Sutherland Memorial Lectures: 1958 to 2016

This book is one that anyone interested in Osteopathy should have in their library. The compilation of these lectures was a labor of love by Melvin Friedman, DO, FCA with editing by Mark Rosen, DO, FCA, two Osteopaths who have dedicated their lives to expanding the knowledge of the Osteopathic model and to serving humanity through this modality. We are grateful to them for their work in bringing this book to fruition.

There are gems to be mined in these lectures and in them, you will find the deep layers of caring and intelligence that leads someone to this profession. You will read lectures by well known Osteopaths and some you may not be aware of; but there is the common link of love for the profession, a deep curiosity about the healing process and a striving for answers in the attempt to help relieve the suffering of mankind. This book contains inspiration for anyone in the healing arts.
Below is a portion of the Foreword as written by Dr. Friedman.

FOREWORD
William Garner Sutherland (1873-1954), discoverer of the cranial concept and the first president of the Osteopathic Cranial Academy (OCA), had a guiding thought that has transformed countless people's lives; informing practitioners, and more so, relieving great suffering in humanity. The inspiration and content of his thought has informed countless people in their own service towards humanity and healing journeys. That is an essential basis of much of the discussions in this book. He has been remembered yearly at the OCA annual conference through a memorial lecture given each June since 1958. The lecturers themselves are honored to be recognized as our greatest embodiments, contributors, leaders, teachers, and ambassadors of Osteopathy in the Cranial Field (OCF).

This volume is a compilation of all the recoverable Sutherland Memorial Lectures since its inception in 1958. For the years in which the lectures could not be recovered (56 of the 59 were found), writings by the speaker around the time of the given lecture, or representative writings of the thoughts and work of the lecture are offered in the appropriate years's section of the volume to ensure inclusiveness of our great teachers and leaders.

After accepting the challenge of completing this collection, I found through libraries, old books and obituaries, windows into the lives of the lecturers. Also, there are many personal recollections from varieties of people across the country and internationally which served as reminders of so many people who have impacted me, changed my life and innumerable other, colleagues and patients. My love for those I have known deepened and other, long gone, became alive. Many became less legendary, but more human, and as such, became less imaginary in greatness, but more wonderful as human beings.

At the end of the time, I came mostly to see the lecturers as people, with their own lives, personality traits, uniqueness and flaws. Are we not all just living out our lives the best we can? While seeming simple, what an incredible journey and contribution to life we all have with the gift of participating in it as osteopaths.