Medicine and Health Books

Don't buy this book, if you don't want to live, a long and
healthy life!
Don't buy this book, if you don't mind, helping your Cardiologist pay off his Ferrari!
And don't buy this book, if you don't mind, having your
entire chest cavity ripped open like a Crab shell!

But, if you want to actually "cure" your Heart disease,
instead of just "treating its symtoms", then, DO....BUY
THIS BOOK!

EECP is the #1 Heart Theraphy in China!

Buy this book and then learn why the almighty ($) based Western Medicine is much more apt to "operate", than the less invasive based (less trama and less bleeding) Eastern methods.

EECP has already been approved by the FDA for Angina!

It also works on, and CURES, Congestive Heart Failure, (since it "renews" the Heart muscle itself and is refered to as the "Natural By-pass")! It, (EECP), has also shown great results with other diseases, like Alzhiemer's, Parkinson's, Sexual Dysfunction and even Diabetes.

But it does have a very notable side effect! Most patients lose
10-12 pounds after a course of treatments! So, we might have to throw in, weight-loss!

If you have a loved one going through the pain and suffering of the current Heart treatments, you, NEED, TO BUY THIS BOOK!

The following are my notes to myself on this great book.
( I take notes on each of the 200+ books I read each year)

Alternate names: virtual exercise, passive exercise, deep tissue massage, big squeeze (austistic?)
The 35 session program strengthens the cardio system - by applying pressure at the right time during each heart beat. Makes it much easier for the patient to get into exercise later.
Stronger and become better able to deliver more blood, oxygen, and nutrients.
Typically needs to have second treatment in 5 years - similar to by-pass and other heart treatments. Far less expensive than US invasive techniques.
35 session treatment plan was established in China. China now has 1,800 EECP centers (US has 650 locations) . 74% of Chinese patients maintained improvement for at least 7 years pg 58. Also patients were 4X less likely to suffer a cardiac death in the following 8 years. Chinese doctor's salary, until several years ago, was based on keeping person healthy, not on treating problems. 1 million Chinese have had EECP treatment. They use it for a wide variety of circulatory conditions, including strokes, Parkinson's disease, and visual impairments (pg 59)
Blood flow is critical to Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurvedic Medicine, Ancient Egyptian Medicine, and Ancient Greek Medicine pg 34
EPA approval for chronic stable angina and cardiogenic shock, then in 2002 congestive heart failure pg 61
There was a successful double-blind test of EECP in 1999.
Which prompted Medicare to being paying for that treatment for that heart problem in that year.
Very impressive international Angina statistics on page 75. 5,000 patients,
140 centers, patients had been diagnosed with heart problems for 10 years on average,
85% had undergone at least one bypass surgery or angioplasty or stent previously
42% had diabetes
32% had congestive heart failure
84% were deemed inoperable
Results after 3 years: 35% no angina, % of patients with 4 obstructed arteries went from 23% down to 5%
In the US, EECP is used for Stable Angina. Elsewhere it is used for both stable and unstable (comes on suddenly) angina - success rate being 74% and 80% respectively.
Her report on use with elderly: 24 patients with average age = 85.
96% reduced symptoms, increased activity level, and improved physical mobility - all with no adverse events. 81% maintained the benefit for at least 1 year.
Diabetes (9.5% of population) and EECP
Study of 658 patients with diabetes and symptomatic heart disease.
87% has previously had invasive procedure and were not candidates for additional surgery.
69% responded favorably and
72% still had benefits 1 year later.
None worsened. Also improved blood sugar control pg 106
Also helpful with Rheumatoid Arthritis (1% of population),
tinnitus decreased significantly in 47% after just 5-10 sessions (pg 102),
Some forms of deafness and blindness are also treated by Chinese with EECP
She believes that EECP gets you to the next fitness level, from whatever level you are at. pg 111
Sleep better; a side affect reported by many patients
While EECP is now offered to patients as treatment of last resort, various studies indicate that it could be the first treatment for heart disease. pg 123
2.4 million Americans have coronary artery disease and are considered to be inoperable. pg 123
Vasomedical leading manufacturer - 650 locations in the US 800 455 3327 www.naturalbypass.com
Washington as of Feb 2006: Seattle, Yakima, Long View, Vancouver
Poor blood flow -> blockages.
So she feels that need to work on better flow, not cleanup the consequence of poor flow. pg 124
EECP was first developed in US 30 years ago, but then widely adopted and evolved in China
Future: she believes that it will become the first treatment for heart disease, and perhaps even a way to prevent heart disease. pg 160

I really like the sound of this treatment, no pain, no real risks and lots to gain. The book is very convincing that EECP works. Also, it is apparently covered by health insurance in the USA. The hardest thing might be committing to the one hour treatment sessions, five days a week for seven weeks.

