FLOWERING ✽ 22
judging books by their covers
Hello, happy June, and happy 1st birthday to this newsletter! It is truly wild that a year has gone by since I wrote my first letter, on rose no less. A plant that I was just collecting this morning to turn into rose infused vinegar and a rose glycerite. A lot has happened in this year, but also so much remains familiar. How comforting it is to me that year by year, the roses bud and flower and the marks of seasonal shifts stay true. Sharing this newsletter, and in a sense, myself, with you for a year has been really impactful. Finding my voice through writing is a continuous process, and one I am grateful for. I still see each edition of the Healing Arts Press as an exercise in self, and while sometimes writing them feels fluid, there are still definitely moments that I can only describe as clunky (ie creative blocks, self judgements, and finding my writer’s voice positively cringey). All that is to say, it pays to take a chance and put energy into something that feels hard. I have gained so much from sharing in this way and encourage anyone who feels called to do something similar to go for it. Create, create, create!
For those following along on my current journey, I am entering my final week of life at my herbal internship at Herb Pharm. There’s a lot to unpack from these past nine weeks, and I imagine I will share more of my reflections in letters to come. But for now, I am inspired to share with you all some of my favourite book findings since being here. Think of it as a greatest hits list, if you will.
The intern house I’ve been living in was built on the Herb Pharm property in the late ‘90s, and has housed a lot of interns over the years. It’s incredibly homey with a great big bookshelf in the living room that is stuffed to the brim. This was what immediately drew my attention upon my arrival and I have been obsessively browsing it ever since. Okay so I know, I know, “don’t judge a book by its cover", but sometimes it’s impossible not to. Some covers are just too good and these are the books that suck me in. I just love me a ‘70s-’90s folky herbalism book! I have chosen the following books to share based on a number of factors, style being one of them, yes, but also substance and general OG credibility.
*please note that these are simply cool books I have found while I’ve been here and do not include books I consider essential from my own collection. If you’re dying to know about those then I can do a part two ;)
The first book that grabbed my attention when I arrived was The Self-Healing Cookbook by Kristina Turner. The tag line reads “a macrobiotic primer for healing body, mind and moods with whole, natural foods”. And the cover illustration is beyond cute. Our copy has an inscription that reads “Michelle, Solstice ‘97”. The idea that this book was gifted as a solstice gift makes it that much sweeter.
This book is full of perfect design, in my opinion. From fonts to graphics, this book has the “it” factor. Substance wise, it has a lot of great information and recipes (such as “healing at the market” and “sensual tasting”). My main gripe is the very ‘80s/'90s view on fat, that is, that fat = bad and especially saturated animal fats. This is simply not true. So, if you come across this book, find inspiration from the design but pay no mind to some of the diet advice.
In a similar category we have the The New Laurel’s Kitchen vegetarian cookbook. Likewise to the previous book, the science and diet advice should be taken with a grain of salt for the most part, due to being of the low-fat fad era. But the illustrations? Superb.
Okay next up is a true gold mine, and a book I am going to buy for myself. Hygieia: a Woman’s Herbal by Jeannine Parvati, is chalk full of information, inspiration, and 1970s design. Jeannine definitely writes from the scope of the 70s feminist movement, so there are some aspects and language that feel exclusionary in this day and age, but her insight into health, birth, and self healing is worth any potential cringe moments. The book feels very diy which I love!
Also, this special-thanks-to-spiral is divine:
One of the names on that list is herbalist Juliette de Bairacli Levy. I’ve written about her in a previous newsletter or two, and would be remiss to not include one of her books in this compilation. This one doesn’t score quite so high on style points, but Juliette’s wisdom is exceptional and this book is a great reference.
A new reference book I found on the shelf really struck me. Open Our Wild Hearts to the Healing Herbs by Gail Faith Edwards (what a title, hey?), is a materia medica rooted in the Wise Woman Tradition (à la Susun Weed), and goes deep on over 100 medicinal plants. The artwork is perfect and the write ups are really unique!
If we’re talking reference books, I have to include David Hoffmann’s The Holistic Herbal. David Hoffmann is a renowned British herbalist with a number of books under his belt. But I chose this one because it covers all the bases and is a heavy hitter in the style department, too.
The final reference book I’ll include is a bit of a trippy one. Scott Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs is a book that of course caught my eye when I was perusing the book shelf. Maybe it’s the word “magic” or maybe it’s that the girl on the cover illustration is how I feel that I look when I’m doing herbal magic. Either way, I’m glad I found it. There is a lot of cool information in here. Not super practical, but if you want to know what herbs to use in a love spell, this is the book for you!
We had one class on botany which wasn’t enough, and left me both wanting and needing to know more. So, this is the book I am going to get myself. Botany in a Day by Thomas J. Elpel. It’s a classic. If you want to know anything about botany, this is the book to get. And bonus points, it’s cute!
A few weeks ago we spent the day talking about seaweed. I can promise you that if you spend a day talking about seaweed you are going to realize that you need to start eating it. I feel like I have had many seaweed epiphanies in my life; times in which I suddenly remember just how good seaweed is for our health and how it is basically this vital life force energy contained in a delicious food. I go a few days after these times consuming seaweed, but then somewhere along the line forget and it totally falls off my radar. Well, no more, because I am buying this cookbook!
And I will bathe with the seaweed. Let this drawing be my inspo! Who’s with me?
Okay, the last book I am going to add is Full Moon Feast by Jessica Prentice. Not going to lie, at first I judged this book by its cover and almost didn’t read it. But, the ol’ saying holds some truth to it because the substance of this book is unreal! Jessica Prentice breaks down the year by each moon and the traditions surrounding it and then includes recipe ideas that fit the theme. Recipe examples include: nettle soup, frothed milk with cardamom and saffron, birch beer, and Russian peasant soup. We are currently in the “Moon of Making Fat” as per the Lakota tradition. This reminds me of a mesmerizing butter sculpture art exhibition my friend Rachel was a part of which you really have to see to believe!
Grateful for you all for reading, subscribing, and sharing the Healing Arts Press this past year. It means the world to me to have you here! I’m linking the new Jessica Pratt album which I have been listening to while I hoe the fields in the hot sun for hours as a birthday treat. It transports me! You can listen to it here <3
And in closing, a pray for peace from the Mt Shasta Gateway Peace Garden.
May All Beings Everywhere Be Happy and Free
📚📖 The sea vegetable book looks very interesting.