May in Books

May was a long time ago now. So much has happened with the social inequality front in forms of protest and awareness at least. While racial change isn’t the topic of this post, it does have a theme in two of the books I read by a pure coincidence. While I am on the topic, I will add that racial and social change in the way that will improve Black People’s living experience is in its initiation stages unfortunately because we are currently in the awareness phase which will lead to the education phase and then go through many many cycles of implementation in various fields. Sadly education does not equal action but we can keep the cycle going to phase it out so the future generations aren’t left in the same position we inherited from the last two generations. So with this I’ll start with this months book summaries.

The White Album & South and West by Joan Didion

I bought both of these two years ago and lost them in a sea of never ending books I seem to accumulate. Due to lockdown I was trying to reduce the amount of packages being delivered so I decided to read some of my unread books.

Both books follow the same theme like many of Didion’s books about the social change through the middle of the 20th Century interspersed with the author’s personal stories. She has been a key observer in the 2nd wave of feminism and the civil rights movement. An insider but a silent one because it becomes apparent that she is there to observe and write on the topics. These books are an insight into how Americans thought in that part of history and 50 years on, sadly not much has changed. Women are still fighting to be treated with dignity and black people experience a different kind of more violent yet subtle segregation to the ones Didion describes in the 19060s and 70s. In retrospect Didion’s silent witness to the events without speaking up or taking actions to improve others condition is actual a very uncomfortable read and white privilege in action. If one was to understand white privilege in the true sense then both these books are great read because the author’s privilege shines through. She is a liberal feminist and marched for civil rights but the fact she has front row access to some of America’s most prominent political and social events, is a position to speak up and even write about but doesn’t do so is a prime example of racial silence from the liberal elite. These wouldn’t be the first books I would recommend if you are looking to learn more about the civil rights movement but subject matter aside, Didion’s writing cannot be faulted. She has a way with her writing that makes you feel present in these important moments in history and her personal stories about her own heath struggles, breakdown of her marriage and motherhood interlaced through the book make for an interesting reading contrast.

I re-read Jackie’s memoir ahead of my discussion with her. There is a few people that I have come to know online ( mainly through instagram) and subsequently been inspired by. Jackie’s name is on that list. I read her memoir during a extremely challenging time in my life when it first came out and her story inspired my own path to food and finding my true purpose in life.

Her story is darkly candid tale of self discovery of finding your voice in the world with food as one of the main characters. She take you on a personal food journey from Vancouver to Paris and to Italy, the Congo and back again. Having spoken to her about the book as part of our bookclub, I now resonate with her story even more. I definitely recommend it even if its just to have the delicious looking recipes at your disposal.

Dr Macciochi’s timely book tackles the scientific evidence on immunity. She goes through the basics and then deeper into the immunoscience of obesity, pregnancy, vaccinations, allergies and why nutrition may not always solve your immune challenge. She strikes the right balance between science and common sense. The language is engaging so its so easy to follow. This book will definitely be a key reference one for me and my patients for the next little bit. Check it out and also check out her Instagram for more up to date information.

This is the first book I read mostly in one sitting on my birthday. The world is a different more shaken place now and it seems more true than ever that we stay close as a humanity to nature and share the wisdom of old cultures. This book does just that. It dives into the common plants and herbs we encounter everyday in the park, in our back gardens, in the fields. Most we consider weeds but hidden within them are healing and nourishing elements. I have very little knowledge of plant medicine and I’ll even admit that I found that part of biology less engaging but going back to even my parents generation, my family grew up with this wisdom as everyday language. This is something that I have become more and more drawn to particularly the last 18 months. So this book is a great introduction and made an excellent birthday present for a novice like myself. It touches on the unspoken rules of foraging, making all sorts of healing teas and elixirs. The last section is an illustrated glossary of common plants in the wild. I have used the book as a reference non-stop since. My next step is to make the potions and lotions recipes and give them out as presents. This book will make a beautiful present for lovers of nature.