Wisdom and Births

One of my favorite activities is hunting through a used bookstore (with a chai!) and searching for my next great find. During a recent visit to one of my favorite local shops, I serendipitously chose a book off the shelf that held a certain anthropological and feminist appeal. Imagine my utter excitement when I discovered that it contained a multitude of birth stories occurring throughout the evolution of man! Great find for $3! This anthropological fiction book, Circles of Stone by Joan Dahr Lambert, is rooted in historical evidence and theory, such as basing a character off the discovery of "Lucy's" body and theories about how she may have died. The book is broken into three parts, three different but interwoven stories, which take place over the course of major evolutionary changes in prehuman and human history. Part I takes place in the Great Rift Valley of Africa approximately 1-1.5 million years ago, Part II occurs between the Rift Valley and the shores of the Red...

A supportive, no-nonsense approach to informed childbirth in any setting; a hospital, birth center or at home. Cook and Christensen have compiled 12 “secrets” for natural childbirth encouraging women to understand the powerful and spiritual process of birth and to be truly informed when it comes to birthing in any setting. I am thrilled this book is hitting the birth market and I have high hopes that the bold captivating title, with the promise of learning 12 natural childbirth secrets, will contribute to the movement back towards natural, holistic birth. Each chapter addresses one of the “12 secrets for natural childbirth” and provides a wonderful compilation of research based information, advice from well-known experts in the field, and a wide variety of positive and encouraging birth stories. Among the first pages, readers will find professional advice from Christine Northrup, M.D. and Margaret Christensen, M.D.; addressing a common fear- based model of birth and encouraging women ...