On the down side, I was tempted to give the book 4 stars since the author trashes chelation therapy (on pg.190) but in all honesty, the EECP treatment if not the book, does deserve 5 stars! Braverman states that chelation therapy is unproven, 'harmful - even fatal - when administered to the wrong person'. I don't agree. Perhaps she is so sold on EECP that she felt it unnecessary to research chelation therapy. Having worked in a chelation clinic for over 10 years, it's my opinion that Chelation and EECP could produce far better results in tandem than either modality used alone and there seems no reason why they could not be used simultaneously, if not synergistically. After all the negative comments, there is one redeeming sentence at the end where she states "Chelation does not interfere with EECP, so you may undergo both therapies if you choose" p.191. I would be surprised if Dr Julian Whitaker, MD (from the Foreword) doesn't use both in his practice. Like chelation therapy, EECP requires some maintenance treatment down the track whether it be 1, 2 or 5 years later. A full course of EECP runs about $6,000 (covered by insurance) over 7 weeks; a full course of chelation runs about $2,000-3,000 over 10 weeks.

Faced with a diagnosis of end stage heart problems that there isn't any surgical procedure available for this book provides valuable information on the EECP therapy.

Immensely readible and clear, this book documents the amazing efficacy of a simple, painless, out-patient procedure that resolves problems of angina and heart disease in 80% to 90% of sufferers without the pain, anxiety, costs and risks of having invasive cardiologists put stents in your arteries or attempt open heart surgery.

It shows, only too clearly, that the vast majority of cardiologists and cardiac surgeons are declining to advise patients of this option until the patients are so far gone from invasive efforts that no more can be done surgically.

At this point, if ever, these exhausted patients are told about EECP only to discover that it will work even for them.

The book also shows how double standards are used by professional entities to demand ever more "gold standard" studies of the efficacy of EECP while surgical methods, used universally, are not required to meet the same standards and, indeed, cannot ethically be tested to these standards anyway.

I learned about EECP from a Life Extension Magazine article, researched it myself and insisted on trying it. My decent and loving cardiologist readily agreed to the procedure once I raised it, agreed with my reasoning ( mainly non-invasive procedures before invasive ones), and said it had helped some of her patients. But had she told me about it before I insisted on trying it? No.

I read this book only after receiving my first EECP treatment and it explained to me, among other things, why I needed less nitroglycerine walking the dog even after one treatment of the thirty-five recommended! I do hope that all sufferers will read this book and, then, give a copy to their cardiologist.

Faced with this inspiring and documented book, I think your cardiologist will accept your wishes--as mine did--and that, in the end, the cardiology profession itself will be forced to come to its senses.

Jeremy J. Stone

I have been in the healing arts (licensed Counselor)for 25 years. This volume of personal insights by healing professionals is without doubt one of the greatest contributions to the field. It is my wish that a copy of this book be put into the hands of every person working in the health & healing industries.

The Quimby Foundation

This book was for a class I was taking. It will be one that I will keep because of all the information that it has. Very inspirational. Everyone in the class loved it. Each chapter is from a different author and their beliefs on the roles that healer play and the impact they have on those that are ill or are despondent in many ways. Some just talk about the relationships of people and how each is affected. Should be requirement for any level of education. Doctor's could really benefit from this when dealing with patients to learn how to be compassionate. There are so many that are lacking and out of touch treating people like they are just another in the cattle to treat and dispose of. Really anyone who has a job dealing with clients in any career. Read it for real.

I can't say enough about this book! I have recommended to friends who are ill - I have recommended it to everyone! Read it!

