Love and Health is a classic account of good triumphing over evil, of being given a lemon and making lemonade. It is an intimate sharing of a success story that started with anger and ended in love. Indeed, it is the tale of a personal defeat that developed into a program of love so timely and unique that for one bright shining moment it profoundly changed a university and a hospital and the people who worked there.
Dr. Jerry Ainsworth was an administrator at his university when he became embroiled in a conflict with his administration. The battle became so intense and hostile that he was relieved of his administrative post and assigned a menial, punitive position. This dismissal angered him to such a degree that he started a movement to oust the president, or, if not to get rid of him, at least to embarrass him or weaken him politically.
After months of seething with anger, he developed a life-threatening medical condition that doctors told him was a direct result of anger and could soon cause his death. Astonished, he delved into existing research literature to determine if anger could actually kill. Not only did he learn that it could, he was equally surprised to discover evidence confirming the healing effects of love and of similar positive emotions.
Dr. Ainsworth immediately incorporated these findings into his own life, alleviating all symptoms of anger and pioneering the development of an undergraduate college course on love and health. Although colleagues were initially apprehensive, apathetic, and even pessimistic toward such an idea, student reactions were exactly the opposite. His classes were so successful that he started a graduate course along similarlines.