knowledge is power
When we surround ourselves with those who are successful at the very thing we want to learn more about, we are tapping into the field of inspiration. There is nothing more motivating than learning that there might be more to the world as you know it. Be it health, hobbies, growth or spiritual, we become better people when we embrace the idea that we don’t know everything and never will, but we sure can try!
I can’t say it enough, if you are on a journey to learn more, read, read and read some more. My recommendations are certainly not all inclusive, but they do serve as some of the best books in their genre so as you scan the lists below, trust your intuition on what jumps out at you first. Always keep a notebook handy for those important tidbits that will lead you to the next chapter of your quest for knowledge.
Autism and PANS/PANDAS Recovery
Lives Parallelled by Jessica Galligani, CHom
She knew her newborn was special. But when they raised concerns, no one seemed to listen…
2005. First-time parents Jessica Galligani and her husband never expected the extraordinary twist their baby son would deliver. As their toddler’s struggles slowly evolved into an Autism diagnosis, the Galliganis were thrown into a quest to learn as much as possible about his health challenges. But their biggest shock came with the medical community’s lack of understanding of their unique therapeutic needs.
Desperate to reinvent themselves for their son’s sake, the couple embarked on a journey of hope, support, and recovery. But with skeptics and confusion hiding behind every opinion, the struggling parents were left unaided to treat their demanding boy.
Written as a blend of memoir and resource guide, this fascinating book takes you by the hand through an intensely personal voyage of discovery. Sharing their ups and downs, the Galliganis provide you with experience, insights, and the advice they wish they had as parents of a special-needs child.
If you’re looking for a powerful approach combining help and hope, then this story of courage and dedication will go straight to your heart.
Lives Paralleled: Living and Shadows and Light, Autism and PANDAS Memoir and Resource Guide is a specialized asset for any parents struggling to raise a high-needs child. If you like raw stories, emotional journeys, and intricately detailed references, then you’ll love Jessica Galligani’s inspirational testimony.
Buy Lives Paralleled to be empowered to heal today!
How to End the Autism Epidemic by JB HAndley
The conundrum of vaccine safety awareness lies in the fact that it requires putting all of the pertinent pieces together by reading a slew of science surrounding multiple topics. The average person would have no clue which studies, or even which topics, will paint the true and accurate picture of vaccine safety issues. It takes enormous manpower, time and knowledge to put it all together and unfortunately most families don't have the time or inclination to make that happen. Until now though, this is exactly what many Autism parents have been doing all. by. themselves. and this is the message they are trying to spread to those around them.
In "How to End the Autism Epidemic", journalist J.B. Handley and co-founder of Generation Rescue, publishes all of the studies and research that he tirelessly pulled together during his plight with his own son's Autism. He has compiled this data in an easy to read (and understand) format, enabling access to this information in one place. It may even serve as a jumping off point to dig further into the thorough research he provides, putting it all right at your fingertips. And although his book aims squarely at vaccines, it's easy to extrapolate facts supporting other potential triggers for regressive and congenital Autism. There is more than enough information provided to highlight the mechanisms involved in Autism, as it relates to environmental factors at large.
Never before have I seen such a thorough compilation of the research coupled with the very details needed to fuse the science with the outcome. It would be nearly impossible to read this book and come away with anything less than certainty that vaccine safety needs more attention.
If you would like to educate loved-ones, new and expecting parents, care-givers, teachers, doctors, local political influencers or anyone else who believes the "science is settled", this book should be on your gift list immediately!
Healing the New Childhood Epidemics by Dr. Kenneth Bock
All I can say about this book is if you have a child with Autism, PANS/PANDAS, allergies, ADHD or asthma, get this book! Get it. BUT, please understand that I do NOT agree with his suggested form of chelation and use of metal “challenges.” These can be dangerous to partake in, because they use unnaturally high levels of chelators which mobilize a LOT of metals and at the end of the half-life of the chelator, the metals that were in the process of being escorted out of the body, are dropped and become free to redistribute. There are safer ways to detox and many other forms of detoxification remove more than just heavy metals, while chelation moves metals, and metals only. Also, PANS/PANDAS is not specifically discussed in this book, but the causes and treatments are all related. His explanation of why our kids are sick and how these disorders are all related is an education not to be missed, if you are on this train with me.
