In this era of health-science research, rarely a day goes by without a public pronouncement of some exciting health-enhancing discovery: a new diet, a new fitness routine, a new drug or alternative therapy, the miracles achieved by genetic mapping. And we are told—by the media, health-care experts, even government—that we should use this information to live a healthier life. But what information can we trust? Are yoga and stretching the surefire path toward healthy aging?  Can consuming enormous quantities of certain "natural" remedies ward off disease? Should we all eat nothing but carbs, or fats, or pineapples, and regularly cleanse our colons or have our meridians aligned? Should we all have our genome mapped to solve our health problems? 

In The Cure for Everything, health policy expert and fitness enthusiast Timothy Caulfield wades through the tides of health crazes, misleading data, and well-meaning gurus in a quest to sort out real, reliable health advice. He takes us along as he navigates the maze of facts, findings, and fears associated with emerging health technologies, drugs, and disease-prevention strategies and presents an impressively researched, accessible take on the production and spread of information in the health sciences.   

Seamlessly switching between his sweatsuit and his lab coat, Caulfield doesn't just pore over the research and interview the professionals; he gets his t-shirt sweaty and his meridians aligned, testing out the scientific validity of some of the health and fitness crazes of our day. Bravely using himself as a guinea pig, he goes on a strict diet, a rigorous exercise routine, swallows bottles of "natural" remedies, and has needles inserted all over his body. He illuminates some solid paths to better health, along with the dead-end detours.

Science is everywhere, but what passes through most people's field of vision is often wrong, hyped, or twisted by an ideological or commercial agenda. And without good scientific data, bad decisions are made--by doctors and governments, by you and me. Caulfield demonstrates, alas, that there are no quick fixes or simple steps to flat abs; that you will never be able to eat all you want; that no "natural" supplements will lead to better health; that knowing your genetic map will not save you from almost anything. The Cure for Everything ends with five simple, scientifically sound—and, yet, difficult—steps to take in order to lead a longer, healthier life.

American Impressionist Robert O. Caulfield tells the story of his journey from poverty to international success as one of the best-selling landscape artists in the world—an emotional journey that begins on Ruggles Street.

Abandoned at birth to the neglectful care of an alcoholic grandmother, Robert spent the first ten years of his life on the inner-city streets of Roxbury, Massachusetts. He began drawing on those streets–literally, with chalk–at age six, marking the beginnings of an artistic drive that would shape his life.

His mother's elusive presence haunts these pages. Robert spent years trying to understand why she had deserted him as a child, but the reasons behind her abandonment and her subsequent disappearance would remain a mystery until six decades later.

Adopted by his paternal grandparents at the age of ten, Robert left the violence and poverty of his childhood behind for middle class security of Boston’s North Shore. There, in the seaside city of Lynn, he excelled as an all-scholastic athlete.

Robert’s spectacular performance on the football field earned him offers of Ivy League scholarships, which he turned down when his reserve unit was called up for a two-year stint in the U.S. Marines. Upon his return, Robert eloped with Marilyn Le Blanc, his high school sweetheart. They settled into a suburban lifestyle, raising five children together from the 1950s to to the 1980s. For Robert, the responsibility of supporting his family came first. Art would have to wait.

During a thirty-five-year career in which he worked his way up from laborer to upper management in a utility company, Robert never lost sight of his dream of becoming a professional artist. Grabbing time to paint whenever he could, he exhibited and sold his work in the Boston area, gathering an occasional award. Through the minor successes and the setbacks Marilyn never stopped encouraging him to pursue his passion.

At the age of fifty-five Robert and Marilyn took early retirement. They sold their home, trading their comfortable suburban life in Lynnfield, Massachusetts to face the challenge of opening an art gallery showcasing Robert's paintings in Woodstock, Vermont.

In the last twenty-seven years Robert has sold almost 3,000 of his original paintings and watercolors. His vivid oils and watercolors now hang in private collections the world over.

"Ruggles Street" is the inspiring and forthright portrait of a man who did the best he could with the circumstances life gave him, succeeding on his own terms and proving that if you work hard and never give up, dreams really do come true.