

If a doctor's prescription could bring you:
- Longer life
- Better health
- More energy and resilience
- Less burnout, depression and anxiety
- More happiness, fulfillment and well-being
- More personal and professional success (including higher income)
- And, no harmful side effects

Would you take it?

In Wonder Drug, physician scientists Stephen Trzeciak, M.D., and Anthony Mazzarelli, M.D., illuminate, through neuroscience and captivating stories from their clinical practices, how being a giving, other-focused person is a secret superpower. Serving others--and pitching in to the world in general--is the evidence-based way to live your life. Kinder people not only live longer, they also live better. Science shows that serving others is not just the right thing to do, it's also the smart thing to do.

Wonder Drug will make you rethink your notions of "self-care" and "me time," and realize that focusing on others is a potent antidote to the weariness that so many of us feel in modern times. Getting outside of your own head, outside the swirl of self-concern that may dominate your mental chatter, is, ironically, one of the best things you can do for yourself.

Building upon their earlier work showing that, in the context of healthcare, having more compassion for patients is a powerful way to not only achieve better patient outcomes, but also promote well-being, resilience and resistance to burnout among healthcare workers, Trzeciak and Mazzarelli now extend their research to uncover how the power of serving others reaches far beyond the medical world and can be a life-changing therapy for everyone.

Wonder Drug relates to the varying meanings of giving in real people's daily lives. The stories in this book will convince and inspire you to make simple prism changes. You don't need a total life upheaval, just a purposeful shift in mindset. In fact, the crucial first piece of the evidence-based prescription is this: start small. Per science, the best way to well-being and finding your true fulfillment is this: scan your orbit for the people around you in need of help, and go fill that need, as often as you can.

Review Quotes

"Wonder Drug marshals the scientific evidence demonstrating the power of compassion to improve the lives of our patients but equally as important our own lives. A powerful and poignant tour de force." -- James R. Doty, M.D. Founder & Director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University School of Medicine and the New York Times bestselling author of Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon's Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart

"Humans are happiest when in motion, surrounded by others. This book illuminates the many reasons to look beyond yourself and find meaning and connection through serving others. A must-read." -- Scott Galloway, New York Times bestselling author and serial entrepreneur

"Wonder Drug contains a vital message for you and me, and copies should be handed out at graduation from every professional school. Trzeciak and Mazzarelli's new offering is my clear book of the year for 2022." -- Tom Peters, bestselling author of In Search of Excellence

"Well-researched and engaging, this book will challenge your assumptions and change your idea of what's possible. Wonder Drug brings compassion to life in the most delightful and purposeful way imaginable with essential, actionable wisdom that will change your understanding of the role of compassion. A hopeful and engaging roadmap, charting a course to compassionate connection."
-- Rana Awdish, MD, author of In Shock: My Journey from Death to Recovery and the Redemptive Power of Hope

About the Author

STEPHEN TRZECIAK, MD, MPH is a physician scientist, professor and chair of medicine at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, and the chief of medicine at Cooper University Health Care in Camden, New Jersey. Dr. Trzeciak is a practicing intensivist and a NIH-funded clinical researcher with more than 100 publications.

ANTHONY MAZZARELLI, MD, JD, MBE is an emergency medicine physician and co-president of Cooper University Health Care, as well as the associate dean of clinical affairs for Cooper Medical School of Rowan University.