I’ll admit it, I’m a nerd, book worm and a bit of a witch doctor. I can only say I’m a bit of a witch doctor because outside of reflexology I don’t have any sort of formal training, I just little to read and try to fix issues naturally before turning to conventional, or mainstream medicine.
And that is why I’m obsessed with my two new books “The Essential Guide to Home Herbal Remedies” and “The Complete Aromatherapy & Essential Oils Handbook for Everyday Wellness”
Wow. Now please keep in mind that I’ve read a lot of books and pamphlets and magazines over the years and thought that I knew a fair amount about herbal remedies already. And compared to many people I do, but holy moly when I started reading these books I realized how little (and I mean little) I knew.
The Home Herbal Remedies book starts off with the history of herbal medicine then moves into how to make your own teas, tinctures (!!!! yes I’m weird, but I’ve always wanted to know how to make my own tinctures!), healing vinegars, inhalations and more. Already I was in love with the book and I hadn’t even got to the recipe section yet.
When I did get to the recipe section I know that I kept audibly saying things like, “what!?” ,“oh my goodness!” ,“I didn’t know that!”, as I read. This book is packed full of great recipes (half of which I have stuck post-it notes to so I will remember yo get the ingredients to make).
The back half of the book is ever bit as amazing as it lists profiles of different plants/herbs, what they are called, where is grows, what it looks like, what part you use, what it is good for, how to use it, cautionary notes and more. 100% if I had to choose from my collection just one book on herbal medicine/herbal remedies this would be the one I would pick hands down, no questions asked. It is so full of great information, the only problem is now I want to buy stupid amounts of vodka just so I can make 5 million tinctures. The other problem is I still need to find somewhere I can buy dark glass coloured dropped bottles to keep my 5 million tinctures in once they are ready. But I’m working on finding a solution to that problem (but if any of you know a good source please let me know!).
As for the aromatherapy book, I knew that my aromatherapy knowledge was quite limited. I know a lot about peppermint, lavender and tea tree oil, but other than that my knowledge was/is quite limited. Once again, this handbook goes into great detail the uses and cautionary notes for essential oils. It goes further to breakdown what 5 key essential oils you should buy if you have a limited budget (the answer is lavender, tea tree, Roman chamomile, lemon, and geranium) and what key things to look for when buying essential oils.
We learn so much about each individual oil that I couldn’t believe I ever thought I knew anything! Honestly the information is a little mind blowing, there are over 100 pages filled just with the different essential oils.
Part 2 covers conditions and remedies and has aromatherapy blends/uses for everything from abrasions to jet lag, skin masks and shampoo, cleaning blends and laundry.
When Robert Rose Publishing contacted me to see if I wanted to review any of their books, I chose these two as I already had an interesting the topics. I had no idea just how amazingly helpful both books would be! The aromatherapy and essential oil book is tagged with just as many post-its for recipes and blends I want to make as the pervious book was. These are certainly books I will reference time and time again for years to come, and I know the knowledge I’ve learned will come in very handy (and I really can’t wait to get some of those tinctures made!).
This is another pair of books that would make great Christmas gifts for anyone on your list who is interested in natural remedies. They are both such great resources, but if choosing between the two I would go with The Essential Guide to Home Herbal Remedies as it does include some aromatherapy information as well as touching on so many other types of home remedies.
Disclosure: I received this books free of charge from Robert Rose Publishing in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are 100% my own.