Book description
Long before modern medicines became so widely available, families
treated everyday illnesses with home-made remedies. Reused and refined
year after year, they were handed down through the generations then
lovingly copied into personal 'receipt' books. Grandma's
Remedies brings together a beguiling collection of them, gathered
from dusty medicine chests found in attics, recalled from childhoods
long past, or discovered in family archives and libraries.
Many of them are surprisingly effective. Did you know, for example,
that drinking two cups of strong black coffee will alleviate an asthma
attack? Or that chewing toasted fennel seeds will help combat
indigestion? Or that rosehip syrup is a terrific source of vitamin C?
But Grandma's Remedies is more than a guide to these
traditional treatments, it also paints a vivid portrait of the world
of our grandparents and great-grandparents. It shows how inventive and
resourceful they were with the materials near to hand, how they made
the most of everything in the store-cupboard, from bread through to
vinegar, and how it was the women of the household who, despite being
barred from the medical profession, were relied on to safeguard family
health.
In these days of antibiotics and painkillers, it's easy to forget
how people survived when all they had to rely on was a garden, a
larder and a healthy dose of common sense.
For many years, Cherry Chappell has been a public relations
practitioner and writer in the fields of health and wellbeing, covering
both orthodox and complementary medicine. She lives in London and
Cornwall. Her other books include
Minding Your Own Business: Survival
Strategies for Starting Up on Your Own
,
Writing Better Letters
and
Perfect Wedding Planning
.
