PSYCHE & SPIRIT: How a Psychiatrist Found Divinity Through Her Lifelong Quest for Truth and Her Daughter's Autism

Psyche & Spirit invites readers on a profound journey through Dr. Edwards’ mind, heart, and spirit during her quest for the truth of life, first as a child of medical missionaries in a Mayan Indian village, then overcoming trauma and an eating disorder during her teenage years, and later navigating the challenges of medical training. Ultimately, she discovers the truth she seeks through her autistic daughter.

In this deeply personal memoir, readers embark on a journey into their own hearts, joining Dr. Edwards as she navigates psychotherapy, meditation retreats, encounters with spiritual teachers, transformative travels to India and immersion in spiritual communities. Through her intimate story, she shows us how everything in this world can serve as a doorway back home to the Love we all are.

Psyche & Spirit speaks to those:

• embarking on their psychological and spiritual journeys, seeking deeper meaning and purpose in their lives
• raised in fear-based Christian religions and who have experienced religious trauma
• grappling with eating disorders
• spiritual seekers who have encountered the wisdom and the blind spots of spiritual teachers
• physicians scarred by the trauma of medical training
• family members, educators, and health care providers of autistic individuals who recognize the limitations of the traditional medical disease paradigm of autism

Dr. Edwards inspires each of us to recognize our individual experiences as paths back Home, to our Heart of hearts.

This fascinating, courageous, and keenly observed memoir moved and inspired me. Patient, doctor, mother, Edwards details her remarkable journey from the mountains of Guatemala to the storied halls of Stanford University and beyond. She describes a lifetime of spiritual longing that culminates with an awakening to the wonders of ordinary life, made possible in no small part by a not-so-ordinary little girl, her daughter Saachi. A captivating read and a triumph of the spirit.
— ANNA LEMBKE, MD, author of Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence

Filled with search, struggle, discovery and compassion, Psyche & Spirit is a vulnerable telling of her ability to grow, shine and finally be an advocate for herself and her daughter.
— SHARON SALZBERG, author of Lovingkindness and Real Change

In Psyche & Spirit, Mindy shares her journey, a journey from Love to Love. She is an example for us of someone who has taken the teachings of Neem Karoli Baba (Maharajji) to heart: “Love everyone, serve everyone, remember God.” With great determination and dedication she is manifesting them in her life, here, in THIS world. Her compelling story is a powerful reminder of the force of spirit as it seeks balance with the human mind.
— KRISHNA DAS, best-selling chant artist of all time; Grammy nominee; author of Chants of a Lifetime

I have found Melinda to be one of those very rare people who takes what life brings her with acceptance and grateful joy—turning what others would consider a burden into an opportunity to learn and evolve. Her understanding of autism is a prime example of this. Rather than dismissing it as a problem or an impairment, she truly understands the beauty of the autistic condition, and how, if we’re willing to listen, it points to a way forward for us all. Her compassionate and insightful wisdom shine through, and it’s a great honor to be associated with her and with her mission of shining a light for the benefit of us all.
— GUY SHAHAR, author of Transforming Autism and Founder and CEO of The Transforming Autism Project

Melinda Edwards, MD is a mother, writer and physician in Charleston, South Carolina, providing psychiatric care for underserved adults. She attended the Medical University of South Carolina and completed her residency in psychiatry at Stanford Medical Center. She has studied complementary and alternative medicine with Andrew Weil, MD, researched the effects of MDMA on PTSD with Michael Mithoefer, MD, and is a columnist for Autism Parenting Magazine. As a child of medical missionaries, Melinda grew up in a Mayan Indian village in Guatemala, Central America. Early in life she experienced an inner pull to a deeper truth. Her journey has taken her through various spiritual practices, including meditation retreats, guidance from spiritual teachers, travel to India, and living in spiritual communities. Her quest led to the ongoing discovery of the sacred in all. Inspired by her journey with her daughter Saachi, Dr. Edwards founded the 501c3 nonprofit organization Living Darshan to foster a deeper understanding of autism in the world.