Not to lift a sword and join the good fight, but to fight my own little battle and win some like-minded followers, and in doing so, heal myself—as these thoughts cascaded through my mind, the first mild glimmers of a vision filtered in. My first thoughts were to establish a not-for-profit organization that would promote the awareness and urgency of medicine-free living.

• What if you did not have health insurance?
• What if you were penalized for falling sick?
• What if the government actually rewarded you for not falling sick?
• What if your employer gave you a bonus for not falling sick?
• What if your employer gave you vacation days in lieu of the unutilized sick days?
• What if the government actually gave you a tax break for not falling sick?
• What if you did not surrender to the pain or fever or discomfort?
• How much would productivity increase if we did not report in as sick so often?
• Can insurance cause over-medication?

So what could we do?

• Explore all options instead of taking the easy way out
• Challenge yourself and your doctor
• Be willing to consider that doctors don’t know everything
• Treat the mind, not just the brain and body
• Be aware that anti-depression drugs increase suicidal tendencies
• Believe that the only solution is tender love and care, responding to the need to be needed
• Don’t stop medicines suddenly, taper off
• Decrease chemical cocktails and increase subtle support medicines such as homeopathy

There are several elements that go into such an exercise. I listed a few to give me an idea of what I would be engaging in.

Let me share these with you:

• Distributing books free of charge upon demand to seniors’ homes, drug rehabs, prisons, schools, and colleges
• Advising people to save on unnecessary medicines and donate instead to their favorite charity (I always donated money I received from blood donations to underprivileged relatives because it seemed the right thing to do)
• Contracting eloquent speakers to address gatherings from all walks of life
• Identifying medicine-free celebrities and convincing them to be role models

Great ideas these are, and of a grand scale—except that the book had to be written before these plans could float. Like in Charlie Wilson’s War—the brilliant biographical film about US Congressman Charlie Wilson and CIA operative Gust Avrakotos, whose efforts led to Operation Cyclone, a program to organize and support the Afghan mujahideen during the Soviet-Afghan War—I also had to pull out all the stops, or else Mr Gur’s war would fizzle out.

Once again, I must disclaim any kind of medical qualification, and I repeat this sentiment at every step. So, at the outset, let me just pause here in telling about my adventure and reiterate my advice, cautions, and concerns, all three in equal measure.

Any changes in your medical regimen must be undertaken under close medical supervision!

It’s important that we maintain some respect for the medical community—they did not work hard for 10 years to be belittled and yes, they do save lives. We tend to confuse the pharmaceutical industry with doctors and surgeons and nurses and specialists, and that is so very wrong.

Remember that those who provide emergency care, vaccinations, or palliative care are vital on the totem pole of medicine and cannot be replaced.