In the foreword to this book, we are told that the word anthology "literally means a gathering of flowers." The editors of this remarkable collection of essays asked healers from various perspectives to share their ideas, in order to define and foster the "common denominator, or 'golden thread,' that unites all healers and healing methods of ancient, current, and future times."

Below are some representative insights (there are many more contributors -- and much more to each essay-- than are quoted below):

Bernie Siegel, M.D., F.A.C.S., founded the Exceptional Cancer Patients program and is author of Love, Medicine, and Miracles. He believes that his own role -- teaching people how to feel and express love -- succeeds only if he is able to show them that they are lovable.

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, M.D., is noted world-wide for her work in death, dying, and transition, her books including On Death and Dying and AIDS: The Ultimate Challenge. She believes that healing does not occur only at an individual level: "Because each individual is connected through a vast network of relationships to innumerable other people and creatures on the planet, the process of healing even one person has far-reaching ramifications."

Hugh Prather -- a crisis therapist, columnist, and minister who has written such books as I Touch the Earth/The Earth Touches Me -- has concluded that "all healing approaches heal the body in the identical way; the only difference is in how they limit their options." The "great mistaken assumption" is that healing necessarily means a physical improvement -- it is not up to us to prejudge the form in which the gift of healing is to be received for a given person.

Joan Borysenko, Ph.D. -- former director of the Mind/Body Clinic at New England Deaconess Hospital, Harvard Medical School and author of Minding the Body, Mending the Mind -- writes very succinctly, "The message that underlies healing is simple yet radical: We are already whole... The work of healing is peeling away the barriers of fear that keep us unaware of our true nature of love, peace, and rich interconnection with the web of life. Healing is the rediscovery of who we are and who we have always been."

Jack Schwartz is a research pioneer and author in the field of voluntary control of mind-body processes. He sees disease as holding back energy that can be released if we align ourselves with the process of transformation. Even by using the label of "disease" we create an attitude that constricts our life energy's flow -- as if an enemy is attacking us from outside. He asks that healers be "mapmakers" or "guides" who walk alongside their clients, showing them how to release their own power, how to overcome the fear of change.

Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D., F.A.A.P., who specializes in chronic and life-threatening illness, asks, "beyond all these techniques, what is it that truly fosters the healing process? I think it is the way we stand in relationship to each other that is most important." She offers a model for any healer with whom we might partner in our journey of healing: "...two people in a healing relationship are peers, both wounded and both with healing capacity... I don't believe that one person heals another. I believe that what we do is invite the other person into a healing relationship."

Richard Moss, M.D., founded a nonprofit organization for health and wholeness and is the author of The I That Is We: Awakening to Higher Energies through Unconditional Love and How Shall I Live? "When I was a traditional physician," he writes, "I was content to regard healing as the restoration of health. But today I know that healing is far more than a return to a former condition. True healing means drawing the circle of our being larger and becoming more inclusive, more capable of loving. In this sense, healing is not for the sick alone, but for all humankind."

Designed "to search for the common denominator......that unites all healers and healing methods", this book pulls together almost 40 relatively short essays by various authors noted for their work in healing body and soul. Because of this approach, some chapters have more relevance than others, depending on the interests of the reader. Reading the ideas of a particular author can spark a desire to read more by that person, so in that sense this is a nice overview course on the breadth of attitudes held by contemporary healers, both traditional and alternative. It probably should be included as required reading by all practitioners of the healing arts.

As a nutritionist I read a lot of nutrition books. This colourful and informative book is a great resource for writing diet plans for a range of illnesses. If you don't have a lot of knowledge on the subject you will get great ideas here. If you are already following the Zone or other program this is a great balancing adjunct.

This book presents the top foods to eat for maintaining good health. It presents the detailed information first by food, then by specific health category and condition.

The text is peppered with cooking tips, suggestions for amount of consumption and any potential problems.

Very highly recommended for someone interested in refining their menu to increase overall health.

Food can prevent and treat illness. Food plays a vital role in maintaining our health. Instead of living to eat, we should actually be eating well to live well. The foods are shown in full-color pictures and each has it's own page. The key nutritional values, therapeutic properties, how much to eat, choosing and storing, cooking & eating and recipe page information is provided for each food.

The strength of this book is in the health information that demystifies the scientific evidence as to what will promote health. Yes, there are some recipes and I tried the "Polish Carrot Cake." The taste was more "healthy," and tasted more like a Cliff Bar in many ways. If you like health bars, this could be a less expensive way to go!

