Transformation Through Menopause or Remedies and Rituals

Transformation Through Menopause

Author: Marian Van Eyk McCain

"[This] is by far the most wise and thought provoking book on menopause that I have ever read. It is must reading for every woman who dares to meet the challenges of menopause fully and consciously." Christiane Northrup, M.D. The first holistic perspective on menopause, this book explores how the "change of life" can empower women. Drawing from years of research and clinical work, McCain sees more in menopause than the sum of its psychological and emotional parts: the change is a rite of passage, a prime opportunity for emotional and spiritual growth. McCain explains how Western metaphors for growth are linear, and, by using Eastern concepts of circularity and reflecting upon the real experience of women, she paints a truly alternative picture.

Library Journal

As the baby boom generation ages, more books dealing with aspects of that process are starting to appear. This revised edition of Menopause ( LJ 10/15/83) reflects the most recent findings about the role of hormone replacement therapy in the lives of menopausal women. The authors, a biologist and a physician who advocate its use, explain the physiological changes that occur during this time and offer detailed information about the benefits and risks of hormone replacement therapy. They emphasize the prevention of osteoporosis and heart disease. They also offer sound advice about nutrition and exercise for maintaining good health and information about alternatives for those women who do not wish to take hormones. A glossary of terms and an extensive bibliography provide access to the medical literature for further research. Transformation Through Menopause offers women a holistic framework for understanding this physiological process as a rite of passage and using it to create positive change in their lives. McCain, a social worker, encourages women to explore their feelings about menopause using music, art, movement, writing, and meditation. Unlike Women of the 14th Moon: Writing on Menopause, edited by Dena Taylor and Amber Sumrall ( LJ 10/1/91), which is an anthology of poetry and prose, this book provides guided exercises to help with the exploration of personal feelings and the creation of rituals for this transition. Menopause is an excellent addition to the women's health collection for all libraries. Transformation Through Menopause is not a necessary purchase, but it would be a nice supplement for women's studies collections and for libraries where there is interest in holistic health and New Age thought.-- Barbara M. Bibel, Oakland P.L., Cal.

Table of Contents:

Preface
Introduction--The Inward Spiral
What is Menopause?
Who Am I? What Am I Made Of?
Who Am I? What Do I Think?
Who Am I? What Do I Feel?
Time of Transition: The Common Themes of Menopause
Who Am I Really?
Who Am I Becoming?
Living the Menopause
Free as a Butterfly
Bibliography

Interesting book: Simple Italian Cookery or Ice Cream Mix Ins

Remedies and Rituals: Folk Medicine in Norway and the New Land

Author: Kathleen Stokker

To cure a fever that begins with chills, write the following on a piece of bread and give it to the patient for eight days, one piece each day, and on the ninth day, burn the last piece: Colameris x, Colameri x, Colamer x, Colame x, Colam x, Cola x, Col x, Co x, and C x. To prevent the huldrefolk from stealing your healthy child and leaving a child with rickets in its place, make three dolls from the child’s clothing to put into the cradle. The huldrefolk will take one of them instead of your child. These and many more fascinating folk-healing rituals were secretly administered by healers, “witches,” and religious caregivers who tended the medical and spiritual needs of rural Norwegians for hundreds of years. In Remedies and Rituals, Kathleen Stokker culls from hundreds of original documents and first-hand accounts to detail the ingredients, customs, and histories behind natural remedies, potions, whispered spells, and the infamous “black books” used for centuries by Norway’s folk healers. Stokker also illuminates the surprising personalities of those who risked imprisonment and persecution to help fellow Norwegians throughout the nineteenth century, as well as the often reluctant healers in the U.S. who continued to treat immigrants living in rural communities beyond the reach of doctors. Dodging harsh criminal laws championed by formally trained doctors, these rebel practitioners drew on ancient written and oral sources to treat everything from burns, broken bones, and whooping cough to difficult labors and emotional stress. Kathleen Stokker is a professor of Norwegian at Luther College in Decorah,Iowa. Recipient of Norway’s prestigious St. Olav Medal in 2006, she is the author of Keeping Christmas: Yuletide Traditions in Norway and the New Land (MHS Press).