Rating: 
Summary: A Profound and Empowering Book
Review: I am a person who reads a lot, and I learn a great deal about myself by sifting through the wisdom of writers. There have been many books over the years that have touched me deeply and positively impacted my life; of all of them, this book is probably the most personally important book I have ever read. Dr. Northrup has a lot of facts about various conditions and ailments, but her book goes FAR beyond that. Her message is that we all have the ability to be completely whole, healthy people, in every aspect of our lives, and that each of us has the power to change our own lives for the better. She talks about how emotional issues of every type can affect our physical health, and illustrates over and over again how problems in our body are actually our souls' way of teaching us how to heal and grow. The stories she tells about her own and her patients' healings are amazing; her message of hope is the most real and specific I have ever read.
Rating: 
Summary: Lovely and empowering, with a few caveats.
Review: Christiane Northrup's hefty guide to women's health from a holistic perspective is an excellent one, and quite empowering in its women-centered model of care. Her sections on labor and birth and her suggestions of ways to foster healthy body image and consciousness in young girls were particularly strong. I also found the "medical intuitive" examples and chakra explanations to be fascinating. However, like many reviewers, I did find her mind-body connection approach at times repetitive and overdone (according to this book, I should have every dis-ease known to [wo]man, event though I'm basically healthy). Still, it's far better than many women's health tomes out there (often written by condescending men with zero tolerance of the alternative health field), and I highly recommend it. Check out Our Bodies, Ourselves for a more clinical perspective, but this book is worth a look for the more esoteric aspects. Brava Christiane Northrup!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: This book will teach you to think of your health and your whole self in a new way. Revolutionary.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent as far as it goes, but ...
Review: Although Dr. Northrup occasionally goes over the top with the body-mind connection, I felt that most of the book was insightful and useful to women who want better understanding and control of their own health. However, my frustration with this book (as with many other books on women's health) is that it's completely focussed on those things that differentiate us from males -- sex organs, hormones, pregnancy, menopause, etc. I wanted more information about how one's "general" health conditions are affected by being female: for example, I have high blood pressure, and I'd like to know whether its effects and recommended treatment are different for women, and whether it's more or less of a problem pre- and post-menopause. I realize that the book is quite long as it is, and Dr. Northrup probably didn't want to make it too encyclopedic. But my female hormones affect more than just my sex organs, and I'd have liked to learn more about those other effects.
Rating:
Summary: Double Edged Sword
Review: This is the first major book to look at women's health systematically from a holistic perspective. My sister, an ND, gave this to me many years ago. I have referred to it many times since I first read it and my friends always want to borrow it. It's a great reference.If you are looking purely for an objective scientific book on women's health then don't bother with this. There is a lot of scientific info but there's a lot of "non-science" as well. Read the lowest reviews first which fairly summarise the weaknesses of this text. I agree that this book comes across as flaky in places however it is a breakthrough work in terms of systematically exploring the integration of mind and body and the effect of this balance on health. While I applaud the effort to make people realise how their mental state can impact their health, the other side of that sword is that women feel they are to blame for having the "wrong state of mind" which leads to poor health. For instance in one story a woman became infertile because, in the author's opinion, she didn't feel her husband was the right person to have children with. If you're pragmatic you can hear this story, consider if it applies to you and discard it if it doesn't fit. But some women could develop a guilt complex over something that is upsetting on its own without the added blame. Ultimately, the problem with this kind of thinking is that it leads to a vicious worry cycle: you worry that you might not have the right state of mind for good health... and then you worry that your worrying risks your health further! But to ignore this altogether also poses risk. Stress does cause disease and an integrated approach to health cannot exist without considering a person's state of mind. Because this book provides significant medical information, the reader could be lead into taking all the author's opinions as fact. Take the opinions as just that and you will find the book enjoyable. It is informative and thought provoking.
Rating:
Summary: An absolute winner
Review: One of the most empowering most insightful books I've ever read. It belongs in every woman's bedside drawer.
Rating:
Summary: Educational and Inspiring Book
Review: A friend recommended this book to me. She had told me what the chapters consisted of, etc. So, I was very excited to read it. And it lived up to all of my expectations. This book changed my perspectives on several issues. Northrup gives several "miracle" stories of her patients and tons of medical facts, research, etc. I would not recommend this book to the narrow-minded. But, if you do purchase it, I would recommend taking your time to read it, it is a lot of info to take in. But, it is valuable information for anyone to know (whether you are male or female.)
Rating: 
Summary: Unscientific and insulting to female intelligence
Review: If you are an intelligent, discerning woman, this is not the book for you. If you believe that psychic pain and repressed memories are factors that contribute to current medical problems and that anecdotal evidence is on equal footing with empirical, reproducible results, then it is a book for you. I simply can't believe that this woman is an MD. She is irresponsible is giving primacy to "the relationship" with your ovaries and uterus over solid medical advice. My "inner guidance" tells me to put this book in the trash.
Rating:
Summary: worth every penny
Review: This book was worth every penny of its cost, for me. I was suffering from severe, debilitating irritable bowel syndrome. I noted one sentence in this book, that food allergies can be the cause of this painful condition. I mentioned the fact to my allergist, I was tested for a wheat allergy, and the IBS was subsequently reduced to rare and negligible occurences. It changed my life!
Rating: 
Summary: Good resource but very opinionated
Review: I got this book because it was recommended to me by a therapist. There is a lot of information here, frankly too much at times yet too little for other questions. For example while there is a great deal on weight and ways to figure out why you are overweight, there is not information on why a woman might have sudden substantial weight gain and what to do about that. Likewise while the medical possibilities are addressed in the book, none of these are given the same detailed coverage as ideas about dietary and mental changes. Over and over the message seems to be that the woman got herself into this mess (whatever that is) and she must return to a "normal feminineness" to be cured. I know that Northrup isn't promoting a sexist view but it could easily be interpreted that way I fear. I think there is too much emphasis on some some ideals of health and too little focus on individual health and needs -- sorry most doctors you'll visit won't get you there and I had hoped this book would have advice on finding better health care advisors.
|
