Woman as Healer [Paperback]

Jeanne Achterberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 13, 1991

This groundbreaking work examines the role of women in the Western healing traditions. Drawing on the disciplines of history, anthropology, botany, archaeology, and the behavioral sciences, Jeanne Achterberg discusses the ancient cultures in which women worked as independent and honored healers; the persecution of women healers in the witch hunts of the Middle Ages; the development of midwifery and nursing as women's professions in the nineteenth century; and the current role of women and the state of the healing arts, as a time of crisis in the health-care professions coincides with the reemergence of feminine values.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Healing has always been regarded as a sacred function, one that was at first inextricably linked to women. Achterberg argues that the way in which society views its deities is fundamental to the status of women in medicine. This book traces the history of women as healers, midwives, nurses, and doctors from ancient times to modern. Intertwined with this history is an analysis of each society's cosmology, which determines whether women healers will be suppressed or encouraged. The result is a series of compelling stories of knowledge practiced and then lost through cultural change and suppression. Achterberg ranges from an eloquent and cogent analysis of the medieval witch trials to an incisive analysis of health care education and the health care professions in the 20th century. Highly recommended for academic and public libraries.
- Gail Wood, Montgomery Coll. Lib., Germantown, Md.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Women possess a strong tradition as healers, from ancient Danish shamans to modern midwives, physicians and nurses. Throughout the years, however, women have been systematically marginalized as socially legitimate practitioners by their male counterparts. Jeanne Achterberg explores this history in Woman as Healer by illuminating the connections between Western world views and women's tribulations and contributions as healers. As painful as these truths may be, Jeanne imparts an empowering tone to her discussions and emphasizes as much as she can the spirit of the "warrior" woman, persisting through the ages, in women who heal with honor and clarity. -- From The WomanSource Catalog & Review: Tools for Connecting the Community for Women; review by Laurie Pearce

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Product Details

• Paperback: 268 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala; 1St Edition edition (March 13, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877736162
• ISBN-13: 978-0877736165
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.6 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #293,220 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent well researched book on woman healers, March 7, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Woman as Healer (Paperback)

Excellent well researched book on the roots and history of woman in medicine and healing. Jeanne Achterberg does an excellent job with a difficult subject. Most of the written documentation about women has been destroyed or misinterpreted by male scholars throughout history. One must be a thorough detective to sift through all of the documentation to find information on this subject.Her interpretations are fair and,I believe, totally valid. This book is for anyone who is a healer or works in the medical profession or those of us who understand the bias in research writen by white european males. To those of you who disparage such work, because of lack of evidence, I suggest you look toward your spirit, and contemplate the injustice of destroying the evidence of the past and then writing your own history to justify the power you hold.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A life-changing read!, August 20, 2007

By 

A. Burns "Women's Studies Scholar" (Bangor, ME USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Woman as Healer (Paperback)

I started reading this for my Women's Health course and could NOT put it down. If you are looking for a general yet intelligent and emotional overview of women's history of healing (or lack thereof) this text is for you. I highly recommend it!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Facts Off, October 11, 2011

By 

Blake M. Webb "Webbster" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Woman as Healer (Paperback)

It's not a bad read, but the author's facts are a bit off.

In the chapter on Denmark (which should really be titled 'Germania'), an overview of Norse Heathenism is given - and very incorrectly.

Of the several facets that are listed, perhaps only two or three are accurate and the rest are the result of poor research coupled with biased writing.

Grated this is only a small portion of the book, but it set up a bad relationship with me right off the bat (being a Norse Heathen myself) wherein I could not trust any of the facts in the book to be totally accurate.