Review: In His Footsteps: My Life with Carey A. Reams; and, Carey A. Reams: The Man Behind R.B.T.I. (2021)
Book review. Book by Betty Reams Hernandez
REVIEW of first book 89 pgs
The story of my life with my father is Part 1, his autobiography is Part 2. … I want the world to know who he was, not just what he did. … From my standpoint and the faith which I stand on today, particularly with what is happening in the world right now, I honestly believe Carey Reams came to plant the seed, and it’s our job to bring this vine out into the sunlight. And I’m working to do that ~ Betty R. Hernandez
“Genius always finds itself a century too early” ~ Emerson
One of many good fortunes we have in RBTI is a lively literature; it’s not boring. All the books and transcripts I’ve read so far are punctuated with reasonable passions and with jokes. Betty’s memoir of her father is no exception.
Neither of the two documents in this book go deeper into Reams’ ionization theory. Both are deeper dives into the man, his upbringing and deeds. His strengths and weaknesses suggested in other accounts are simply more fully displayed here.
The dramatic legal and emotional scenes hinted at in other RBTI documents are here spelled out in detail by a first person witness. A handful of scenes are presented with a documentary-level of emotional clarity and depth of feeling which I found riveting. Several scenes, full of dramatic emotion, have a documentary, cinematic quality.
The stories make clearer how and why Reams was both so gifted — and so stubborn.
I characterize Part One of this book as: The life of an honest and trustworthy man.
I characterize Part Two of this book as: The engaging tragedy of a naturopathic medical saint.
The picture of Reams emerging here is consistent with how he is presented in other RBTI literature. This is a more concentrated, deeper dive into the man. Several poems he wrote are reproduced.
For those brand new to Reams mission and method, in Part Two, Reams introduces himself this way:
[quote indent]
One of the purposes for writing this book is to let the public know one of my goals in life: to make America the healthiest nation in the world. According to the Bureau of Vital Statistics in Washington D.C., America is today 37th on the list of nations in poor health [late 1970s]. You might ask me, “How do you expect to change the health of America?”
I do not consider the Reams Biological Theory of Ionization (RBTI), teaching the health message as it is written in the Bible, as one of the [energy medicine, New Age] healing arts. However, RBTI is the finest aid [and support for] any and all of the healing arts ever had because it expresses every degree of biological life for plants, animals, and people in mathematical and chemical terms.
My desire is to empty as many hospital beds as possible and to help prevent unnecessary surgery (page 95).
[end quote indent]
Childhood stories expand on what we know about his formative years. Many surprising new stories are told; a few more celebrities are connected with Reams, things not mentioned elsewhere in RBTI literature; nor, searchable on Google or Bing. It would be a pity to spoil these anecdotes for readers. Here are some teases for gems revealed in this book:
- Reams was an oldest child, first chid. His grandfather was a big influence (page 107).
- [At age 15] I was a father to my brothers and sister because Dad was no longer able to be that to them. When they needed clothes or shoes, I supplied them and I didn’t mind. I’m glad God allowed me to be born first so that I could do this (page 113).
- After the war, Carey turns a giant old air base into a citrus grove with $500 of “Tom Sawyer white-wash” advertising (page 144).
- A more full and 3D picture of how he parented his kids is revealed.
- Before RBTI he faces a person with a gun intending to kill him (page 147–148).
- A life lesson learned from defusing a 500 pound bomb (138–139).
- Unless you know what you are doing, leave the job alone (page 113).
- While using a crutch, he chokes a rattlesnake into submission (149–150).
- Instead of calling protons neutrons, I called them anions (page 124).
- More detail on the story of Reams’ first patient, the the 3.5 year old boy (page 124).
- I realized then the doctors were merely guessing at what was wrong with people and not doing laboratory work to seek the cause. Colleges were just beginning to teach and talk about blood tests (page 114).
- In 1933 I helped farmers to come up with a barter system; we made our own currency (page 118).
- When a farmer got so deep in debt he couldn’t get out of it, the bankers would say to the farmer, “You’d better call Mr. Reams. He’ll get you out of your problem.” Within two years I’d have the farmer out of debt and on his feet again. The banks would also call me and tell me about a farmer who was in trouble and ask me to go help him, so I could help him get back on his feet and the bank would get paid (page 119).
- MUCH more to the soft-rock phosphate story (120–122).
- Planting by the stages of the moon [also a Biodynamic idea of about the same year]. Also practical soil temperature wisdom (page 122–123).
Review of Part Two — The engaging tragedy of a medical saint
Never shy about his faith convictions and friendship with Christ, this aspect of Reams comes more alive in Reams’ autobiography edited by Betty.
- As a child, angels help him plow a field. (page 109).
- A warm, moving, personal proclamation of his connection with Jesus (page 110).
- A full accounting of his religious upbringing, his on-and-off relationship with Seventh Day Adventist church (various pages).
- Another angelic intervention (page 148). Another angelic intervention (page 149). [I count additional fourth and fifth clairaudient experiences.]
- One thing I never did in the home was to talk sharply to anyone. I was interested in what the children and my wife had to say. We talked about the Lord all the time. Many times, visitors to our home would ask, “Don’t you people ever talk about anything other than the Lord?” “Not often,” I would reply (page 167).
The tragic implications of an offer from Japan
Most striking to me of all is the story Betty tells from the early 1970s, when Reams was beginning to have serious legal problems.
