In addition to the 30+ materia medicas and perhaps 20 homeopathic repertoires, plus hundreds of homeopathy books authored by some of the world’s finest medical doctors over the centuries, I also have a library full of old, sometimes quirky books that were fundamental to my understanding of health.
Many were read years before I discovered homeopathy, which helped form the architecture of my understanding of health.
I continuously studied and implemented my newfound knowledge on subjects such as whole living, botanicals, nutrition, chemical-free environments and farming, to name a few, for about 15 years prior to entering the study of homeopathy.
I did whatever it took in an effort to find relief after suffering from illness every day for so many years.
(I began life with food intolerances and eczema at six weeks old.)
So, it has been a lifelong pursuit.
I thought you might be interested in a glimpse of some of the books that got me thinking.
Most of those listed here are older books; not the information in them, but the edition dates. Many can often be found on Amazon now for only a few dollars. Certainly, today there are many more manuscripts available on these subjects.
(I use it as an excuse to add to my library regularly.)
When I was compiling the list for this blog, I had so many that I thought it might overwhelm my readers.
And my goal is to inspire you, not crush you with too much information.
So, I scaled it down to only a few below.
It might also be of interest to know that some of these books were required summer reading for my children.
No, not by a school district! By me; their primary educator.
Here are a few of the titles:
Healthy Environment
1. “Nontoxic, Natural and Earthwise: How to Protect Yourself and Your Family from Harmful Products and Live in Harmony With the Earth“
by Debra Lynn Dadd (Anything Debra has authored is valuable. She has actually become a professional friend, and I recommend all of her offerings.)
Doctors Speaking Out Against Modern Medicine
2. “The Truth About the Drug Companies: How They Deceive Us and What to Do About It“ by Maria Angell, M.D. (This courageous doctor, spent two decades at the New England Journal of Medicine and subsequently exposed the reality of this journal’s involvement in an industry that is nothing short of shocking. Got a doctor who’s trying to convince you of the validity of a study on a drug he’s pushing? Here’s the book that will put it to rest.)
3. “Confessions of a Medical Heretic“ by Robert Mendelsohn, M.D. (This is my all-time favorite doctor. I urge you to watch him on YouTube and read everything he’s written.)
4. “Male Practice: How Doctors Manipulate Women“ by Robert S. Mendelsohn, M.D. (You’re going to hate your OBGYN after you read this. Not really my goal, but we need to put a little balance in this otherwise often over-trusted profession.)
5. “Dissent in Medicine: Nine Doctors Speak Out“ by Robert S. Mendelsohn, M.D., George Crile, M.D., Henry Heimlich, M.D., Alan Scott Levin, M.D., David Spodick, M.D., Richard Moskowitz, M.D., Gregory White, M.D. (These are the kind of doctors we need to have access to.)
6. “Beyond Antibiotics: 50 (or so) Ways to Boost Immunity and Avoid Antibiotics Second Edition“ by Michael A. Schmidt, MD, Lendon H. Smith & Keith W. Sehnert (This is a good starter book for those who are wondering about antibiotics. I wasn't enamored with some of their solutions…after all, they're not homeopaths, but it’s an eye-opener for neophytes to this kind of thinking.)
Whistle-Blowers of Modern Medicine
7. “Selling Sickness: How the World's Biggest Pharmaceutical Companies Are Turning Us All Into Patients“ by Ray Moynihan & Alan Cassels (If this doesn’t convince you of the importance of staying clear of drugs, you’re incorrigible.)
8. “Medical Nemesis: The Expropriation of Health“ by Ivan Illich (Prolific author. Consider reading his other offerings as well.)
9. “Politics in Healing: The Suppression and Manipulation of American Medicine” by Daniel Haley (Another important expose of what medicine has become in the last century or so.)
Home Birthing
10. “Five Standards for Safe Childbearing“ by David Stewart, Ph. D. (This was the icing on the cake for me in deciding to home birth my children. A classic.)
11. “Spiritual Midwifery“ by Ina May Gaskin. (The tone of this book is right out of the ’60s. During my birthing years, it was foundational to my ability to give birth at home. I just worked at getting past the hip jargon.)
Food
12. “Milk Diet As A Remedy For Chronic Disease“ by Charles Sanford Porter (Kind of says it all in the title.)
13. “Nutrition and Physical Degeneration“ by Dr. Weston A. Price (This is a landmark book and was mandatory reading in our home-school curriculum. I had our kids read aloud from this book, write essays and even memorize from it.)
14. “Nourishing Broth (An Old-Fashioned Remedy for the Modern World)[NOURISHING BROTH] [Paperback]“ by Dr. Kaayla Daniel and Sally Fallon (This is not a new book, and it is a subject I thought I had mastered until I read it. I refer to it regularly. I consider Kaayla Daniel to be one of my closest friends, so I am especially keen on this book.)
15. “The Milk Book: How Science Is Destroying Nature's Nearly Perfect Food” by William Campbell Douglass, M.D. (This author is one of the few medical doctors with a published presence, who understands nutrition. I subscribed to his newsletter for decades.)
16. “The Church and Farming” by Rev. Denis Fahey (Wait 'till you read this one! It’s a real switch-flipper. The distilled picture? The church has historically encouraged its followers to take up the whole-life lifestyle based on autonomy for the family. This book really spoke to me.)
17. “Pottenger's Cats: A Study in Nutrition” by Francis Marion Pottenger Jr. MD ( This was mandatory reading every summer for my kids. I required that they read it for 3-4 years in a row. How else would I be able to undo what advertisements were telling them? Since kids are attracted to animals, I thought that this was a good medium. Along with their friends, I had them watch a video on the same subject from time to time. To this day, the mothers of those kids still ask me where I find my videos.)