The ingredients included honey, yogurt and whole-wheat flour instead of sugar and all-purpose flour. The result is that you feel full eating only a small piece for breakfast. The cake also freezes well. I would say it tastes more like a carrot bread. You could take slices of this cake on a hike! I've been eating this for breakfast each day and already noticed that I don't feel as hungry before lunch.

If you are looking to avoid fats and sugars, this book will show you the way to a healthier lifestyle.

The Contents Include:

The Balance of Health: Interesting discussions on Food as Medicine, The Basics of a Healthy Diet, What's in Food, Digestion and Absorption and Special Dietary Needs.

Food Profiles: Twenty foods that have outstanding health benefits and details of their therapeutic properties.

Good Foods: Thirty delicious foods with health-enhancing powers.

Improving Your Health: Foods that help to relieve particular problems: respiratory system, eyes & mouth, digestive system, bones & joints, circulation & heart health, women's health, skin, the body's defenses, diabetic health, kidneys & urinary system and emotional health.

The recipes are a collection featuring the 20 bonus and 30 good foods for better health. After a discussion on kitchen essentials for a healthy kitchen, you will find recipes for soups, appetizers, salads, main courses, side dishes, desserts, quick breads & cakes and salsas & dressings.

Foods that are not featured in the Food Profiles section are mentioned in the "Directory of Other Valuable Foods" section. A chart with Vitamins & Minerals that are essential to life also shows the importance, effects of a shortage and the major source. The index is wonderful for finding information on foods you already love or ones you are considering adding to your diet.

Recipes that looked tempting: Hot & Sour Soup, Asparagus with Parmesan and Nutmeg, Artichoke Heart Salad, Greek Fish Stew, Broccoli Stir-Fry, Dhal, Baked Ginger Bananas, Oat Bran Muffins and Pineapple Salsa.

A guide to Optimum Nutrition.

"The quest is not so much for extra years in our life, but for extra life in our years." -Miriam Polunin

~The Rebecca Review

I'm a high school librarian and had gotten the first edition from a display merchant. I know from doing health research that everything in this book is right on. The color photographs are fantastic. I have purchased 5 copies of the new book as a gift for family members. I think new research would include other foods which may not be in the book. For instance, chocolate and coffee have been found to have some health benefits if taken in moderation because of their caffein content. I was most disappointed that she hardly mentions olives and olive oil. Jean Calment, the former oldest woman from France lived to 122 and she stated that she attributed her longevity to olive oil. She said similar things about chocolate and port wine (non-alcohol drinkers should use purple grape juice). As a non-drinker I would put purple grape juice in moderation because of its high sugar content. Respectfully I would rave review this book at five stars so deserved because it's the best book on the subject that I've seen.

This is not a collection of recipes, but rather an indepth analysis of what we eat and what effect our food has on our health. That's not to say there aren't any recipes in the book, because there are, but they're not 'spectacular'. This is the type of book you buy when you want to eat genuinely healthy food while knowing exactly what vitamins, minerals, fibers, etc you are getting into your body. It's divided into chapters, beginning with a detailed explanation of a number of 'bonus foods', telling us what they are good for, how they improve our health, their vitamin and mineral content, and a few recipes in which they could be used. The next chapter focuses on a lot more foods, explaining in less detail their benefit to our health. There is also a section in which you could identify any health problems you might have, then follow their suggestions through a customized diet plan. Brilliant color photography makes this book as enjoyable to look at as it is to read.

I first encountered this book in the mid-1990s while living overseas in a review of recommended non-fiction and fiction called, "The Common Reader." I don't know if this review continues today, but the author of the review of The Healing Hand so completely sold me on this book that I ordered a copy and had it shipped to me overseas. I found the book fascinating and authoritative. The reader comes away with not only an expert assessment of wound treatment from paleolithic times to the near present, but also with fodder for odd conversational interjections such as, "Do you know what the treatment for a sucking chest wound was during the period of the Illiad?" Over the intervening years, I've purchased copies for friends--friends either with or without an interest in the treatment of wounds for whatever reason--just because this is one of the most fascinating books I've ever read, and one worth sharing with your intellectual affines.

