A pleasant narrative of experiments in natural cures, alternative treatments and looking for a cure outside the mainstream.
The story of one woman’s attempt to deal with her chronic skin condition.
In this debut memoir about the pursuit of a cure for her psoriasis, Martin leads readers through her treatments—many of them unconventional—which have spanned nearly three decades. Martin explains that when she was first diagnosed, she pursued the standard medical treatments for the condition, which has no known cure, but found that they did little to improve the psoriasis and often left her feeling worse than before. She then proceeds through a series of alternative treatments—from Hawaiian prayer to colonics to dowsing to psychic healing. Martin writes of accumulating thousands of dollars of credit card debt in her pursuit of alternative treatments, but she brings a sense of humor to her travails, as when she describes the practitioner of Chinese medicine who was so offended by her body’s energies that he had to leave the room. At the same time, it appears that Martin is earnest in her beliefs that California Sen. Dianne Feinstein should have responded more seriously to Martin’s contention that psoriasis is her body’s response to airborne toxins delivered by chemtrail spraying, or that carrying an EMF protection device will shield her against ambient electromagnetic radiation. Readers may also find her credulous as she cites an online article as the source of her information or writes about the archons—“a cyborg type species made of inorganic matter”—that have implanted her with devices that must be removed for a $156 fee. Martin enthusiastically embraces concepts well outside the mainstream, and her willingness to try yet another nostrum after each one fails is unlikely to win over skeptics. Nevertheless, in the book’s concluding chapter, she reports that she has seen an improvement in both her mindset and her psoriasis symptoms, so readers interested in alternative medicine may find it a worthwhile read.
A pleasant narrative of experiments in natural cures, alternative treatments and looking for a cure outside the mainstream.Pub Date: May 29, 2014
ISBN: 978-0964697539
Page Count: 162
Publisher: Prairie Angel Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 22, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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