Tag: non fiction medical

The OTC Handbook by Aaron Hermann Review

On By authoranthonyavinablogIn reviewsLeave a comment

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Author Aaron Hermann’s “The OTC Handbook” shares with readers a glimpse at the ultimate handbook and reference guide to some of the most common questions patients have for their pharmacist.

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The Synopsis

As patients and consumers, we often have OTC questions for our doctors and pharmacists. But what if there was a way to get answers from a pharmacist at your own convenience? Enter Aaron Hermann. As a retail pharmacist, Hermann has fielded countless queries from customers over the years, and over time, he found that most patients were just looking for a quick reply to the same basic questions related to OTC medications and ailments. In The OTC Handbook, Hermann delivers a time-saving reference tool that offers answers to the most common questions he hears while at work, from cough and cold remedies to GI problems to skin conditions. It is a compendium of knowledge and insight, providing timely information to patients while freeing up time for busy pharmacy personnel. A first-of-its-kind guidebook, The OTC Handbook has the answers to all your over-the-counter healthcare questions.

The Review

We’ve all been there before. The quick trip to the local pharmacy, where either someone in our family or ourselves is feeling ill, and we need some quick medicinal relief. In those moments, we turn to our pharmacist. The author perfectly captures the knowledge and information that he garnered over the years, exploring the experiences he has had in the pharmacy field, as well as mimicking the social experiences with the patients who come to him with their questions. 

The way the author divides this book or guide up by symptoms was amazing, as it allowed the reader to quickly hone in on the problems they are facing. The fast pace of the questions being asked and the explanations for why these OTC medications work for the symptoms that are being described were really detailed and straightforward, allowing the reader to feel seen and heard. 

The Verdict

Informative, engaging, and thoughtful, author Aaron Hermann’s “The OTC Handbook” is a must-read nonfiction medical guide. The thing that makes this book stand out, as with any good medical guide, is the ability for a reader to go back to it time and time again, making it a great reference for anyone who wishes to understand why the OTC medications being prescribed work as well as they do. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!

Rating: 10/10

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About the Author

Author Aaron Hermann was born in Alexandria, VA. He has been a retail pharmacist for over seven years, managing 2.5. He enjoys making life easier for his patients and pharmacy staff by paying attention to individual needs and providing quality care with empathy and kindness. As a retail pharmacist, Hermann has fielded countless customer queries over the years. Over time, he found that most patients were just looking for a quick reply to the same basic questions related to OTC medications and ailments.

In The OTC Handbook, Hermann delivers a time-saving reference tool that offers answers to the most common questions he hears while at work, from cough and cold remedies to GI problems to skin conditions. It is a compendium of knowledge and insight, providing timely information to patients while freeing up time for busy pharmacy personnel.

A first-of-its-kind guidebook, The OTC Handbook has the answers to all your over-the-counter healthcare questions. No other book on the market offers quick, simple answers to patients without being bogged down by medical jargon. Patients no longer need to make stressful trips to the local pharmacy. They can now go in confidently, knowing what drugs they purchase at the beginning of their trip and saving lots of money by avoiding unnecessary medications. This handbook covers a variety of common ailments, including cough, cold, allergies, pain, fever, topical ailments, eyes, ears, stomach and other GI issues, and much more. An easy-to-use index in the back of the book allows patients to quickly find the exact page with their questions.

He lives in Blue Springs, MO, with his wife and four children.

https://authoraaronhermann.com/

Box of Birds by Stephen Stowers M.D. Review

On By authoranthonyavinablogIn reviewsLeave a comment

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Author and Dr. Stephen Stowers M.D. shares a lifetime of lessons and insights into the medical profession, and how changes to the American Medical Care System led him to find a new practice in another country in the book “Box of Birds”.