The Impossible Cure by Amy Lansky
This was the first book I read about homeopathy and I would still consider it one of the most important books I’ve read. My homeopathic trajectory began here. Amy Lanky does a wonderful job of balancing memoir with education. For anyone who wants to learn more about homeopathy while discovering the hope it can offer, this is the book for you. It’s a must read for anyone considering homeopathy.
Camel Crazy by Christina Adams
This inspiring book was written by a friend who was bravely acquiring camel milk from overseas years before I even set my eyes on it, or her, but it wasn’t until she came across my Facebook group, Healing with Camel Milk, that she felt safe enough with her consistent American supplier to begin sharing her story and research with the world. You see, there was a time when us parents held camel milk very close, out of fear that the dairy industry or the government would prevent access.
A talented author and passionate mother, Christina delivers the perfect balance of experience, humor and information in Camel Crazy. This is her beautifully colorful journey with worldly camel culture and the resulting recovery her son experienced from Autism. While access to camel milk for Christina was riddled with a variety of roadblocks, she was equally gifted with the magical and wondrous global influences that could only be bestowed by these same events. You will get lost in mysterious worlds with her, as you cheer her on for being brave enough to trek the world for this unique passion. Once you’ve experienced the powerful healing capacity of camel milk yourself, you will quickly come to understand what it means to be “Camel Crazy.”
The Thinking Moms’ Revolution: Autism Beyond the Spectrum: Inspiring True Stories from Parents Fighting to Rescue Their Children
If you are looking for hope and inspiration from the trenches, this book will deliver. It is a collection of real, raw stories which will touch every emotion in you at one point or another throughout the book. Join these families as they suck you into their world and share their plights with you, me and anyone else who is looking for the light at the end of the rainbow. Twenty-three moms and one brave dad make up The Thinking Moms’ Revolution. Their group stretches from Montana to Malaysia to Montreal. I have the pleasure of knowing many of these unique parents and their stories. This book will shed a much needed light on the hope of recovery.
While parenting children with disabilities, they came together on Facebook to collaborate about bio-medical and dietary interventions, as well as doctors and researchers developing cutting edge treatments. In the process they became a tight-knit family dedicated to helping their children lose their diagnoses. Out of this collaboration they have created something far more substantial. Suspecting that the roots of their children’s Autism, ADHD, Asthma, Sensory Processing Disorder and food allergies may be found in the overuse of antibiotics, preventative medical care, environmental toxins and processed food, they began a mission to turn it around!
Each chapter is written by a different TMR member sharing how they found each other, what they have learned along their journey, and why the support of close friends, also parenting kids with special needs, is so important. In this book you will read about their individual experiences, and learn how their determination and friendships have become a daily motivation for parents worldwide.
Dirty Genes by Dr. Ben Lynch
This book focuses on the genetic expression of a handful of mutated genes in the methylation cycle, which is critical information when used wisely. Educating yourself on the way our genetics can be triggered and how to influence the expression of these genes is part of the huge and complicated world of disease. It is fairly new science that uncovered the truth that the expression of certain gene mutations will trigger specific illnesses. Dr. Lynch does a nice job of balancing these understandings with not going overboard and blaming everything on genetics. He offers a step by step method of detection and management of the genes causing symptoms.
Here is a fun set of statistics found in this book: Bacterial cells in your body outnumber your human cells by 10 to 1 and bacterial genes outnumber your human genes by 150 to 1. Furthermore WE don't digest fiber, only our gut bacteria do. They ferment it as they feed on it, producing acids and other biochemicals that are vital to a number of different human functions, from digestion to the regulation of thought, cravings and moods. Think about that for a moment, our gut bacteria determines our moods and regulation of thought. With the crap food most people eat, is there any wonder why so many people are chronically crabby, impatient, forgetful and experience brain fog? I would like to thank to Dr. Ben Lynch for confirming my research on this, and for providing well balanced insight into our genetic evolution.