Excellent historical work regarding wound healing. If one can obtain the original edition of 1975 in good condition, I find it preferable to the reprint of 1992 in that it is paperback rather than hard cover, slightly smaller than the original and the quality of the photos and such were not reproduced all that well in the re-print.

This book is a wonderful resource for gaining knowledge and insight into ancient medicine. Guido Majno not only explains what these ancient cultures did, but in many instances he explains why. He discusses their practices against the foundatioins of their whole culture, including their cultural knowledge base, their religions, their laws, and their technology. He give a great deal of background. For example, when he discusses the medicine of the egyptions, he goes through a basic primer on heroglyphics and then shows the symbols used by the ancient egyptions. This book gives you a real understanding of what these ancient healers struggled with and why they chose certain practices over others. Because of Majno's modern investigation and testing of these practices you also gain an understanding of what they did that worked and what didn't work. I recommend it to anyone who has an interest in medical history.

Majno's book is not only magnificently informative but great fun. His prose is a positive pleasure, his research and knowledge are immense, and he has the gift of combining several perspectives to explain why procedures that now seem appalling made sense to the physicians of the period. He has experimentally tested a number of ancient remedies, and he is refreshingly willing to assume intelligence and craft among early physicians, even when they seem to be doing precisely the wrong things. His discussions of how we learn what medical techniques might have been is fascinating in its own right. Of his major sections (Sumerian, Egyptian, Greek, Chinese, Indian, and Roman), the Egyptian is probably best and the Chinese weakest.

Most books on the history of medicine read rather like either horror novels or dusty tomes, with few authors finding that rare balance between entertainment at the price of detail or dullness for the sake of completeness. Guido Majno's work THE HEALING HAND manages to entertain the lay reader without bogging down in too much medical terminology. THE HEALING HAND intrigues without succumbing to that all-to-tempting penchant many medical history writers have of detailing the most absolutely vile and disgusting medical practices in the world while sacrificing attention to the ones that modern readers will recognize and possibly even relate to.

The driving force of Majno's work, one that comes through plainly in his writing, is that he really wants you understand what it is he's talking about. By examining available historical texts, piecing together data from archaelological digs, and even experimenting his theories on himself, Majno take you on a "journey" through medical wound healing history, starting with ancient Egypt and the Pharoahs and moving on through Hippocrates's ancient Greece, Ceaser's ancient Rome, ancient India, and ancient China. Few authors could manage the detailed tapestry of cultures and medical information Majno deftly weaves. He treats the subject of ancient would healing as few other writers do and, in the process, exposes you to how his mind works by writing how he thinks the minds of healers worked concerning wounds during the aforementioned time periods.

It's that spark of looking into his mind that makes his writing intriguing to me. It's rather like getting an easily understandable peek into the mind of a genius hard at work on an earth-shattering discovery. Combine the easily accessible text with the understandable pictures and graphics, complete and unobtrusive footnotes, and the wonderfully extensive bibliography and you have an invaluable addition to your library.

As a lay researcher in a medieval re-enactment society, I found this work a true gem, well worth the price of adding to my collection. Even though it would only be considered a "secondary source," the details were too rich and the clarity of the information too valuable to think twice about its purchase. Majno gave me the "why" behind so many medical practices I'm rather saddened that I didn't find this book sooner. Despite being written originally in 1975, I've read and reread it many times using it as a springboard for further research and experementation.

Tulku Thondup has once again extracted the essence of traditional Buddhist techniques and made them accessible to Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. For more information about Tulku Thondup, his writings, and his seminar schedule, please visit his website at: http://www.tulkuthondup.com/

Good for both the newcomer and the experienced reader of buddhism. I have read this book three times, and every time is a new experience that creates an amazing aura of mindful positivity.
It is not a book of religion but it is the book about positivity.
I would reccomend it for everyone.
It has changed my life.

I love this book. It brings the wisdom of Tibetan Buddhism into everyday life--whether you call yourself a Buddhist or not. It shows how you can use healing attitudes and imagery. Simple, nondogmatic, loving, and practical.

This is one of the single best books I've seen for mind, body and spirit. Clear and concise, it exudes kindness, gentleness, and love. And it has greatly helped me and many people I know in dealing with every aspect of life.

