Hello there everyone! Today we are going to be taking a look at the book "Herbal Medicine" by Dian Dincin Buchman. If you would like a little bit more information on the book than this blog post you are welcome to watch the video in this post for a deeper look.
I finished this book in the latter half of 2021 and for the most part, I was alright with it. I didn't really feel it was groundbreaking or especially original as there are many books on the market now that explain the basics of herbalism in many different systems, and flavors. This book I found to be both memorable and forgettable at the same time. Between the writer's style and the way that it seemed unoriginal, I wasn't entirely impressed with this book. That is not to say it is a bad one but it just wasn't great in my opinion.
Firstly, I noticed that the author does not stray far from the short list of herbs she profiles in her book. Though I am a believer in having a small set of herbs to work with as a beginner I found it somewhat odd that in every condition she advised treatments for that the same several herbs were listed almost every time.
This leads me to my second point that despite her almost worriedly warning against using herbs that are potentially harmful (repeatedly), especially as a beginner (which is generally a good rule of thumb) she mentions one herb often that certainly falls into that category, namely peach pits. This to me felt like she was contradicting herself.
Next was the fact that she somehow managed to instill confidence in the reader of their skills but also simultaneously take it away. After a while, this leads to a feeling of "why am I reading this?" and genuinely gives the impression that the author does not trust her readers to remember her warning for more than a few pages before repeating them.
Lastly (for the post anyway), I felt the book to be rather dated. Although somewhat an aesthetic issue, before realizing that her name was followed by "Ph.D." I had thought this book was written by a rural farmer from somewhere like Europe because of her prolific mention of lanolin as a base for salves.
The video has a much better summary and more of my opinion on the book. If you'd like to buy this book there is an Amazon link below. If you like my content please share it with your friends and family, I'd very much appreciate it.
Sincerely, Herbal Em.