Bugs, Bowels, and Behavior by Teri Arranga, Claire Viadro MPH, PhD and Lauren Underwood, PhD
This book educated me on exactly what happened to our first born, through science and studies! This is when it all clicked. He was a classic case of the infant who experienced ear infection and antibiotic after ear infection and antibiotic. Within the first year and a half of his life, he’d been on 6 courses of antibiotics, the very kind that allow clostridia to overgrow. He went on to show excessive clostridia growth in the gut.
According to the National Institutes of Health, there are sixty to seventy million people affected by digestive diseases in the United States. The old proverb tells us “you are what you eat,” and the latest science shows that this may be truer than we even thought. Diet has a profound effect on both physical and mental health. Most of the body’s immune system is in the gut, so pathology and dysfunction in the gut and imbalanced gut flora can cause neuroinflammation and possibly even neurodegenerative disease over time.
Featuring contributions from dozens of experts on gut disorders and related physical, mental, and behavioral health, this book will fascinate you as you read about the intriguing world of bad bugs, cytokine storms, and the environment in your belly that influences your brain. From the microscopic world of Clostridium to the complex communities of biofilm, Bugs, Bowels, and Behavior emphasizes one simple fact: The gut is connected to the brain.
You Can Fix Your Brain by Dr. Tom O’Bryan
Dr. Tom O’Bryan has a way with words! I love how simply he explains the mechanics of how autoimmunity develops and more importantly, how to reverse it! He offers weekly steps to begin the process towards halting and reversing illnesses that are the result of the brain attacking itself. While we recognize this more readily in PANDAS, this book is not about PANDAS, although everything in it certainly touches on the many steps we took to recover our son. If only I had found it BEFORE I paved the path on my own. 😉
He has authored another book called The Autoimmune Fix.
Supportive Health Topics
Homeopathic Self-Care: The Quick and Easy Guide for the Whole Family by Robert Ullman
If you are interested in using homeopathy for your family, buy yourself a simple home kit in the 30C potency and a self-care book like this one. It will guide you step by step through the process of identifying a handful of remedies which can then be tried according to personal needs, acutely.
This 50 remedy kit from Washington Homeopathic contains 50 of the most common remedies at the 30C potency. This is one of the best prices I have seen for a 50 remedy kit. It’s the same kit I started with and still have! They last forever.
This 100 remedy kit from Washington Homeopathic contains 91 of the most common remedies at 30C and 9 of the most important remedies at 200C which is best for acute illnesses. If you can afford it, this is double the remedies for less than double the price. With 100 remedies, you are likely to have everything you will ever need for acute illnesses in this kit!
Natural Healing with Cell Salts by Skye Weintraub, ND
Well nourished cells provide us with the building blocks of health. So says Dr. Weintraub's Natural Healing With Cell Salts, the most comprehensive guide to cell salt therapy. This reference book provides an in-depth look at the delicate nature of our bodies' cells and how cell salts work to help maintain a proper balance. For trained health care practitioner and the inexperienced lay person alike, Natural Healing With Cell Salts gives invaluable information regarding the relationship between healthy cells and cell salts, how to select cell salts, and the specific salts and their uses for various ailments.
You can order liquid spray cell salts here. They carry the full cell salts kit with all 12 cell salts as well as individuals. They also carry bio plasma which is all 12 cell salts in one dose. Dosing is easy with spray bottles.
Here you can buy cell salts in pellet form which is nice for adding to water bottles or for making combination remedy bottles. I like the flexibility of using pellets. This lab offers a variety of different combinations as well as kits. The website can be a little challenging to navigate, if you don’t know the terminology, but doing a simple search for what you are looking for will bring up many options.
REset Your Child’s Brain by Victoria L. Dunckley, MD
A four week plan to end meltdowns, raise grades and boost social skills
Increasing numbers of parents grapple with children who are acting out without obvious reason. Revved up and irritable, many of these children are diagnosed with ADHD, bipolar illness, Autism, or other disorders but don’t respond well to treatment. They are then medicated, often with poor results and unwanted side effects. Based on emerging scientific research and extensive clinical experience, integrative child psychiatrist Dr. Victoria Dunckley has pioneered a four-week program to treat the frequent underlying cause, Electronic Screen Syndrome (ESS). Dr. Dunckley has found that everyday use of interactive screen devices — such as computers, video games, smartphones, and tablets — can easily overstimulate a child’s nervous system, triggering a variety of stubborn symptoms. In contrast, she’s discovered that a strict electronic fast improves mood, focus, sleep, and behavior, regardless of the child’s diagnosis.
