I am very pleased to write this introduction to Susun's excellent
and much-needed book for the menopausal years. I hope it will go a long
way toward changing those things that threaten the health and happiness
of women today. It seems to me that the beauty and power of female life
is too frequently cut away with hysterectomies and mastectomies nowadays.
And too many women are encouraged to become dependent on costly and
harmful chemical medications derived from cruel experiments on animals.
All the herbs and remedies I would like to see for the benefit and
protection of women during their menopausal years are here, all in the
right place and proportions. For example, I love lavender, one of the
greatest of helps to us females from childhood to old age. And there
it is, on page XX, perfectly described and used. And the Artemisias,
those lovely plants named after the goddess Artemis, protector of all
women, especially those birthing, are here as well.
This book shows very well Susun's great knowledge of herbs; she is
clearly an herbalist deeply informed by her quarter century of intimate
dialogues with people, plants, and animals. She has been using my herbals,
Common Herbs for Natural Health and Herbal for Farm and Stable for decades
and helping pass on the knowledge I collected from my encounters with
"man and beast." I consider her one of the mothers of herbal
medicine in the United States.
It is further flattery, but true! Susun Weed is a gifted writer. Her
Crone passages, in which the old woman is giving advice and encouragement,
often possess poetical beauty.
Susun is very well read on matters pertaining to the life and health
of women. Her references and resource lists, found throughout Wise Woman
Ways for the Menopausal Years, are comprehensive and important.
This book should be in the hands of every woman, of every race, no
matter what age, worldwide. I wish it the great success that it surely
deserves.