A must read for everyone. No matter what your faith, this is a no-nonsense form of empowering ourselves. This is the kind of book that should be on all our public school reading lists, and taught in our schools.

This book takes you on a journey into the process of healing through reflection, imagination, and heartfelt glimpses into this author's soul. As you read this book, you will find yourself entering into a sacred space within you and a peace filled place known as your soul. What the Dying Teach Us: Lessons on Living

Chronic illness is something that affects millions of people worldwide. And yet those in pain often feel alone, as if no one "gets" what they're going through. By writing this book, author Marguerite Bouvard has validated all of those who struggle with chronic illness year in, year out. This book can also serve as a learning tool for the families and friends of those who suffer from chronic illness. I highly recommend HEALING.

Having received HEALING only this morning, I have only skimmed it and found it very insightful, enlightening and encouraging. I am a vicitim of IC myself and have been discouraged with most of the urologists and urogynecologists I have seen over the past 16 month. It was encouraging to read what Marguerite Guzman Bouvard had to say on this very subject. I am ordering 5 books, one for each of my children, so they can get a better understanding of what IC is all about.

Marguerite Bouvard has written a magnificent book we should all read.
Perhaps some will not pick this book up thinking, "I don't need to be healed." But it is beyond healing. HEALING is a gorgeous book about finding the richness, poetry and meaning in life. It's Bouvard's experience with illness that is the vehicle for her healing. However, none of us has a perfect life to live and we all have "something" whether it be illness, or loss, or disappointment...that is imperfect, yet defining to our lives. Despite these "somethings," we all have the potential to have meaningful lives rich with purpose. HEALING is Bouvard's journey beyond illness to that richness-and with her journey, she inspires us to find beauty and meaning in our own lives.

I can understand why it was many years before a woman as ambitious and accomplished as Marguerite Guzman Bouvard could stand before her colleagues and share with them her long-kept secret: "I am chronically ill." In her book Healing: A Life with Chronic Illness, Bouvard chronicles her own resistance to admitting her daunting physical limitations.

For decades, Bouvard had been absorbed in a busy and very public life of travel, research, teaching and writing--a life she loved, a life that gave her her sense of her successful self, and one she simply refused to surrender. She fought valiantly against the reality of her diminishing energies and capacities. She found her illness demeaning, an embarrassing weakness, a symbol of her failure both as a professional and as a person. As she became less active, less vocal, she felt her colleagues avoiding eye contact and avoiding her altogether. She began to feel invisible, "an unwanted outsider," no longer a part of the illustrious team of academicians that had been her life for so long. As her condition limited her more and more she lived "...in a turbulence of outrage, fear, and sorrow..." over her wildly changing circumstances.

When her illness at last became impossible to ignore, Bouvard spent years going from doctor to doctor, enduring painful procedures. Accurately diagnosed at last, she learned she had a chronic illness called interstitial cystitis, an inflammation and deterioration of the bladder lining that affects not just one area of the body but the body in its entirety. After a time, she would also develop fibromyalgia, again a miserable chronic illness involving muscle pain, severe fatigue and disturbed nightly sleep.

But in spite of her depleted stamina, Bouvard refused to cancel a previously planned arduous journey to Argentina to work with the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, whose children had disappeared and/or suffered torture at the hands of the country's brutally suppressive government. From these exceptional and courageous women, Bouvard learned that they assuaged their grief over the loss of their children and the brutal tyranny they lived with daily by banding together, by sharing their stories, by actively rising up against their oppressors, by not keeping silent. In time, she realized that she too would find healing only by speaking the truth of her increasing physical frailty, her acute and unrelenting pain.

The Mothers, who possessed a profound sense of caring for one another and a dedication to righting the senseless and horrific injustices that endangered them daily, became Bouvard's teachers. Her essential values began to change. Things she once considered important lost their significance. She stopped rushing about, stopped feeling the familiar competitive drives she had known all her life. She learned from them how to listen, how to hear and see in depth what was going on around her; she learned to pay attention, to give herself time to take things in and reflect.

