Kravitz And Sons

I Heal You With My Hands is a memoir that takes readers through Robert Ackerman’s life from childhood into his later years. The early chapters introduce his childhood in South Dakota, his family, school experiences, friendships, and the many events that stayed with him as he grew older. He also shares stories involving his father’s restaurant and his unexpected encounters with Hollywood figures while movies were being filmed in the area, including Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, and George Peppard. The book does not try to make his younger years look perfect. Instead, it includes mistakes, difficult moments, family struggles, and lessons that came from living through them.

As the story moves forward, Ackerman writes about his time in the Air Force and his experiences connected to Vietnam. He describes working with C-130 aircraft, traveling through Okinawa and Thailand, flying missions, dealing with dangerous situations, and witnessing the realities of war. Other parts of the book move into soccer, community service, alcohol recovery, family loss, mental health, and the people who influenced his life. His work with the Drug and Alcohol Task Force, ambulance service, soccer teams, and the Salvation Army becomes part of the larger story of a man who kept finding ways to serve others.

The later chapters take the book into more personal and spiritual territory. Ackerman discusses an experience he says happened in 1969, when he believed God gave him a message connected to healing with his hands. From there, the book explores his studies of Edgar Cayce, reincarnation, God, Jesus, the Bible, the idea of oneness, and his views about humanity and the natural world. He also turns his attention to climate change, plastic pollution, overpopulation, and what he sees as a possible future for the planet. Whatever readers may think about his beliefs, the book clearly comes from a lifetime of experiences and questions that Ackerman has spent years trying to understand and put into words.