Mother, Heal My Self: An Intergenerational Healing Journey Between Two Worlds

J. Koerner. Santa Rosa, CA. Crest-port Press. 2003. 240 pp., $14.95. (800) 247-6553, http://www.bookmasters.com

Dr. JoEllen Koerner's book Mother, Heal My Self describes the life space shared by mothering and nursing and how the best of nursing calls upon the healer within both roles. As a mother, all women will call upon all forms of healing when their child's life is threatened. Rather than being limited by the boundaries of her admittedly immense body of nursing knowledge, the author responded openly to outreach from the Native American community for she had no other choice.

Through the Lakota healing ceremonies, Koerner achieves remarkable insights that bode well for the future of nursing. The book shows that she is committed to taking the lesson learned from her daughter's illness and the warm responses she received from her nursing colleagues and turning them into a place where the purest concepts of nursing can be protected and grown.