Enjoy Every Sandwich

Living Each Day as If It Were Your Last

By: Lee Lipsenthal, Dean Ornish - introduction

Narrated by: Lee Lipsenthal, Dean Ornish M.D.

This book is a culmination of what I’ve learned. I hope it will open the door for you to embrace your humanity, accept uncertainty, and live a life of gratitude. —from Enjoy Every Sandwich

As medical director of the famed Preventive Medicine Research Institute, Lee Lipsenthal helped thousands of patients struggling with disease to overcome their fears of pain and death and to embrace a more joyful way of living. In his own life, happily married and the proud father of two remarkable children, Lee was similarly committed to living his life fully and gratefully each day.

The power of those beliefs was tested in July 2009, when Lee was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. As Lee and his wife, Kathy, navigated his diagnosis, illness, and treatment, he discovered that he did not fear death, and that even as he was facing his own mortality, he felt more fully alive than ever before. In the bestselling tradition of Tuesdays with Morrie, told with humor and heart, and deeply inspiring, Enjoy Every Sandwich distills everything Lee learned about how we find meaning, purpose, and peace in our lives.

Critic reviews

"Dr. Lipsenthal is a profound explorer of our inner and outer worlds. Enjoy Every Sandwich will help you heal your fear of death and embrace the true joy of life’s extraordinary journey."
—Edgar Dean Mitchell, Apollo 14 astronaut

"Often, patients given a terminal diagnosis reach a surprising, transforming conclusion--you have to be ready to die to embrace being alive. But Lee Lipsenthal tells his story with such intimacy and humanity that this paradoxical fact can be accessed even by those who have not (yet) leaned out over the abyss. To deny death is to deny life. Read Enjoy Every Sandwich to know why."
--Andrew Weil, M.D., New York Times bestselling author of Healthy Aging and 8 Weeks to Optimum Health

"This book is about the lessons one learns on the journey from understanding the experience of life and all its difficulties. It contains the profound wisdom derived from the greatest teacher, our mortality. So read on and learn how to spend your life's precious time with more love and less fear."
--Bernie Siegel, M.D., Author of Peace, Love & Healing, and Love, Medicine & Miracles

"With courage and candor, Dr. Lee Lipsenthal shows us that facing death means facing life: Your own, and the lives of those around you. After his stunning diagnosis of an often-fatal cancer, Dr. Lipsenthal embarks on a journey of bravery, practicality, and humor to guide his way through the greatest of uncertainties. He allows us in, during the dark days and the brighter ones. Let Dr. Lipsenthal be your guide on a journey that, ultimately, all of us will take."
--Clint Eastwood

“What if you were not afraid to die? What if the universal fear that makes us small was suddenly gone and you were free? How would you live then? Lee Lipsenthal's beautiful memoir of the first 18 months of his journey with cancer reads at times as a prose poem, at times as a wisdom story and at times as an invitation to the Dance. To read it is to step through a door that opens only one way into a larger life. Of all the books you've read this year, this is the one that will heal you.”
--Rachel Naomi Remen MD, author of Kitchen Table Wisdom and My Grandfather's Blessings

"If you want to learn to love with your whole heart, so that when you come to the end of your life you will have no regrets, Lee Lipsenthal's gracious and caring book is for you. In revealing his own struggles, and doing so with remarkable transparency and responsibility, Lee has not just written a book that is filled with grounded inspiration and hard-earned wisdom. He has written a book that you will never forget."
--John Robbins, Author of Diet for a New America, Healthy at 100, and The New Good Life

Advice on living well until the end

Loved it. Practical, spiritual, down to earth. Read by the author - you can hear how emotional parts of the chapters are for him as he narrates. Reading this book is like touching what is in all of us.

Very Good, but .....

I enjoyed listening to this audiobook. It reiterated that life is short, you must live life fully and with love and awareness. That any day is as good a day as another to die, and you can die fearlessly. Just not , exactly, how to do this.
This was written by a prominent physician.
He practiced mind/body awareness through meditation and yoga.
He had the best medical resources available.
He had an extremely loving and supportive family.
Yes, it was interesting to see how a man so well connected, dealt with this unexpected forced fork in the road.
Identification with this man's story could be somewhat difficult for the average person, but it didn't make the story any "less."
If you are going into this story looking for answers, or partial answers, perhaps this book wouldn't be for you. Or rather, if you are looking for "enjoy each day" and " be mindful " for your health, you will find it here.
After this, the book recounts the doctor's life between his diagnosis and his death.
(he actually died before the book was in print)
Perhaps more of the author's thoughts or emotions could have been present.

Some very compelling life lessons!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Lee shares some deep insights into living life to the fullest, leaving the fear or death behind and living in the moment. There is some very enlightening material here, and I am very glad I was able to find this book, it is a life changer for most who spend the time to listed and really ponder the contents. The world is a better place for having this man in it! Definite read!

An outstanding life-changing book

What an outstanding book! A MUST listen to book as the author's very personal reading enhances the experience greatly. Deeply personal and moving. Gives one much to think about.

Misleading title

The books is 20% his story, 79% experiment with spirits, afterlife, the “god spot” ghosts, is there a god or not, why he didn’t mind dying and only barely fought his cancer somewhat reluctantly for his family, and 1% helpful insight and advice. Not saying bad or good, but wasn’t what I needed, needed help with enjoyment and acceptance, very little discussion about this topic.