[quote indent]
The legal problems in Florida, however, were smoldering on a back burner. People kept arriving at the retreat and asking for tests. We were kept busy with the many requests for help coming our way.
It was during this time we received an Air Mail Letter from the Health Minister in Japan. It was addressed to Dr. Carey A. Reams, Florida, USA, and it was delivered to the Mt. Dora property.
As I did with all mail coming in, I opened the letter and read it with much joy to my father. It stated simply they had heard of the success he was having in providing relief from cancer, heart disease, and other serious illnesses. They had also heard of the legal problems he was experiencing as a result. They offered to bring my father, his entire family, and anyone else he needed to assist him, to Japan, where they would set him up in a laboratory complete with any equipment he wanted, with pleasant living arrangements provided for all. They wished to assist him in his endeavors to find cures for diseases where none existed here-to-fore.
I had my secretarial pad in hand ready to take dictation. I was ready to pack, and ready to go to Japan. Then my father, with great joy on his face dictated the following letter.
Dear Health Minister:
Thank you for your invitation to bring me and my family to Japan. As much as I would love to accept your kind offer, I cannot. I am a veteran of World War II and almost died fighting for my country’s freedom. I will stay in the United States and continue to fight for freedom in my country.
I appreciate your offer, but I must stay here where I am most needed. Sincerely yours,
Carey A. Reams, D.S.
My heart fell. I wanted to cry. I did not want to endure the persecution in a country that did not know how to appreciate what we were doing. Neither did I understand what my father had gone through during World War II. I had not yet come to realize what it is like to walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. It would be some years before I learned how to take the hand of the Master and walk in faith. Right now, however, I was willing to take the hand of my father, even though I simply did not understand why he said no. I dutifully typed up the letter and mailed it back to the Minister of Health in Japan (page 24).
[end quote indent]
Could this have worked? Could Reams have been protected and allowed to expand his method and influence in Japan; and then, from Japan to the world? We’ll never know. In the 1970s-1980s, it was true Japan was more tolerant, open, innovative and supportive than the US in terms of new tech uncoveries generally, not just in health.
The sad outcome of Reams’ snap decision above is bound to remind some readers of a famous joke:
[quote indent]
A terrible hurricane approaches. The weatherman urges everyone to get out of town because the riverbanks will soon overflow, the dam will break and many homes will be lost. Everyone in town is ordered to evacuate immediately.
A Christian man of great faith hears the warning. He says to himself, “If I am in danger, I trust God will save me.”
Neighbors pass by his house and call to him, “We’re leaving. There’s room for you in our car, please come with us!” The man declines. “I have faith God will save me.”
The man stands on his porch watching the water rise up the steps. A man in a canoe paddles by and calls to him, “Hurry, come into my canoe!” The man again says, “No thanks, God will save me.”
The floodwaters rise higher. Water pours into his living room forcing the man to retreat to the second floor. A police motorboat came by and sees him at the window. They shout, “We will come up and rescue you!” The man waves them off saying, “Use your time to save someone else! God will save me!”
The flood waters force the man to climb up on his rooftop.
A helicopter spots him and drops a rope ladder. A rescue officer comes down the ladder and pleads with the man, “Grab my hand; I will pull you up!” The man folds his arms tightly. “No! God will save me!”
Shortly after, the house breaks. The floodwaters sweep the man away and he drowns.
Up in Heaven, the man stands before God and asks, “I put all of my faith in You. Why didn’t You come and save me?”
God says, “Son, I sent you a warning. I sent you a car. I sent you a canoe. I sent you a motorboat. I sent you a helicopter. Were you expecting something more?”
[end quote indent]
I’ll let you decide if the ends of Parts One and Two suggest a tragic biography, a good man coming to an unnecessary tragic end.
To Learn More
Look up “HAMARTIA, also called tragic flaw, (from Greek hamartanein, “to err”), inherent defect or shortcoming in the hero of a tragedy, who is in other respects a superior being favored by fortune” — Britannica
The saint is good; yet, not yet perfected. The misfortune of the tragic hero is brought about not by vice or depravity; rather, thru some error of judgement (Hamartia often translated as “tragic flaw”).
Tragic flaw is a narrative device where a charter flaw or deficiency results in the tragic downfall of the hero. Tragic flaws allow writers to create characters who are complex and fully human; in addition, providing readers with deeper understanding of the impact of such a defect.
One classic tragic flaw is to be overly self-sacrificing. Others include:
1. Ignorance of relevant fact, circumstances or natural consequences,
2. A hasty or careless evaluation of obstacles faced. An obstacle which could have been avoided — is not avoided.
https://www.slideshare.net/mali90145/aristotles-concept-of-tragic-hero
Reviewer, Bruce Dickson is the clerk for the online worldwide map of RBTI Friends and practitioners. HealingToolbox # gmail.com
Reams Biological Theory of Ionization
The Life Story of Carey A. Reams
by Carey A. Reams and
Betty Reams Hernandez
Book I
In His Footsteps: My Life with Carey A. Reams
Written by Betty Reams Hernandez,
2017 Copyright © 2017 Betty Reams Hernandez
Book II
Carey A. Reams: The Man Behind R.B.T.I.
(Originally titled: Carey A. Reams — A Moses for Health)
Written by Carey A. Reams, 1979
Edited by Betty Reams Hernandez, 2016
Copyright © 2017 International Ag Labs
Printed with permission from International Ag Labs, Fairmont, MN
ISBN: 978–0–692–07749–8
182 pages — $85