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The Synopsis

In this fascinating memoir, cardiologist Stephen Stowers eloquently captures the various changes that he has lived through over a lifetime spent as a caring and ethical medical professional. With sadness, he watched as a profession he loved became more and more focused on the bottom line, while working as a doctor in the United States. He unpacks for the reader exactly what has gone awry in American medicine, showing us how the misguided shift toward a more corporate mindset was ushered in by hospital administrators, leading even well-intentioned doctors astray, as they are encouraged to place costly interventions above equally effective less invasive therapies. He also shows how he found refuge in another country, where he was able to practice medicine in a more ethical fashion once again and explains to us the surprising truth that he discovered there: New Zealand has better patient outcomes yet spends less money on healthcare, compared with a country such as the US. How can this be true? Read this book to discover the astonishing answer, that doing more with less is actually often a better path for doctors, hospitals, and the patients they want to assist. Stowers writes highly readable memoir that explains in terms any reader can follow exactly why he wanted to pursue medicine in the first place, how he grew disillusioned with American hospitals, and the joy he found in New Zealand after relocating there. Doctors, nurses, medical professionals of all kinds, and anybody who has been a patient and wondered what has gone wrong in American medicine and how to help put things right again should read this book.

The Review

This was a well-written and captivating nonfiction read. The author found the perfect balance between personal memoir writing and education regarding the different medical systems in the United States versus that of New Zealand. The detail and personal nature of the author’s writing really gave readers a sense of the experiences that informed the author’s opinions on the medical establishment as a whole.

The intriguing nature of how corporate the United States medical field became over the years was something that really resonated with me as a reader. As someone who has numerous medical ailments and who has a family with similar situations, the frustrations that have been felt over the prioritization of money and insurance versus actual health care have been something that has frustrated me as well, and to have a medical professional confirm these suspicions is profound. The author’s contribution to the discovery of a new protocol regarding coronary calcification was also quite remarkable and added to both the author’s viewpoints regarding holistic healthcare and his medical knowledge as a whole. 

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The Verdict

Captivating, engaging, and thoughtfully written, author Stephen Stowers’s “Box of Birds” is a must-read nonfiction memoir that meets medical guide that readers won’t be able to put down. The personable writing style and strong imagery mixed with the valuable medical knowledge and skill the author demonstrated through their experiences made this a breathtaking read you won’t be able to put down. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!

Rating 10/10

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About the Author

Stephen Stowers is a skilled clinician who practiced cardiology for twenty-nine years in Florida and six and a half years on the North Island of New Zealand as a member of the

Royal Australasian College of Physicians. Dr. Stowers graduated from the University of Virginia School of Medicine. 

He completed his cardiology fellowship at the George Washington University Hospital. As a pioneering cardiologist, he was a leader in the development of acute imaging of chest pain patients in the emergency room. Dr. Stowers has published widely in medical literature and recently published an international study on coronary calcium and its potential contribution to the early detection and treatment of coronary artery disease. He has also written a popular blog about his life in New Zealand, kiwicardiology.com.

On Learning to Heal: Or, What Medicine Doesn’t Know by Ed Cohen Review

On By authoranthonyavinablogIn reviewsLeave a comment

I received a free copy of this book in exchange fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

In author Ed Cohen’s “On Learning to Heal: Or, What Medicine Doesn’t Know”, the author highlights the struggles of his life and the ways in which we can look past medicine itself as the only means in which to find healing in one’s life. 

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The Synopsis

At thirteen, Ed Cohen was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease—a chronic, incurable condition that nearly killed him in his early twenties. At his diagnosis, his doctors told him that the best he could hope for would be periods of remission. Unfortunately, doctors never mentioned healing as a possibility. In On Learning to Heal, Cohen draws on fifty years of living with Crohn’s to consider how Western medicine’s turn from an “art of healing” toward a “science of medicine” deeply affects both medical practitioners and their patients. He demonstrates that although medicine can now offer many seemingly miraculous therapies, medicine is not and has never been the only way to enhance healing. Exploring his own path to healing, he argues that learning to heal requires us to desire and value healing as a vital possibility. With this book, Cohen advocates reviving healing’s role for all those whose lives are touched by illness.

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The Review

This was truly a thought-provoking read. The author does a spectacular job of finding just the right balance between his own personal experiences with Crohn’s Disease and living through the AIDS epidemic as a young gay man in the 80s with the more clinical applications of bridging the gap between the art of healing and the practice of medicine. The way the author approaches the topic from both Western and Eastern methodologies and practices was refreshing to see, as the work done in this book helps to find common ground and showcase the importance of healing itself in the world of modern medicine in a natural and engaging way.

The vast wealth of knowledge with the emotional core of the author’s own backstory and history and the moral, philosophical, and of course medical themes that the book engages with made this a compelling read. The intellectual and spiritual connections readers make to the author’s story and the insight they gained as a result of both their own personal work and the necessity their ailments brought was relatable, as I myself struggle with several autoimmune disorders and know the hardships that follow when modern medicine fails to combat the pain and struggles that follow. 

