The Scalpel and the Silver Bear: The First Navajo Woman Surgeon Combines Western Medicine and Traditional Healing

Great read especially if you are going into the healthcare field.

When buying novels, I'll usually get used paperbacks and pass them on to be read by others. This time I purchased a copy listed as "USED-VERY GOOD" -- it was only a few dollars cheaper than a new copy and the pages were yellow. This copy was definitely was mislabeled.

Beautiful story of her honoring her heritage and blending with the new.

This book is amazing and is written so beautifully. It showcases the way that holistic and western medicine can be combined to truly heal patients and health care providers.

I read this book for a nursing class on Complementary and Alternative Medicine. This book describes what our healthcare system might be missing, and tells of a Navajo female surgeon's journey from growing up on a reservation to Dartmouth, Stanford Medical School, and back to the rez. The Scalpel and the Silver Bear opened my eyes to the consideration of finding harmony, walking in beauty, and keeping everything in balance to promote and maintain health. Western medicine is not the sole answer, is not the cure in all cases. This book suggests a more holistic approach to treating our patients and I would recommend it to not only students of medicine/nursing, but also to the public. It is an inspiring and heartwarming story.

I needed this book for a gen ed class I'm taking. The book shipped promptly and in nice packaging. User defined it just as it was, minor highlighting and dog-earring and a used book sticker on the back. The book was very interesting to read. I've been victim of reading autobiographies that are dry and don't grab your attention. For someone that probably would have never read this book if it wasn't required I recommend reading it. It gives you a good sense of the moral dilemmas that doctors go through on a daily basis. It's very easy to read, the author explains unfamiliar medical and Navajo terms. Really kept my attention and brought up some interesting points about life balance and harmonizing. I recommend it.

This is a book that I have gifted to my Doctors and friends! It is truly moving as it brings one's thinking into perspective about the lost sacred traditions of our Native peoples and how we need to reclaim awareness of these! This awareness is essential to the survival of mankind and our precious Mother Earth! This country needs to connect again to THIS Diversity Culture which is ignored but which is filled with the richness of our precious Mother Earth's survival--thus OUR survival as care takers of Her ! Also, It brings awareness of the difficult struggles Native Americans experience while trying to share in the American educational world. Beautifully written!

[Non-fiction] This is an inciteful, first person account by Dr. Lori Arviso Alvordthe of her professional journey toward becoming the first Navajo woman surgeon and her experiences as a practicing physician. It is thoughtful, rendering a picture of contrasts between two cultures and suggesting a constructive blending of traditional healing and western medicine that recognizes the humanity of the patient. During my daughter's medical training, she spent a summer in the Dakotas with the Indian Health Service and I could readily hear echos of Dr. Alvord's story in my daughter's experience. At less than 200 pages, I would recommend this honest, but very pleasant, read that provides a broadening perspective.

I really enjoyed it. It was good to read about the differences and similarities between western medicine and Navajo. Read it in one day.. a delight.