However, these changes happened only gradually. She admits that it took her a long time to come to terms with her chronic illness. She writes:

I didn't realize this was the beginning of learning a new culture or that I would have to create a new language that would reflect my reality. Nor was I aware of one of the sources of my deep discomfort: that to become ill in this society means having the body, spirit, and mind severed. How could I speak to the people around me about my fear and anxiety, how could I speak to the self that was changing, when I was unable to find the words and had no frame of reference?

Having found the language to speak her truth, Ms. Bouvard was faced with giving up the certainties of her old career. She needed to learn to navigate her life without the familiar maps and landscapes of previous years. She began to trust that ideas would come in new ways, that her career would follow a different but equally creative path. She wanted to write only about ideas that fired her soul; she wanted to write not with the objectivity of research but as though she was addressing each reader personally.

She became excited as she felt herself and her life changing drastically. She began to keep a journal and as it became filled with her writings, and with cards and messages from friends, she realized she was neither invisible nor alone...no longer "an outsider" but very much a thriving human being, more connected to God and to herself than she had ever been. "Chronic illness," she writes, "has given me the opportunity to reassess my life, to decide on how I will live, what I hope to accomplish and what is important to me."

We all have problems that are difficult to confront, difficult to come to terms with. This is a book that can change the lives of the healthy as well as those struggling with illness. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

by Duffie Bart
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

Before I read this book, I was very intimidated by the world of organic products. Though I knew there would be tremendous health benefits, I still feared the expense and obtainability. Wendimere, however, proves to the reader just how accessible AND DELICIOUS health food can be. She's done her homework and has documented her delicious finds from all over the country. Also, if you want to know where in America to find some of the best entertainment, clothes, cleaning products and more -- all while promoting the health of the environment -- read this book!

Taking an active role in changing her health,Wendimere Reilly takes you on the journey of that transition. It takes you on a great organic tour of the United States. A great read for anyone wanting to live a healthier lifestyle.

I found many helpful hints from the book. I would especially recommend doing the Ezekiel bread as an aid to losing weight. And the offering of snackes makes this a reasonable diet without the feeling of a diet with lettuce and celery. This is a good and valuable read!

The Health Chic Guide: Hip, Fun & Delicious Living
Love this fun, hip book!! I am in the natural health care business and just recommended this book to a group of 250 people. It is straight forward and direct in it's approach to making simple changes in ones lifestyle to improve health. I am planning to use this as a resource guide book for great spas, organic companies, and resturants I hope to travel to.
Reilly, also writes about her travels last year with her husband and pets in a Airstream RV in search of fun and natural resturants, corporations, and adventures.
It is fun summer reading for the mind and body!

As someone who loves food and yet finds many of them toxic to her system and also is a "tree hugger" to some extent, this book was so encouraging! For two people to step out into this big vast world and try to make a difference and continue to live the healthy lifestyle they believe in makes me feel that I might be able to make a difference as well. I also love their compassion and understanding for individuals that still have a long way to go (like myself). They understand how difficult these choices are for us as the world (legislation, big business dollars etc.) continues to work against us without being fanatical about it. Lots of fun to read. Very uplifting.

Hope there is another book with more adventures and tips in the near future!

Alright, I'll confess: I haven't read the book. However, I HAVE taken an english composition class taught by Deborah Straw, and let me tell you, she's a wonderful educator and very passionate about animals. I still go to her for literary advice.

Just a little piece of info about the author that might make you feel good about buying the book...

The Healthy Pet Manual is a revised and expanded edition of Straw's already excellent earlier
book, Why Is Cancer Killing Our Pets? Cancer is the number one killer of most domestic
animals, dogs being the most vulnerable to this disease. A thorough researcher who was highly
motivated by the loss of four of her own dogs to cancer, Straw has made a careful study of the
environmental, dietary, and iatrogenic (vaccine-related) causes of this modern scourge. In this
well organized and beautifully written book she covers the bases with a sensible blend of
conventional and alternative approaches to the prevention and treatment of the disease.

As a person whose life has been immeasurably enriched by a series of remarkable dogs and who
finds it difficult to deal with their mortality, I found The Healthy Pet Manual to be full of
practical information that helps me to face my dog's future with greater confidence. This book is
an invaluable resource for anyone who loves and lives with animals. Two paws up!

