Forgotten Healers

In Renaissance Italy women from all walks of life played a central role in health care and the early development of medical science. Observing that the frontlines of care are often found in the household and other spaces thought of as female, Sharon Strocchia encourages us to rethink women's place in the history of medicine.

In Women as Healers, thirteen contributors explore the intersection of feminist anthropology and medical anthropology in eleven case studies of women in traditional and emergent healing roles in diverse parts of the world. In a spectrum of healing roles ranging from family healers to shamans, diviner-mediums, and midwives, women throughout the world pursue strategic ends through healing, manipulate cultural images to effect cures and explain misfortune, and shape and are shaped by the social and political contexts in which they work. In an introductory chapter, Carol Shepherd McClain traces the evolution of ideas in medical anthropology and in the anthropology of women that have both constrained and expanded our understanding of the significance of gender to healing-one of the most fundamental and universal of human activities. The contributors include Carol Shepherd McClain, Ruthbeth Finerman, Carolyn Nordstrom, Carole H. Browner, William Wedenoja, Marjery Foz, Barbara Kerewsky-Halpern, Laurel Kendall, Merrill Signer, Roberto Garcia, Edward C. Green, Carolyn Sargent, and Margaret Reid.

The Healing Herbs provides the information you need to use the earth's wonderful bounty of medicinal plants confidently, effectively, and above all, safely. It examines 100 of the most widely used, most easily available, most familiar, and most fascinating medicinal plants, tracing their history, folklore, and healing properties, and summarizing the latest scientific research on their many benefits. The Healing Herbs also explains where to find the herbs, how to take them, store and prepare them, even how to grow them. The Healing Herbs also includes an easy-to-use A-to-Z herb encyclopedia, plus a section titled Prevention and Treatment: A Fast-action Guide to Using the Healing Herbs, including: Conditions--from ear infection to stress, A-to-Z conditions and the herbs you can use to treat and prevent specific symptoms and diseases; Healing Actions--from antibiotic to sedative, an A-to-Z list of medicinal uses with herbs as a natural alternative to certain medicines; Other Uses--some unusual uses for the healing herbs, for example as insect repellent or memory improvement. Both Conditions and Healing Actions include special precautions about certain herbs, whether in preparation, long-term use, or short-term effects.

Straight from nature's medicine cabinet, the latest herbal discoveries that cure hundreds of health concerns without the dangerous side effects or high cost of prescription drugs. The New Healing Herbs by Michael Castleman uses the latest studies to offer guidelines on dosages, drug interactions, and results for herbal healing. Included are herbal prescriptions to treat ailments ranging from the common cold, allergies, and back pain to more serious conditions such as diabetes and cancer. Featuring hundreds of cures and therapies proven to work, this book shows you which herbal remedy to take for each condition, how it's taken, what interactions to watch for, and where to buy the featured herbs. The easy-to-use Cure Finder organizes herbs by health condition, healing actions, and alternative uses, guiding you to the right herbal remedy for your ailment.

In 2015, Rhea Iris Rivers felt horrified, scared, sad, embarrassed, exhausted, and ungrateful after she learned she was facing a myriad of health challenges. In a thirty-day guidebook filled with personal experiences and the wisdom of Mother Earth, Rivers shares how she naturally beat her own health crisis with seven steps to renewal that transformed her life and healed her ailments through what she found in nature, her kitchen, and most importantly, within herself. Rivers relies on ancient knowledge gathered from real-life events and teachings to demonstrate how she cleared a vaginal squamous cell malignancy and HPV from her system in less than thirty days. As she guides others through the layers of wellness that includes the seven steps to renewal, she encourages others to listen to their inner-voice, highlights the benefits of herbalism, uncovers the connection to past trauma and how it manifests within the body, and shares an easy approach to healing through foods, medicinal plants, and vibrational healing. Our Forgotten Allies offers ancient wisdom and personal experiences that will help women reduce physical and emotional ailments through seven steps to renewal and healing.

This book presents the first in-depth analysis of Mesopotamian healing goddesses and their relationship to asûs, “healers”. Through this, Sibbing-Plantholt provides unprecedented insight into the diverse Mesopotamian medical marketplace and how professional healers operating within it legitimized themselves.

In Healers in the Making, Kira Robison investigates medical instruction at the University of Bologna using the lens of practical medicine, examining both the formation of medical authority and innovations in practical medical pedagogy during the late medieval period.

This collection offers readers a guide to analyzing historical texts and objects using a diverse selection of sources in early modern medicine. It provides an array of interpretive strategies while also highlighting new trends in the field. Each chapter serves as a study of a different type of source, including the benefits and limitations of that source and what it can reveal about the history of medicine. Contributors provide practical strategies for locating and interpreting sources, putting texts and objects into conversation, and explaining potential contradictions. A wide variety of sources, including account books, legal records, and personal letters, provide new opportunities for understanding early modern medicine and developing skills in historical analysis. Together, the chapters highlight emerging methodologies and debates, while covering a range of themes in the field, from reproductive health to hospital care to household medicine. With wide geographical breadth, this book is a valuable resource for students and researchers looking to understand how to better engage with primary sources, as well as readers interested in early modern history and the history of medicine.