The Verdict

Memorable, thoughtful, and enlightening, author Ed Cohen’s “On Learning to Heal: Or, What Medicine Doesn’t Know” is a must-read nonfiction book on health, gender studies, and the study of physical ailments and diseases. The captivating personal stories the author shares and the depth of emotions that they bring up in the reader ebb and flow so smoothly with the dynamic information the author shares in regard to healing itself, making this one fantastic book to read. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!

Rating: 10/10

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About the Author

Ed Cohen is Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Rutgers University and author of A Body Worth Defending, also published by Duke University Press. He hosts a therapeutic practice for people interested in healing: healingcounsel.com

The Good News Is, You Don’t Have Endometriosis: How I Survived IVF With My Sanity (Mostly) Intact by Jade Barrett Review

On By authoranthonyavinablogIn reviews1 Comment

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Author Jade Barrett takes readers on a personal journey into the process and life of IVF in an effort to start her family in the book “The Good News Is, You Don’t Have Endometriosis: How I Survived IVF With My Sanity (Mostly) Intact”.

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The Synopsis

Jade Barrett thought she was living her best life in her 30s, a stable career, an amazing husband, a great group of friends, a supportive family, and a beautiful home…that is until she tried to start a family.

After yet another negative pregnancy test, her husband said, “It’s time to talk to a doctor.” Surely she didn’t have infertility…right? Finding out that the only way she could conceive a child biologically was through IVF sent shockwaves through her marriage and her life.

Thisis the story of triumph over adversity and how you can advocate from the best possible care from your fertility clinic.

“There are lots of things one can prepare for in life – an important exam, maybe a big job interview – but no one is prepared to be diagnosed with infertility.”

– Jade Barrett

“No one discusses the idea that maybe some people have a fancy built-in biological protection against pregnancy that will become a major crisis in the lives of 1 in 8 couples when they wish to start a family.”
– Jade Barrett

“The Good News Is, You Don’t Have Endometriosis”is a hilariously intense story of Jade Barrett’s IVF quest to parenthood and how you can advocate for the best possible care from infertility clinics.

The Review

This was such a heartfelt and passionate read. The author did an incredible job of really relating her personal experiences going through fertility tests and going to a plethora of doctors’ appointments to discover where the issues lay in the process. The fast pace of the read and the intense atmosphere of the author’s story told kept readers engaged on a personal level as the book progressed.

The heart of this narrative lay in the wonderful balance of humor and wit that the author wrote with, as well as the perspective the author brought to the subject. The narrative honed in on the author’s point of view, not as a medical professional at all but as an everyday person and patient who had to endure and learn about this tough subject on the go. The strength and resiliency she shows in the pages of this book and the captivating way she showcases how to be her own advocate in the journey to find medical care that is both done right and done with professionalism kept me thoroughly engaged.

The Verdict

Mesmerizing, educational, and charming yet inspiring all at once, author Jade Barrett”s “The Good News Is, You Don’t Have Endometriosis: How I Survived IVF With My Sanity (Mostly) Intact” is a must-read nonfiction medical memoir on the struggle and journey to understand IVF. The way the author hones in on the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of this journey and the honesty with which she writes has crafted a book that feels both authentic and emotionally driven. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!

Rating: 10/10

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About the Author

Jade Barrett is an American high school teacher who experienced infertility from 2017-2021.

She hopes to help other women and couples who are struggling with infertility through her story, The Good News Is, You Don’t Have Endometriosis: How I Survived IVF with My Sanity (Mostly) Intact.

It is the story of triumph over adversity and how you can advocate from the best possible care from your fertility clinic.

http://jadebarrettauthor.com/

https://www.instagram.com/jadebarrettauthor/

https://twitter.com/jadebarrettauth

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09L6FFC23/ref=x_gr_w_glide_sin?caller=Goodreads&callerLink=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.goodreads.com%2Fbook%2Fshow%2F60113607-the-good-news-is-you-don-t-have-endometriosis%3Fac%3D1%26from_search%3Dtrue%26qid%3DmpJbq559bW%26rank%3D1&tag=x_gr_w_glide_sin-20