Storytelling Medicine

What won't we try in our quest for perfect health, beauty, and the fountain of youth? Well, just imagine a time when doctors prescribed morphine for crying infants. When liquefied gold was touted as immortality in a glass. And when strychnine - yes, that strychnine, the one used in rat poison - was dosed like Viagra. Looking back with fascination, horror, and not a little dash of dark, knowing humor, Quackery recounts the lively, at times unbelievable, history of medical misfires and malpractices.

The stories that are in between the cover of the book are all true and I am amazed I survived them all. For me, there are two main ways to look at our stories and our past. We can either see it as a negative or we can see it as a positive event. I chose to see the positive and to see a humorous side to my life. Laughter is truly the best medicine in life.I wrote this book so that one day, when I am old and gray, I can have a good laugh at the things that I did. No doubt, I may likely have forgotten they happened all.I hope you enjoy each of the stories that I have shared with you, maybe ...

Baba Yaga’s Bag is an evening of stories about herbal medicines, in which we will accompany Vasa Lisa as she seeks fire from a witch, listen in as Old Woman knits cozy mittens and gloves for Old Man, cheer as the plants fight back when insects threaten to end the “problem of man”, and journey to China for a bittersweet tale of lovers and herb gathering on a wild mountain.

Have you ever wondered how long it takes to digest chewing gum? What hiccups are for? Whether it's safe to fly with breast implants? Taking in everything from the outrageous (yes, Hitler was addicted to crystal meth) to the eye-watering (such as the renowned surgeon who accidentally cut off his patient's left testicle) to the downright disgusting (like the cure for toothache used by the Egyptians involving dead mouse paste), this book proves that medical science is not for the faint-hearted, lily-livered, or weak-stomached!