Reading, Writing & Pondering

If you have ever been faced with a serious health issue, you may have struggled with our Western health care system and wondered what else would be the most helpful to heal from whatever it is that you are facing. How Healing Works by Wayne Jonas, MD, is an interesting read for those who want to find healing for themselves or for those who are interested in health care in general. Jonas divides this book into three sections: Rethinking Healing, The Dimensions of Healing, and Your Healing Journey. He also includes appendices for additional resources to help on your personal healing journey. Jonas shares a lot of people's case studies throughout the book, including that of his wife. He also shares how he used research to learn how healing works--and how healing can't always be measured but that doesn't mean it won't work. He tells stories of those who were clearly healed in spite of methods that couldn't be quantified. Dr. Jonas initially comes at the research a...

Every day we see countless advertisements for medications. We go to the doctor and expect that we will leave with a prescription that will make us better. But do all of these drugs really make us better? Dr. Andrew Weil in Mind Over Meds helps readers make informed decisions on medication use. Mind Over Meds goes through most of the commonly prescribed medications in the United States: antibiotics, statins, medicine for Gerd, antihistamines, cold/flu medicines, sleep aids, steroids, psych medicines for adults and children, and several other categories of popularly used medications both over-the-counter and prescribed. Dr. Weil also writes chapters on over-medication for children and over-medication for the elderly. The last chapter of the book covers medications with a pharmacist, whom Dr. Weil says is an underutilized medical person in the management of medications. All of these chapters were written with other medical personnel who specialize in these areas since Dr. Weil says...