"Prozac Nation" is Probably Not a Good Read While Trying to Heal

I was recently on a women’s retreat and during our Friday night happy hour the group of women I was with decided to go around the room and offer up our favorite three books. I wrote everything down and then distributed the reading list once I got home. I’m trying to become a library user as much as I can, but the little branch library by my house is teeney-tiny and I’m a little impatient about ordering books. Anyway, I needed a book to read and headed to the library to try to find one of the books on the impromptu book list that was created at the retreat. As I went down the list on the reference computer, not surprisingly I realized the library didn’t have much on the list. The one book it DID have was “Prozac Nation”. I was desperate for a “read” and so I checked it out. No doubt, it’s probably a great book and I like the author’s style of writing but SURPRISE! it’s not a very uplifting book.

On the hike I took today, I realized that the book was bringing me down which is a little counterproductive when I’m trying to be on this hopeful healing sabbatical. I’ll have to put “Prozac Nation” aside for now and so took a walk over to the terrific little new/used independent book store down the street from my house. It’s called “Spectator Books” and it’s a great alternative to checking a book out of the library. I was in search of a book a friend told me about called “8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back” by Esther Gokhale. Although I didn’t find the title and may end up buying it new (or trying to order it from the library), I discovered a whole bunch of books on healing pain naturally. I picked up three and will report on any that seem worth reading. Your local library and used book store probably have loads of reading material on pain and healing, so check them out. Always nice to support local business!