There you have it. A small sample of what influenced my thinking. I hope some of these books find a place in your library too.
Here in Western New York, the weather is perfect for hammock reading. I might just re-read some of these old favorites myself.
Thank you for the list.
My most respected Joette ji,
Can you believe – ‘plastic’ rice grains are adulterated into regular edible rice grains by profit monger devilish Grain Merchants in India?
How to test the adulterated rice grains:
Put about 100 gm of rice grains (bought by you) on a hot plate or a frying pan. Roast the grains with a wooden spatula for some time. If your rice grains are adulterated with plastic, those grains will melt into sticky strings mass. Throw away the entire rice grains – if you observe this.
If you observe no adulteration, you can cook roasted rice grains into Rice.
I will be doing that this weekend! Thanks.
Hi Joette, Thank you for this list. I am also wondering if you have a recommendation for the best Materia Medica that you have found? Thank you for everything that you do!
It depends on your level of understanding of homeopathy.
A correction to my Response:
It should be read as – ‘plastic’ rice grains are adulterated into regular edible rice grains by some profit monger devilish Grain Merchants in India? ..
Thank you.
thank you for all you do in this field and I have shared your website to others
Thanks! I hope it proves useful to many.
Hello Joette,
I am too a life long learner especially after suffering for the last ten years with similar symptoms as you and I am still trying to get well. One thing I know is more than likely I have a very bad systemic yeast overgrowth. Thanks for sharing all your info with all of us. I you have any suggestions on how to get rid of it please let me know.
I don’t consider systemic yeast to be an illness. Its a side effect of something else, such as antibiotic poisoning. In homeopathy we use not only the name of the condition but how it presents. The answer is uniformly found in homeopathy.
Thanks Joette! I too had 4 homebirths simply because I discovered the book Spiritual Midwifery. When an acquaitance visited me and my first newborn, she said the magical words “you know that vaccines are optional”. That changed the course of my family’s life drastically. Dr Mendelsohn’s book and a good La Leche group did the rest. Once I found Weston A. Price through Dr. Jordan Ruben and Sally Fallon there was no turning back! Thanks for the list!
Hold on tight! It sounds like you’re still on the ride of your life! I’m in the seat right next to you.
Pass on the word, Linda and thanks for the encouragement.
Joette, thanks for this! What a great idea to have homeschooling children read Price and Pottinger’s work for themselves. At what age did you start doing this with your children? I found a neat “real food” resource online for younger children that my fourth grader will be doing this year, but I’d love for her to read from the work of the Real Rood Giants themselves when she is ready.
I had them begin around 12 years old or so, but I think they got more value when they read it as teens later on.
Does your Good Gut Bad Gut cover antibiotic poisoning? Now the CDN dollar is even worse for me to pick up this course! 🙁
Yes! And should it be helpful to you, we have payment plans.
Thanks Joette – Most of those titles are familiar to me. I too read them many years ago. Went and ordered David Stewart’s Five Standards – I used to be affiliated with his group NAPSAC many years ago. There I learned the truth about home birth (I continue to work as a labor and delivery nurse all these many years later and can attest to the truth about what happens in hospitals.) Anyway – my NAPSAC books have “disappeared” over the years – glad to find the Five Standards again. Will keep it on the bookshelf for my daughter. And Dr. Mendelsohn – a true gem….wow! When I realized that I had my own commonsense and intuition to depend on – well, it changed my life.
Oh, and almost forgot! David Stewart and his wife Lee were instrumental in our decision to homeschool. All these many years later – well, I appreciate their willingness to write about their experiences in their newsletters and books. And I’m so glad that we stayed home (well, we went out a lot!!! LOL!!!) and away from the public school system.
Silent Knife
A case Against Medicine
At highest Risk
Special Delivery OR Heart and Hands
Poisoned Needle OR A Shot in the Dark
Thank you so so so so much Joette for this list! Please share more!!!!!!!!!!!!
Getting some. Sadly no cat books. Have to keep checking g for it. I’m making my homeschool curr off things you say. Have for a few years. She is only 8. Got a ways to go! Love you joette
Thank you for the list! Although I don’t know you personally, I want you to know that the knowledge and encouragement you share has changed how I take care of myself and my family. I now have friends and friends of friends coming to me and asking advice because of the practical knowledge YOU share. I always point them to your website and tell them to do their own research and take charge of their health. And I think everyone should join Mighty Members!
Hi Joette,
Would you happen to have any book recs on the fundamentals of Homeopathy such as anat/phys, mental/emotional? I saw the science of homeopathy but that seems more like how to conduct an evaluation. Was hoping there are homeopathic based anatomy books to learn the harmony between homeopathy and the body.
Thank you!
Let me help pull you out of that rabbit hole you’ve just stepped into.
Instead of theory, learn what protocols ought to be used for what condition.
1) “The Banerji Protocols” by Drs. Banerji
2) “Gateway to Homeopathy” (my study group guide)
3) Any of my online courses
Makes sense. Just looked at the syllabus for Gateway. Ill purchase that come January. The group aspect seems cool but for now my work schedule is inconsistent with set times so if I’m able to fly solo w the syllabus for a bit then join a group later on in the year, I’m in.
You’ve been super helpful in pointing me in the right direction and putting up with my questions. Very much appreciated.
My pleasure.
Merry Christmas, Nick!