Finding The Healer Within » (1st Edition)

Moran, Beth, RN, CNP (SUNY at Stony Brook); Schultz, Kathy, MS

FINDING THE HEALER WITHIN embodies the essence of a true holistic approach to women's health, combining the current trend toward mind/body healing with years of clinical observation by a successful nurse practitioner.

The book seeks to empower women to take control of their own well being, and to inspire them to become more inquisitive and inventive about the healing process, itself. Nursing specializes in caring while medicine specializes in curing.

Patricia Blagman

This book describes several women's health issues, including possible meanings behind some of the illnesses and ways for women to aid in the healing of these problems. The author's aim is to help people, especially women, become inquisitive about the healing process and to motivate them to find their own healing path. With the incidence of breast cancer and the dilemma menopausal women face regarding hormone replacement therapy, the objectives are timely and worthy. The book offers many helpful ideas. This book is primarily for women, both within and outside the health profession. The author is a nurse practitioner with an impressive history of practice with women's health problems. The author notes the scarcity of research in some of these areas and has not conducted research herself. Each chapter has extensive references. There is a bibliography by subject at the end that is current and highly appropriate. The book has an attractive cover and typesetting. A unique feature is a listing of organizations and resources that readers might use to obtain more information. This book discusses current research related to the mind-body connection and psychoneuroimmunology. Stress responses and habitual thinking styles related to disease are presented as a prologue to women's health problems. Women are encouraged to listen to their bodies when illness occurs and select holistic approaches to treatment, including traditional Western medicine and complementary practices. Specific complementary practices such as certain vitamins, herbs, exercises, and discovering emotional underpinnings for a variety of problems are helpful and motivational. I believe this book is a must for womeneverywhere.