Iodine, Why You Need it, Why You Can’t Live Witouth It by Dr. David Brownstein
Thyroid conditions are on the rise. I can’t even count how many people I know with a thyroid condition and they range in age from children and young adults to the elderly. Learn what you need to know about the role of iodine in your diet and how a deficiency begins the process of thyroid dysfunction. But the thyroid isn’t the only organ system effected by a deficiency in iodine. The reproductive system depends on sufficient iodine saturation in the body, as well. Deficiency during pregnancy can lead to cretinism, a lowered IQ and if severe enough, infant mortality. Iodine supplementation requires co-nutrients, therefore, I would not recommend supplementation without education first.
Gemmotherapy for Everyone - An Introduction to Acute Care by Lauren Hubele
I trained with Lauren Hubele and love her systematic approach to Gemmotherapy. This little book enables you to get familiar with the acute potential of Gemmotherapy. It is quite simple to use acutely, but if your problem stems from chronic elimination issues, it would be a good idea to hire a professional of Gemmotherapy to experience deeper treatment. Her company, Vital Extract, also sells acute care kits which are an ideal way to introduce yourself (or an expecting mother) to the incredible world of Gemmotherapy. Do it, you won’t regret it!
FOR THE KIDS!
Want to teach your kids about freedom? They have books geared toward ages 5-11 and 12+. We've used Tuttle Twins for years and just recently got their pre-teen series guidebooks: Logical Fallacies, Inspiring Entrepreneurs and Courageous Heroes.
From these books, your children will learn things like:
•Why a free market economy is the greatest way to lift people out of poverty and allow people to trade with one another.
•How property rights allows us to decide what’s best for us, and make decisions for our family.
•Why the world is a better place because of entrepreneurs who create businesses to help serve us and improve our lives.
•What socialism is and why it is so destructive to our freedoms and well being.
•How the Golden Rule is so important to people getting along with one another, no matter where we live, what we look like, or what we believe.
•Why education is so important, and why children should be allowed to learn things they are interested in.
•What true laws are, and why the government should protect our rights.
…and so much more!
Lifestyle and Spiritual Enhancement
Sara Books 1, 2, and 3 by Esther and Jerry Hicks
Everyone on this planet should read these books, adults and children alike! Let Sara and Solomon take you on a journey to learning the truth about happiness and appreciation. Law of Attraction is generated by developing the habits taught in this wonderful story. You won’t be able to put these books down! My own kids couldn’t wait to read them with me every day, in fact, they made comments like, “This book makes me so happy” and “I love Sara, can we read more today?”
Find Sara Book 2 here. and Sara Book 3 here.
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
One of the best self-help books I’ve ever read. The act of staying present takes practice. Eckhart Tolle can weave anything into such identifiable and real terms that it not only makes sense, it becomes easier to incorporate into every day life. In the first chapter, Tolle introduces readers to enlightenment and its natural enemy, the mind. He awakens readers to their role as a creator of pain and shows them how to have a pain-free identity by living fully in the present.
A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
Eckhart Tolle’s books are nothing short of transformational. We have so much to learn from exposing and confronting our ego, which subconsciously controls our reactions. We hold the power to liberate ourselves from suffering and Tolle has just the right words to get us there. Just be sure to take your time reading his books, they require time to digest the lessons you will learn. With his bestselling spiritual guide The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle inspired millions of readers to discover the freedom and joy of a life lived “in the now.” In A New Earth, Tolle expands on these powerful ideas to show how transcending our ego-based state of consciousness is not only essential to personal happiness, but also the key to ending conflict and suffering throughout the world. Tolle describes how our attachment to the ego creates the dysfunction that leads to anger, jealousy, and unhappiness, and shows readers how to awaken to a new state of consciousness and follow the path to a truly fulfilling existence. I found the pain of Autism and PANDAS to be triggering throughout recovery, and learning techniques for remaining present halted and prevented a lot of self-induced trauma.