It is a sad fact that many pets will succumb to some kind of cancer in their lifetime. It is also a fact that some veterinarians may lack the time, knowledge, and/or communication skills to answer owners' questions about this disease, its treatment, and prevention. This well-written and well-researched book helps fill that gap by providing two valuable kinds of information. First, it reviews some of the latest information about cancer in animals. Second, the extensive notes at the end of the book provide numerous references for those who would like to explore certain subjects in more detail. This combination results in a quality guide to the complex world of animal cancer.

Highly recommended for anyone concerned about their dog's health. Information that is user friendly and not easily available from any other source. There is a particularly good chapter on pain management - which is a field vets are only now beginning to understand. Deborah Straws writes with compassion from a pet owner's point of view - making the latest scientific and pet-related environmental issues easily accessible. An essential reference book for concerned pet owners.

When author Deborah Straw lost four animals to cancer, she became frustrated enough about the lack of information about the disease to investigate - and The Healthy Pet Manual: A Guide To The Prevention And Treatment Of Cancer is the result. Pet owners may not realize cancer is the number one killer of most domestic animals: this revised, expanded edition of Why Is Cancer Killing Our Pets includes the latest research and preventative measures owners can take, from watching food to understanding how vaccines may influence cancer developments in pets. A 'must' for any pet owner.

This is so easy to fit into my busy schedule. I expected to see huge rules and regulatios and do's and mostly don'ts. But I found that it seemed to be written just for me. It is so easy to incoporate into my life and so easy to keep in mind. Great book. Highly recommended -- especially if you are struggling to keep your weight down.

This book was recommended by my endocrinologist. It explains everything in an easy to read and understand manner. Just where I had questions was an answer that appeared to be waiting for me!!

I used to be an overweight kid who used to eat lots of fast food all the time.
I bought this book. and have been using this book for a while. I have lost lots of weight and have changed my eating habits too!
it changed my entire life!

This book works! The advice is sound and simple. Put it to the test and you will note be disappointed. Through daily excersize and cutting back on portion size, I have lost over 25 pounds!

Jo Ann Hattner (national media spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association), Ann M. Coulston (1998-99 past president of the American Dietetic Association); and Mike Goodkind (former Associated Press writer and editor at the Stanford University Medical Center for more than twenty years) successfully collaborated to write Help! My Underwear Is Shrinking!, which is a quite straightforward, "reader friendly" instructional guide especially intended for diabetics on the critically important subject of weight-management and good nutrition. Personal testimony; advice on working exercise into one's daily routine; tips, tricks, and techniques for maintaining healthy eating habits in all social settings, and much, much more fill the pages of this excellent guide which is very highly recommended reading for anyone with diabetes or a family history of diabetes.

The author has done a wonderful job conveying a complex set of issues in a user friendly manner. This killer disease is the subject of intense research and it was good to get an up to date perspective on the topic. I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in being empowered on the subject.

Excellent! Up-to-date information in understandable terms! The new edition of Hepatitis C, The Silent Epidemic gives basic explanations and also features recent breakthroughs in the use of PEG Interferon treatments. This paperback brings valuable and hopeful news!

This book let me finally understand where my doctor was coming from. I read the book three times, I found it so useful. Being able to understand both the potential dangers that lie ahead and how to avoid them has made me a stronger person as I confront this disease. I have read several other books on hepatitis C, and I liked this one the best. I really liked learning about the PEGYLATED Interferons as well as the safe use of alternative antioxidant treatments along with the ones my doctor is prescribing. This book seems really up to date. I am pumped about it.

A non-technical, easy to read approach. Short chapters cover the realm of topics and FAQ's. This may not be the only book you read if you want an in depth knowledge of the disease but it is excelent starter book. The information is current and timely. Timely information is important on this subject.

This book reads like a conversation with a concerned, experienced and optimistic doctor! It describes Hepatitis C and its life threatening effects with the sincereintention of making the public "...aware of the potential danger lurking within thelivers of so many unsuspecting Americans..." For those of us who may already beinfected, it gives easy-to-use tables listing diagnostic tests, people who should be screened, treatment side effects, and more. In addition, there is understandableinformation about everything from the newest research to alcohol consumption, to nutrition, and even to "alternative medicine" discussion. If you have Hepatitis C,if you think you may have Hepatitis C, if you are thinking about getting a tattoo,this is the book you've been looking for!