Dr. Geffrey Kelly and former student publish book together this summer

By Tara Pizzo
Senior Staff Writer
November 1, 2006

For a particular La Salle professor, writing books has become a second nature to him, with the publishing of his eleventh book.

Dr. Geffrey B. Kelly, professor of religion and former chair of relgion has recently published a book with a La Salle graduate, Dr. William F. Haynes, also a graduate of the Columbia School of Medicine.

The book, Is There a God in Health Care?: Toward a New Spirituality of Medicine, was a project that began as a result of Haynes’ independent study, which he needed to complete before receiving his Master’s Degree in theology and ministry. The book first came out thet summer of 2006.

A cardiologist known for praying with his patients, Haynes has always been interested in the “healing of Jesus,” Kelly said.

After Haynes’ independent study project about spirituality in health care began to expand, both Kelly and Haynes decided to turn this project into a book.

Kelly would often correct the ways in which Haynes would try to define prayer and spirituality since Kelly believes that one cannot define them.

Haynes’ wife suggested that Kelly work on the theology part of the book while Haynes concentrated on the medicine part. Between both of their works, a manuscript of 300 pages was created. Most of the work was completed at La Salle or in Haynes’ cottage in upstate Pennsylvania close to the New York border, Kelly said. He also said that sometimes Haynes would come to La Salle twice a month and they would both take the day off to work solely on the book.

“We had homework assignments, like I had to do my share of the chapter and Bill had to do his share,” Kelly said. “Bill is a great storyteller, but I’m the writer so I would go over this material and put it into what I think is really good English and he would make suggestions on my stuff.”

Once they completed the project, they had to find a publisher.

“You can wait forever for a publisher to even act on your book, so [I learned] to get a couple publishers involved and play one against the other,” Kelly said.

After reducing the manuscript to around 250 pages, the book was accepted by the Haworth Pastoral Press, which publishes many works on medicine and spirituality, Kelly said.

The book contains 10 chapters, each intertwining the roles of spirituality and health care.

Throughout the book, faith cannot be defined, Kelly said, so he and Haynes “paraded” people who have written about faith such as Mother Theresa.

The book has received great reviews, and one that Kelly is especially proud of is that of Dr. Harold G. Koenig, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Director of the Center of the Study of Religion, Spirituality and Health at Duke University Medical Center.

“What is unique about this book is that a theologian also gives his perspective and interpretation of each case, providing a blend of both the scientific, medical and deeply spiritual,” Koenig said.

Haynes is currently a semi-retired cardiologist lecturing at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at Princeton, while Kelly continues to teach religion courses at La Salle and is working on another book.

As far as how it felt to see the finished product, Kelly said there was a “thrill to it, a very deep thrill to publishing something.”

pizzot1@lasalle.edu