Customer Reviews

The Scalpel and the Silver Bear: The First Navajo Woman Surgeon Combines Western Medicine and Traditional Healing

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I can't tell you how helpful this book was to me in gaining insight to myself and my own heritage. I too grew up on the "rez", or the Navajo Nation, not far from where Ms. Alvord grew up. (In fact, I am related to her by clan!) I also grew up half Navajo and half white. This book helped me to understand many of the characteristics and traits that I have and the cultural significance underlying them, as I was raised non-traditionally. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, but especially Native youth, because it shows that anyone can achieve their dream. I am very proud of Lori Alvord for being willing to share her story and show the Western medical world the importance of Native/Indigenous healing practices.

This book was marvelous! All who work in the Medical Field, no matter what their position, should read this book. It not only tells about the differences in Lori Arviso Alvord's cultures but how they believe and how medical doctors/surgeons have the ability to keep their patients calm during emergencies or surgeries. I think that anyone who is planning on going into the medical field in the Native American area should definitely read this book, so that they can get an inside of how the Native American cultures believe and what to expect. The language of the book was down to earth without confusing medical terms and was easy to understand. All the stories that were presented brought back memories of my grandmother who died at the age of 96. A very good book!

The test of a good book lies in its readability, more so in the case of a non fiction.The author's narrative style is simple and interesting and hence very readable. As I read through the book I felt as if I was travelling with the author through this life journey of hers. What makes the book acceptable is the fact that the author does not make any judgement about the cultures that she has to be in. Her attempt to combine the best of both the worlds is the main attraction in the book. I agree with her totally that the need of the hour is holistic approach to any medical intervention. Coming from India I do understand the gap in the modern approach to 'cure', namely the 'healing'. I wish many non native Indians would read this book and benefit from its facts.I wish the doctor all the very best in her present endevour of popularising the holistic approach among the modern medical world.

Wow. A luminous bridge from the Navajo world to the rest of us. Her path to becoming a surgeon is an astonishing story. I doubt anyone can read it without awe, without tears, without laughing, without finding something or someone familiar in it. Recommended for med students, classroom, motivational or pleasure reading. Give a copy to your favorite doctor!

This is a must read for everyone, not just health care providers; however, it would be wonderful if every doctor read it. It could change how our society views health care. Instead of treating a diagnosis, we could learn to treat a whole person with compassion and respect.

While health care is the setting, we learn what it means to be a Navajo woman. The customs are fascinating to those of us who know so little about native americans.

This is a spiritual book. You learn what it means to "Walk in Beauty".

There are many lessons to learn from this book. It is one that you will read and pass along to your friends and family.

This book explores the remarkable journey of a Navajo women who leaves the reservation to train as a surgeon. It contrasts traditional Navajo practices with those of western medicine and illustrates how one women was able negotiate two worlds at odds with one another. The book provoked me to re-evaluate some of my assumptions of western medicine and heightened my awareness of cultural differences in philosophy of medical care. The book is thought-provoking and inspirational. A quick and easy read.

If books could heal, this one would. A delightful and intelligent account, not only of one woman's life, but also of how the power of traditional healing can combine with the force of Western medicine to change all of our lives.

This book was a surprisingly wonderful experience. The authors have brilliantly woven together a woman's personal inner life and professional strivings. It made me examine the working together of my own life in the same way. Very personal and intimate, yet exciting reading too. A touching and sensitive depiction of the real Native American life -- the one we never really know. Also inspiring in what it's like to come from two different worlds and somehow make them both work. I loved the book and recommend it highly.

The Scapel and the Silver Bear is a compelling book of empirical "facts" Western medicine merged with the spiritual beliefs of the Navajo people. The female author has shared her parallel experiences of growing up half Navajo and half white and attempting to work both as a skilled, Stanford-trained surgeon and acknowledging the very real spiritual experiences of her Native American patients. The book is informative about Navajo beliefs, thought-provoking, and just enjoyable to read.

The story of Dr. Lori Arviso Alvord's courage and determination to bridge the Navajo world with modern medicine is excellently written. For those of us who've had little exposure to the ways of the Navajo world, this book is part history and part culture. As America continues to find new ways to maintain and improve health care, it's refreshing to consider how living a balanced life has the potential to make a huge difference. Alvord's story, artfully told with the assistance of Elizabeth Cohen Van Pelt, a former New York Post reporter, is by turns heartwarming, soulful and inspirational. In the spirit of full disclosure, I should note that Elizabeth is now a co-worker of mine.