More from Bryson City

I stayed up entirely too late last night to finish reading Bryson City Secrets, the third book in Dr. Walt Larimore's Bryson City series. I hadn't planned on blogging about it or the second book in the series because I had blogged on Bryson City Tales, the first book.

But I changed my mind after I finished reading them both. I found myself mentioning Bryson City Seasons to a couple of my friends in our conversations. And then, Bryson City Secrets moved me to tears. Perhaps it was the late night, perhaps because I consider Dr. Walt & Barb friends, perhaps it was the topic, or a combination of all three - but whatever it was, I just had to write about the rest of the Bryson City series.

Bryson City Seasons includes more stories of Dr. Walt's time in Bryson City. Some of them were so hilarious I found myself laughing out loud. I mean, he won the Miss Flame competition! I read that one out loud to my husband, who also enjoyed a good laugh. I say that Dr. Walt is a really good sport to include that in his book.

But the reason I recommended Bryson City Seasons to my friend was the story of Dr. Walt's daughter, Kate. I knew both Kate & Scott when we lived in Florida, and I enjoyed learning more about Kate's miraculous story. I knew some of it because she was featured in the newspaper when she graduated from high school. She's a remarkable person, with a remarkable story. My friend's son has cerebral palsy too, and I thought reading Kate's story would encourage her as she cares for her son. It encouraged me.

Bryson City Secrets includes more stories from Dr. Walt's practice and relationships with the people in Bryson City. It also explains the reason why he and Barb felt compelled to leave the town and move to Kissimmee, Florida. I am not going to go into details, because it's best explained by Dr. Walt. But I agonized with him, cried with him and Barb, and felt some measure of the pain of them leaving the town and the people they had grown to love.

Dr. Walt has a wonderful sense of looking at the people with whom he comes in contact (not just their ailments) and talking with them compassionately and graciously - or calling them on the carpet if needed. I admire him and Barb, Kate & Scott and am thankful to be able to call them friends. I've learned a lot from his books - not only about him and his family, but also from his examples of how to relate to people, value what's important, and maintain a proper focus in the midst of every circumstance, both good and evil.

Alternative Medicine: The Christian Handbook

I absolutely adore Inter-Library Loans! I've been wanting to read Dr. Walt's book Alternative Medicine: The Christian Handbook since it first came out. This past month, I finally got the chance.

FYI: The picture is of the recently revised version of the book. I read the original version, from 2001.

While I'm a firm believer in chiropractic care, massage, vitamins & supplements, I do have concerns about other forms of alternative medicines, and looked forward to getting Dr. Walt's perspective (and that of his co-author Dr. Donal O'Mathuna) on the topic.

The authors did a great job of laying foundation in the first three parts of the book. They discuss the history of alternative and conventional medicine in the first part; a Christian perspective on health, healing and suffering in the second part; and lay out criteria for evaluating alternative medicine and their practitioners in the third part. The fourth part of the book is a reference section, where you can look up different therapies and practices and read their perspective on how safe or dangerous they are.

I particularly appreciate the spiritual approach they take to most of their evaluations. They give the history behind the method, and many times the philosophy so we can make wise choices about what we're allowing into our minds & spirits. They also refer back to studies evaluating the effectiveness of the therapies. They put any "Christian" therapies through the same evaluation process - so things like the "Hallelujah Diet" do not get a free ride from them.

Chapter 10, in Part Three is called How Science Tests Therapies and Remedies. In it, the authors walk through, in an understandable way, the importance of double-blind, placebo-controlled trials in evaluation of what works and what doesn't work. If you're not familiar with what that means, it's a great place to start gaining an understanding.

I didn't read the whole book - it's more of a reference book than a reading book - but did glean information about different alternative therapies my friends have recommended to me. If you're looking into an alternative therapy, I'd recommend picking up this book from your library to check out what Dr. Walt & his co-author say about it.

(To which, they would say what the scientific evidence says about the particular therapy - but every study needs interpretation, and this book includes their interpretation of the currently available studies.)

Bryson City Tales

My library recently put the inter library loan feature online, which has prompted me to remember all the books I've wanted to read, but could never remember when I was corralling four children at the library. Oh happy day!

The first book on my list was Bryson City Tales by Dr. Walt Larimore. Glen and I had the privilege of getting to know Walt & Barb when we lived in Florida. We attended the same church, and Barb was the one who first invited me to Bible Study Fellowship (for which I am eternally grateful!). When I heard about Walt's Bryson City books, I knew I wanted to read them.

Bryson City Tales does not disappoint. In this book, Walt takes us on his own journey from the end of his medical residency to finding a community in which to settle (Bryson City) and the process of settling in. He honestly relates his mistakes, his passions (for football? I didn't know!), and his attempts to make connections in a very small, rather closed, community.

And there's plenty of drama too. From a very difficult home delivery in the next county to almost losing his medical privileges at the hospital, with a few veterinary calls thrown in, I found it difficult to put the book down. I'm looking forward to reading the next two books Bryson City Seasons and Bryson City Secrets.

The only thing I wonder about - and perhaps because I know them - is how did Barb find herself connecting to the community? This is Dr. Walt's story, so while his wife is mentioned many times, he focuses on his own experiences. But, I do wonder...