Got a New Book, Doc? I've been waiting to get 8 Weeks to Optimum Health (Knopf, 1997) for weeks. When is it available? What is the plan? How hard is it? My last book, "Spontaneous Healing" (Knopf, 1995), really laid out my theories for health and healing, especially the notion that the body has the natural ability to maintain and heal itself. Since then, I've been inundated by readers wanting me to expand the short chapter titled "An Eight-Week Program for Optimal Healing Power." In short, the new book is an outgrowth of that original chapter and consists of small steps, which build on each other, that lay the foundation for healthy living. It's available now in bookstores. Before I go into a bit of detail about the eight-week program, let me say who the book is for. It's for people of all ages who want to maintain and enhance their health. It's also for those who want more energy or who want to lose weight. It's for those of you who travel frequently and find it hard to follow a healthy lifestyle on the road. It's also for folks who are getting older and are concerned about how they are aging. The book is also for those of you who are ill and want to take more charge of how you live and be less dependent on pharmaceuticals. In the book, I am your guide and I take you through the program one step at a time, explaining the importance of the changes in how you eat, how you exercise, how you breathe, and how you use your mind. Each week, I recommend a regimen of vitamins, minerals, and herbs you can take to protect your body's healing system. Beyond the specifics, I also give ideas on how you can change long-standing patterns of behavior that impair optimal health. I also give you different projects to do: cleaning out your pantry of common unhealthy foods, getting information on water-purification systems for the home, and learning where you can buy organic produce. In my world view, optimum health isn't just fitness. It's well-being of body, mind, and spirit. I'd be the first to acknowledge that change can be difficult. But I know that people who pick up the book (like those of you who come to this program) have the desire to change. And if you want to, you will succeed. I've included many healing stories in "8 Weeks " to show you how others have done it. Starting Monday, 10 March, I will be leading "8 Weeks to a Healthy America" here on Ask Dr. Weil. Each week, I will lay out what you need to do to change your life. Anyone can join my online group at any time during the eight weeks. You will be joining hundreds, if not thousands, of people like yourself who want to improve how they live. We will be setting up an easy-to-join email list where all of you can be in touch with each other and me; we'll be talking in Threads, and I will also be coming to you live each week for an hour as part of a relaunched DocTalk feature (where I can answer questions, support you, and humor you!). Have a good weekend. Indulge yourself a bit. And come back on Monday ready to change.