The Memory Palace of Bones

The Memory Palace of Bones – exploring embodiment through the skeletal system is an unprecedented exploration of the anatomy of the bones of the body, and a unique set of reflections on the role each individual bone plays in our lives, looking at both its physical and energetic contributions.

The book began as a proposal from Dr Rockwell who wanted to write a work focused on the bones of the body, in a manner similar to Lauterstein’s earlier book Putting the Soul Back in the Body, which focused on the major muscles of the body, looking at their role in our structure and movement, and more generally in our lives. In discussion together they decided to write the book as an exchange of “letters” on each bone, partly inspired by John Berger and John Christie’s beautiful correspondence, I Send You This Cadmium Red. There is no other book quite like this one. No-one else has explored the existential significance of each of the bones of our body. The field of mind-body medicine and healthcare is growing, yet there are few “enlightened” anatomy books.

In The Memory Palace of Bones, the authors offer an inspiring, beautifully written book on this deeper layer of the body-mind. Those who read the book will enjoy a deeper insight into the essence of the core layer of their body and lives. The authors’ intention has been to look at the skeletal system in a similar way to that in which the author Deane Juhan, in his book Job’s Body, looks at the muscles and the nervous system. Written and presented in an imaginative and highly readable style the book describes the specific bones and, where appropriate, the joints as well. It combines the anatomical expertise of the authors with their appreciation for the beauty of the body and uniquely arises from two lifetimes involving extensive clinical expertise as well as valuing imagination as a source of wisdom and depth. Seeing and discussing bones as a wisdom source is a topic that until now has never been systematically covered.

“As we explored our own bodies, our memories, and our clinical experiences, we asked ourselves, “Could the body itself be a memory palace?” After all, within us live all our memories, all our learning, all our lives. Do we not walk through this memory palace every time we lay our hands on the human body? And if so, what memories–ancient or recent – are carried within and reflected in our bones?  When we say, “I just know it in my bones,” is that merely a figure of speech? What might our bones tell us – of ancient lives on the plain, of the evolution from walking on all fours to two-legged locomotion, about the role bones play in the balancing of human structure and energy? ”