Ancient Healing for Modern Women: Traditional Chinese Medicine for All Phases of a Woman's Life »

Xiaolan Zhao, C.M.D. graduated medical school in China in 1977 and practiced abdominal surgery before specializing in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). After emigrating from China in 1988 she opened her TCM clinic in Toronto. This is her first book.

One of Canada's most trusted and beloved health practitioners introduces American women to the wisdom of traditional Chinese medicine and the time-tested practices that have helped optimize physical and emotional health for centuries.

Since establishing her practice in Canada twelve years ago, Dr. Xiaolan Zhao has treated thousands of women suffering from fatigue, PMS, infertility, depression, cancer, menopausal symptoms and other gynecological disorders — health problems that are all too common in the West but less so in China, where traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been an integral part of women's lives for thousands of years. As a physician originally trained in Western medicine who later took up the practice of TCM, Dr. Zhao has seen how effective the Chinese approach is for her patients, and her book will help American women incorporate its wisdom and practices in our lives.

Sharing stories from her own life and the lives of her patients, Dr. Zhao shows that we have nothing to reject about our feminine selves, and explains how we can develop new relationships with our bodies and our emotions. There is so much every woman can do in terms of ongoing and preventative self-care to improve her health and vitality and prevent illness. By making simple changes in diet, exercise routine, sex life and the way we deal with stress and our emotions, we can profoundly improve our health now and into the future.

Publishers Weekly

In this introduction to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Zhao poetically evokes naturalistic imagery to celebrate women's life stages: menstruation (Heavenly Water), breast health (Lotus Blossoms), sexuality (Clouds and Rain), pregnancy (Ripening the Fruit), postpartum (Golden Month) and menopause (Second Spring). TCM, she says, empowers a woman with self-awareness, providing the means to access her own healing power. Raised in China during the Cultural Revolution, Zhao encountered folk medicine on the farm to which she was relocated. When she later studied medicine in her homeland, her training emphasized physical illness and symptoms. After emigrating to Canada and opening her own clinic, she noted that many women patients struggled with mental, emotional and spiritual imbalances that affected their health. With TCM-acupuncture, herbs, diet, stress relief and rest, massage-Zhao says, women can remedy imbalances on all levels and avoid more serious illness, surgery and prescription medication. Her recommendations alternate with heartfelt personal stories. While she discusses the Taoist basis of TCM and the concepts of qi and yin and yang, the book functions more as an appetizer. Still, Zhao's warmth and gentle touch will likely entice readers to seek a TCM practitioner for further guidance. (Feb.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.