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The book feels incredibly personal - not because it is the story of one man, but because it's the story of one man's perspective. Lol clearly knows what his readers want to hear. The focus of the book is largely dedicated to The Cure, what went well and what went wrong. That is what his readers are interested in, and his almost twenty five years away from the band get a mere mention. Lol will not become best friend to the reader. But the reader will understand him better. One touching moment, was Rita Smith (Robert’s Mum) reminding me of my own Mother, while telling neighbours to mind their own business when the band first began rehearsing in her home. It was also tough reading about Lol’s Mum dying, and how that further contributed to his alcoholism. For as long as I've known Robert people have been out to get him. On stage, in the pubs, or on the street, he's always been a target. I've never seen Robert instigate a fight, yet there's something about him that provokes people."
I don't want to spoil the conclusions nor the stories he tells which he weaves in and out of each chapter so well - really, so well. Cured is not only the first insider account of the early days of the band, it is a revealing look at the artistic evolution of the enigmatic Robert Smith, the iconic lead singer, songwriter, and innovative guitarist at the heart of The Cure. A deeply rebellious, sensitive, tough, and often surprisingly "normal" young man, Smith was from the start destined for stardom, a fearless non-conformist and provocateur who soon found his own musical language through which to express his considerable and unique talent. This is one of the most eloquent, intimate memoirs I have ever read. It is so beautifully descriptive, in a way only a true artists can express. He is able to paint a picture of bleakness and colour with the same flair. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of reading this book, not just because I love The Cure and am interested in hearing what Lol has to say, but because it is also easy and gentle to read. The second half of the book miserably spiraled into something I had no interest in reading. Tolhurst removed the focus on recording the albums and his experience with the band and started to give lengthy descriptions on the topic of his, at this point full-blown, alcoholism. Very understandable, might I add, as it was such a big part of Tolhurst's life and impacted his relationships with the band members very much, but it just wasn't something I was particularly interested in. Taylor decided to write the book because, even though most diabetes experts in the UK have now accepted that his rapid weight loss programme works, many doctors in Europe and the USA remain unconvinced. “It’s not easy to get new ideas accepted in medicine. So it will be a while before this gets into the textbooks and generations of doctors are taught about it.”Through many case studies and medical research studies, Dr. Rediger also examines such healing factors as diet, chronic inflammation, good and bad stress, stress triggers, mindfulness, reframing problems, the vagus nerve and vagal tone, micro love, immune cells influenced by social interactions, beliefs effecting the body/the double slit experiment, self-expectation and self-validation, the default mode network (DMN) and how to interrupt it, redefining identity, and facing death to get more out of life. With such comprehensive and diverse information, Cured proceeds logically and is very readable, even when it dips into highly technical areas. Lol Tolhurst met The Cure's leader Robert Smith at primary school when they were both five years old. 14 years later they released their first, rather splendid single, Killing an Arab, and the rest is history. Cure is for anyone interested in a readable overview of recent findings in mind-body phenomena, a reliably enthralling topic… A rewarding read that seeks to separate the wishful and emotion-driven from the scientifically tested.” Washington Post The book also explains who is at greatest risk and why some people who have a “normal” Body Mass Index (BMI) develop the disease, when many people who are more overweight – or even obese – do not. Robert Smith (left) and Lol Tolhurst in the Cure’s video for The Lovecats, 1983. Photograph: Steve Rapport/Getty Images
A beautiful book, telling the stories of people who made the impossible possible. Doctors are good, but everyone makes mistakes. And their approach is, usually, fixing a machine, not treating a human being. They only take the objective into consideration, looking at their patients, and seeing machines instead. Where there is will in the eyes, the doctors only see ”false hope”. And, if the patients happen to recover, against all odds, logic, and science, doctors feel threatened. Not amazed. I was like, woah, no wonder we left here. The stage where we performed is a little bigger, but there was nothing, nothing at all to say we were ever there. The biggest thing to happen to this pub ever. No trace!” For patients, the most important factor might be their degree of involvement in treatment, taking charge of their own healing. Accepting their diagnosis, but not their prognosis and involving themselves in various healing modalities makes a difference. High self esteem correlates with high involvement. Taking responsibility for the healing, but not blame for the illness, spontaneous healers make physical, psychological, and lifestyle changes that lead to survival. Patients must become empowered by embracing their treatment and realizing that they are not their illness. Interestingly enough, studies can’t measure this involvement.
Descriptions like that perfectly reflected my own experience seeing The Cure live and why it remains one of the best concerts I’ve experienced. Robert’s charisma to win over the unlikeliest of fans is showcased numerous times. Through rigorous research, Dr. Rediger shows that much of our physical reality is created in our minds. Our perception changes our experience, even to the point of changing our physical bodies--and thus the healing of our identity may be our greatest tool to recovery. Some of the most interesting parts were simply snapshots of the world during that era – Berlin Wall and the paying of bribes while on tour in Europe, dismal working class suburbs in Thatcher’s England. Sadly, these were often followed by “diva tales”; like forcing mud-covered Glastonbury fans to wait ages while they watched soccer on TV or Lol relishing in describing himself as a “hard man” people avoided getting into fights with.
On our first day of school, Robert and I stood at the designated stop at Hevers Avenue with our mothers, and that's when we met for the very first time. We were five years old." He is currently in the middle of research to find out whether there’s any way of discovering, via a blood test, when people are heading into this dangerous territory and their fat cells are putting out what he describes as “distress signals”. This is a million miles from “fat shaming”, he says, and it is up to each person to decide for themselves whether they are too heavy for their own health and happiness. “What I can point out as a doctor are the circumstances that come about when people have crossed their personal fat threshold,” he says. “There’s no judgment on a person who happens to be heavy, compared with someone who happens not to be. It’s about helping individuals who would otherwise run into trouble.” It is particularly important to note that if you have a family history of type 2 diabetes, you are more susceptible genetically. People in these circumstances need to be “very careful” about weight, especially in adult life, Taylor says. “If you’ve increased weight quite a lot above what you were at the age of 21, you’re in the danger zone – and you should get out of it. If you’ve got a family tendency for diabetes, then you really want to avoid weight gain in adult life.”
Rediger argues that we should be looking into these incidents more - just because they go against what we know of about disease and science, it doesn't mean they should be ignored or dismissed. They could provide insight into how our bodies work (particularly our immune system) and how we can beat these illnesses (think cancer, diabetes, autoimmune diseases and so on). Tolhurst is aware that the title may raise eyebrows. “I know there are loads of fans who are going to say: ‘What? No, the Cure were never goth!’ In fact, the original title for the book wasn’t Goth. I wanted to call it The Lesser Saints, but the publishers said: ‘What’s that about?’ I tried ‘Post-Punk’ on my editor but he said that was too broad.” In the meantime, he feels it is his job – his “duty” even – to make people aware of the discoveries he and others have made in recent years. “I feel a responsibility for passing on this knowledge.” From retiree Claire, diagnosed with a violent form of pancreatic cancer and given weeks to live, to 23-year-old Matt, given a 2 per cent chance of surviving a lethal brain tumour. Both rejected chemotherapy and radiation, and went home to try to prepare themselves for acceptance and a peaceful death. Both are alive over a decade later, their bodies absent of all tumours.
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