Book Review of ‘A Healer in Every Home’ by Begabati Lennihan RN, CCH

by Richard Pitt

Begabati has attempted to grapple with the fascinating quandary of how to bring homeopathy to the public in a way that doesn’t overwhelm or further mystify people. She has recognized the problem that many of us have when trying to write about homeopathy in a way that makes using homeopathy simple and yet not simplistic.

Firstly she recognizes that even using the word homeopathy has its own baggage and deliberately avoids using the term in the title of subtitle. The whole style of the book is friendly and informal, which makes it very accessible, which is the whole point. She offers a list of contents, from first aid remedies, bumps bruises and sports injuries, cuts scrapes and surgery, emotional first aid etc and gives very direct and simple explanations of how to use homeopathy with remedy suggestions. In each of these chapters she weaves in a more detailed description of remedies that she feels would be the first remedies to stock in your home remedy chest, the ones most necessary to have. She also weaves in a “Health Food Store Helpers” overview, which gives more supplemental information for each condition. She also has a “Now What” section, which gives an overview of the reactions to remedies and how to address this. So here she is giving some practical clinical tips on case management, with it all being woven into the tapestry of the whole book and various scenarios relating to the particular chapter and conditions being described. 

Then there is a “Quick Tips” overview, which gives some basic information of how to deal with many acute situations and practical issues on giving remedies. And then at the end there is a resources section which talks about issues such as using cell salts, safety guidelines, partnering with your doctor and even What to say to a skeptic!

So Begabati has made a fascinating and successful attempt to cover a lot of material in a practical, easy  and accessible format. Instead of presenting material in a more linear and segmented way she weaves it all together into a more cohesive whole. 

It is hard for me as a homeopath to be truly objective about how new people to homeopathy will find using this book, especially in comparison to other books. It did take me a little time to get used to the format and maybe at times having information spread throughout the whole book may make it more fiddly to find what you are looking for at times, but given that the contents is laid out in such an easy way, it wouldn’t take most people that long to navigate through the book.

Begabati has done a very good job and it will be interesting to see how patients and people new to homeopathy will find using it.