Also an Oprah’s Book Club book.
The Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton, PhD
This book was a game-changer for me. Once I realized the importance of our environment (physically and emotionally) and how it impacts us right down to the smallest atoms in our body, I felt held to the task of becoming more conscientious of my actions and thoughts. Learning that genes don’t cause disease, beliefs do, also encouraged me to teach my children more about the various tools they can pull from to address stress in their lives.
The Awakened Family by Shefali Tsabary, PhD
This is an absolute favorite of mine. I say that about all of them, don’t I? I love to read! This book had me hooked from the very first page. It opened my eyes to the subliminal conditioning we receive growing up, and made me consciously aware of ways to minimize this effect in our children. This book armed me with skills that transformed my parenting and inadvertently healed some of my own parenting fears. Every page was full of profound material, every one!
Another good book written by this author is called The Conscious Parent, Transforming Ourselves, Empowering Our Children.
Buddhism for Mothers of Schoolchildren: Finding Calm in the Chaos of the School Years by Sarah Napthali
You certainly don’t have to be Buddhist to appreciate the gentle, compassionate techniques offered in this lovely book. Everyone who wants to guide their children with more patience will glean something from Sarah’s teachings. This book explores those teachings through many scenarios, including managing the stress of numerous deadlines, coping with routine and repetition, answering children's tricky questions about how the world works, fitting in with other parents, managing our fears and expectations for our children, and dealing with difficult behaviors in both children and adults. Raising high needs children can elevate stress levels while isolating families so I found her profoundly calm approach to be incredibly inspiring.
She also suggests ways to share Buddhist teachings with children so they maintain a connection to their own inner wisdom rather than reacting to peers and the media. At a time when there is so much “noise” in our daily life, there is something quite soothing about the tools Buddhism can teach us to rely on.
Sensational Meditation for Children by Sarah Wood Valley
Do you want your children to learn and appreciate meditation, but don’t know where to start? That is no easy task for the average person, because children don’t naturally sit still for very long. Meditation for children absolutely has to be fun if you want them to enjoy it and eventually rely on it as a tool in their self-help toolbox. This book offers 14 different fun, guided meditations for you to experiment with, which will help you encourage your child(ren) to experience the wonders of meditation. You may even find yourself using a few of them regularly. I did!
The Non-Tinfoil Guide to EMFs
The Non-Tinfoil Guide to EMFs is a simple and unconventional book that will teach you exactly how to reduce your exposure without going back to the Stone Age. You will learn:
What your smartphone, your wifi router and your microwave oven have in common (page 9)
Why carrying a cell phone in your pocket can harm your fertility (201 studies prove it) (page 72)
The 1-click fix to reduce cellphone EMFs by 84% (page 142)
What is safer? Speakerphone, earbuds or a Bluetooth ear piece? (page 155)
The #1 worst source of EMF radiation at home (page 160)
Why baby monitors are worse than smartphones, and better alternatives (page 208)
Toxic Superfoods
This book is a must-read for everyone seeking health for themselves or their children, especially where there is chronic inflammation of any kind. New trends in “superfoods” has catapulted us into dangerous territory with little-known food chemicals.
After suffering for decades from chronic health problems, nutrition educator Sally K. Norton, MPH, discovered that the culprits were the chemical toxins called oxalates lurking within her “healthy,” organic plant-heavy diet. She shines light on how our modern diets are overloaded with oxalates and offers fresh solutions including:
• A complete, research-backed program to safely reverse your oxalate load
• Comprehensive charts and resources on foods to avoid and better alternatives
• Guidance to improve your energy, optimize mood and brain performance, and find true relief from chronic pain
In this groundbreaking guide, Norton reveals that the popular dictum to “eat more plants” can be misleading. Toxic Superfoods gives health-seekers a chance for improved energy, optimum brain performance, graceful aging, and true relief from chronic pain.
